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01x03 - Curse of the Kraken

Episode transcripts for the TV show, "Mysteries of the Deep". Aired: May 27, 2020.*
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The deep-sea remains a dangerous & unexplored frontier, a place that swallows evidence and where the unknown is normal.

01x03 - Curse of the Kraken

Post by bunniefuu »

Wade: Has a creature
surfacing in arctic waters

been primed
for a sinister purpose?

Cartlidge: You can train them.

But you can't totally
control them.

Wade: Is there a legendary
monster lurking off america's coastline

capable of taking down a ship?

This must have been
an incredibly strong creature.

Wade: And how did a man survive
for 438 days

adrift on the pacific ocean?

You are not only
at the mercy of the sea.

You are at the mercy
of the gods.

Wade: The underwater realm
is another dimension.

It's a physically hostile place,

where dreams of promise
can sink into darkness.

I'm jeremy wade.

I'm searching the world
to bring you the most iconic

and baffling underwater
mysteries known to science.

Shipwrecks can't just disappear.

Or can they?

Wade: It's a dangerous,
unexplored frontier

that swallows evidence...

We know more
about the face of mars

than we do our deepest oceans.

Wade:
...Where unknown is normal,
and understanding is rare.

captions paid for by
discovery communications

I've spent decades tracking down
underwater creatures

all over the world,

and as a general rule,
they don't want to be found.

Animals in the wild
keep their distance.

So when reports surface
from the arctic waters of norway

of a large marine mammal
mysteriously investigating

boats,
alarm bells start ringing.

April 26, 2019...
Hammerfest, norway.

Researchers conducting
a government fishing survey

are surprised by
the mysterious appearance

of a large marine mammal
near their boat.

As the white animal approaches,

they realize
it's a beluga whale...

Something rarely seen
in spring norwegian waters.

To make things
even more unusual,

this beluga whale
seems to be friendly.

Naturally free beluga,

or any citation,
don't come to humans.

They're inquisitive, but
they'll always keep distance.

It'll never be right up
to the side of the boat.

Wade: Stranger still
is the fact that this beluga

has something
attached to its body.

Not only was this
an unusual whale in that

it was interested in them,
but it also had a harness on.

To add to the mystery
of this beluga whale,

where did it come from?

Did it escape?

Did it just say,
"I want to be free"?

Wade:
Marine mammals have been known
to escape from captivity,

and this beluga's ease
around the researchers

could be a sign that
it's been raised by people.

It meets humans again, and
it's something it's conditioned.

"that's where the food
comes from. I'm safe with them."

animals go for the easiest
source of food.

Wade: Beluga whales are kept
in captivity in aquaria

and marine parks worldwide,
but not in norway

or anywhere else in scandinavia.

Rondeau: I think the evidence
is pretty clear

that it's been raised by humans.

So, the question, then, is,
which humans?

Wade: The norwegians decide
to investigate further.

And when they study
the beluga's harness,

they discover two camera mounts.

Could these have been fitted
by wildlife researchers?

Wade: Keen to work out
where the beluga has come from,

local experts
come up with an idea.

The only way we're gonna
find out who is behind this

is to track this whale.

Wade: The beluga is fitted
with a satellite tracker

in the hope that
it will head back home.

But after several weeks
of monitoring,

the data shows
no significant movement.

The whale is staying put.

The tracker does, however,
reveal some new information.

The tracking of the whale
has shown two things.

One... it doesn't seem to have
the ability

to hunt and feed on its own.

And two...
It doesn't communicate

with other belugas,

suggesting it doesn't have
those social aspects

that it would've learned if it
had been raised in the wild.

Wade:
The animal's inability to feed
itself and lack of social skills

further points to
a life spent in captivity.

It could be it's the first time
it's been allowed out.

Wade: Researchers turn
their attention

back to the only piece
of hard evidence they have...

The harness.

Examining the straps,
they discover a decisive clue.

Campbell: The fact that the
harness says "st. Petersburg,"

suggests that it is
a beluga trained in russia.

Why would the russians be
putting a harness on a beluga?

Wade: The russian border
is less than 200 miles away,

and the russians
have a track record

in training marine mammals.

They have guard animals that
guard an area in floating pens.

They have
search-and-recovery animals.

Wade: Seals have been trained to
locate mines and lost ordnance,

and dolphins have been tasked
with taking out enemy targets.

Cartlidge:
They parachute them down.

The harnesses, as they hit
the water, release.

What would happen
is that they would have

a trigger on the beak,

and an expl*sive pack
on the dorsal fin.

So, then, they would
swim up to the boat.

And five of these animals
touching the boat...

Up it goes in flames.

Wade: Such methods were
developed during the cold w*r,

and, many thought,
ended with it.

But recent u.S. Navy spending

suggests that they continue
to this day.

The military have always been
interested in the potential

for marine mammals
to assist them in various ways.

And in fact,
the military still fund

a huge amount of research
on marine mammals to this day.

If the americans are doing it,
then, surely, the russians

are gonna still
be doing it, as well.

Wade: So, is the beluga whale
found in norway

a specialist
russian underwater operative?

You can train them.

You can tame them.

But you can't totally
control them.

Wade: 200 miles east of
where the beluga was found

is the russian military base
of murmansk.

And recent satellite images
reveal something shocking

hidden among the russian ships.

Analysts believe that
these large octagonal shapes

are floating animal pens.

Could the beluga whale
have escaped

from this top-secret
military facility?

When a mystery beluga whale
is found in norwegian waters

wearing a harness
with camera mounts,

there are suspicions
that the animal could be

a trained russian
underwater operative.

But could this single animal

be evidence
of a larger military force?

The whale seems to have been
on some kind of

surveillance mission.

Norway is basically
on the forefront of nato,

front lines with russia.

Wade: The arctic is opening up.

Higgs:
As sea ice melts, the arctic
is becoming more accessible,

and its resources are becoming
more and more sought after.

Wade:
Every year, as the ice recedes,
military forces are moving in,

and the russians
are at the forefront.

Some fear that belugas may be a
new part of the russian arsenal.

There's nothing that a beluga
can do that a dolphin can't do.

But a beluga can live
in arctic waters.

The beluga's echolocation
can actually penetrate

up to a meter
through sand and mud.

They can go places, and not be
noticed, unlike rovs or aovs.

They can travel long distances

without having to take breaks,
or to be recharged.

Could that beluga whale
be agent double-0 blubber?

Wade: One critical factor
suggests not.

Training secret agents,
human or animal,

requires a major investment
of time and money.

If it was military, the russians
would've been there,

and they would've taken it back.

Wade: So, the whale's origin
and purpose remain a mystery.

But one thing is for sure...

This suspected spy has been
brought in from the cold.

It's been adopted by locals,

who have named the beluga
"hvaldimir,"

a pun on the norwegian
for "whale"

and the name of russia's
president, vladimir putin...

Himself once
an undercover soviet agent.

Most searches for lost mariners

continue for a matter
of days or weeks.

After that, the missing
are presumed dead.

But how long can you survive
alone at sea?

The seemingly miraculous


of a central american fisherman

calls into question
everything we thought we knew.

January 30th, 2014.

Reports emerge from
a tiny stretch of islands

in the central pacific

of a mysterious foreigner
coming ashore with a small boat.

The marshall islands
are a remote cluster of islands

in the pacific.

The fact that there would be
an individual on the beach,

in a really bad way,
is really remarkable.

Wade: The man's name
is jose alvarenga,

and the story
he tells his rescuers

is relayed around the world.

He came off the coast of mexico,

a very small 24-foot
fiberglass vessel,

and that was almost
a year and a half ago.

[ speaking spanish ]

a fishing trip that was meant
to last just a few days

ended up lasting 438.

How is it that he survived
that long?

Wade: Surviving the pacific
adrift in a small boat

for this length of time
would be a first.

It's inconceivable that a human
being would be able to do that.

Wade: Alvarenga describes
an incredible journey

from mexico
to the marshall islands,

across half the width
of the pacific.

But could a man survive
for 14 months

alone in the largest ocean
on the planet?

Campbell: It's crazy
to survive that long at sea,

because you have to imagine

that the open ocean
is a type of desert.

The pacific ocean is massive.

It's an unbelievably big space.

Wade:
According to alvarenga, when he
sets out on his fishing trip,

he has supplies
for just a few days.

It was supposed to be
an overnight trip

in a small, open boat.

And then, he encountered
bad weather, and a bad storm.

Wade: The fisherman's boat
is pulled out to sea,

and most of his supplies
are swept overboard.

Before alvarenga
gets out of range,

he's able to radio his boss,
to warn him of his predicament.

He's out there with no engine,
with no oars,

no means of propulsion,

and he's basically
left to float.

Being lost at sea is probably
one of the most lonely things

in the universe.

You are not only
at the mercy of the sea.

You are at the mercy
of the gods.

His story is certainly
mysterious,

and many people
don't believe it,

because it's almost unthinkable,
what he's telling them.

Wade: And when alvarenga's
account is put under scrutiny,

shocking details
start to emerge.

He's out there on a boat
with nothing.

How do you survive that?

It's literally phenomenal.

In 2012,
fisherman jose alvarenga

sets out on a small boat

from the coast
of southern mexico.



he turns up in
the marshall islands,



Can he really have survived
the open ocean for so long?

It's certainly
theoretically possible,

according to scientist models
and current understanding,

that he could've reached
the marshalls.

The pacific ocean,
there's the north pacific gyre.

If you left mexico,
headed a little south,

you catch the trade winds
and the currents,

and they will push you
all the way over.

Boom.

Wade: But many people
following the story

question the truth
of alvarenga's account.

After such an ordeal, how could
the fisherman look so healthy?

He looks a little, you know,
plump around the face.

Wade: But as some experts
are keen to point out,

sometimes, looks
can be deceiving.

When you live through
that type of famine,

your body kind of holds,
or retains, liquids, or fluids,

and it gives you
a plump appearance

although you're
literally starving.

[ indistinct talking ]

he's bloated because of
his malnutrition.

Actually, for many months,

he would've probably
looked emaciated,

and even, possibly, skeletal.

Wade: Doubts remain, however,
about how alvarenga

could have found enough food
and water to survive.

In most cases,
people adrift in the pacific

last only a matter of days.

Filming off the northern coast
of australia in 2015,

I encountered a fisherman

who'd become stranded
on a barren tropical island.

This is an uninhabited island.

And we, first of all,
saw a cooler on the rocks.

And then, one of us spotted,
there's somebody there.

There's somebody there.

It was sheer luck that we
came across him in time.

The castaway had run
out of water,

and after 2 days marooned
under the fierce sun,

he was facing death
from dehydration.

So how did alvarenga find enough
water to survive for 438 days?

The general rule of thumb
is that... it's the 3-day rule.

You know, without water, after


So, how did he manage?

Wade: Drinking seawater
can be deadly to humans

because our humans can't process
the amount of salt it contains.

Alvarenga needed fresh water
to stave off dehydration,

so he claims he fished dozens
of plastic bottles

out of the ocean,

and used them
to catch rainwater.

But when his supplies ran out,

he was forced to resort
to desperate measures.

As well as water, alvarenga
would've needed regular food.

The boat would've become
its own microcosm

that there would have been
algae, and plankton,

and barnacles
building up on the bottom,

and that in itself
would've attracted his food.

If he's leaving off of
the entire fish,

not only consuming the flesh,

but consuming all of
the internal organs,

he's getting that nutrients,
and he's getting that fluid,

and that it would be
enough to sustain him.

But one detail
of his epic ordeal

is perhaps
the toughest to swallow.

When he started out
on his 2-day fishing trip,

jose alvarenga was not alone.

Wade: Castaway jose alvarenga
claims to have spent 14 months

adrift in the pacific ocean.

When he was found, he was alone,

but it turns out that, when he
set sail, he had a companion.

He actually had
a fishing partner.

But unfortunately, the
fishing partner didn't survive.

He claims that his partner
couldn't deal with the stress,

and had basically
stopped eating,

and therefore,
shut down, and died.

Wade:
Alvarenga says he kept speaking
to his deceased friend for days,

until he realized he must let
him go, and buried him at sea.

But the dead man's family
claim otherwise.

They accuse alvarenga
of resorting to cannibalism.

This would not be a first.

There are stories of whalers

who have been lost at sea
in the pacific,

and had to resort
to cannibalism,

in the 19th century.

It's impossible for anybody
to speculate

what they would do
in that situation.

Did he k*ll and cannibalize
his partner?

The only person that knows
is the fisherman himself.

Wade: A complete physical
examination of alvarenga

reveals symptoms of anemia,

possibly the result
of vitamin deficiencies

caused by prolonged starvation.

For supporters, it's proof
his ordeal really happened.

Tuttle: Some people say
this is an impossible journey.

No. No. It's not at all.

This man obviously had
the constitution

to survive 438 days.

Yeah, it could have happened.

An unbelievable story or a story
of unbelievable endurance?

For many, the jury is still out.

But what nobody denies
is that, sometimes,

the battle to be believed

can be every bit as challenging
as the battle to survive.

The annals of seafaring
are full of stories

of mysterious creatures
from the deep.

Today, such reports
are much more rare.

So, when one does surface,

evoking the legend
of the greatest sea monster

of them all...
The mighty kraken...

It demands our attention.

January 12, 2003.

Veteran yachtsman
olivier de kersauson

is attempting to win
the jules verne trophy

for the fastest circumnavigation
of the world by sail.

There's a relatively unknown
story of this sailboat,

the geronimo,
that was in a race.

Wade: The 110-foot
trimaran geronimo...

The largest racing yacht
of its kind...

Is making good progress
through the north atlantic,

but not far from the portuguese
island of madeira,

it suddenly loses speed.

The boat dropped from 24 knots
down to 11.

It slowed right down.

Wade: Unable to determine
what's caused this deceleration,

the crew inspect
below the waterline.

They think something
must be wrong with the vessel.

The first mate goes below,
and peers through a porthole.

What he reports is something
stuck to the rudder

bigger than his leg.

Wade: He can't believe his eyes.

Some kind of tentacled beast
is wrapped around the vessel.

This must have been an
incredibly strong creature.

Wade: Armed with only boat hooks
and pocket knives,

the crew try to force
the animal to let go.

But after an hour of struggle,
the creature is still attached.

The captain orders the sails
to be lowered.

And as the ship comes to a halt,

the underwater attacker
releases its grip,

and vanishes into the deep.

The captain gets a good look
at the creature,

and estimates it to be


Wade:
An encounter with a 30-foot
tentacled monster of this mass

is extremely rare.

He says he's never seen
anything like it.

Wade: The incident leaves
the crew in a state of shock.

What was the mysterious creature
that attacked their boat?

The encounter has echoes
of ancient sea stories.

Has a legend of the deep
resurfaced?

Throughout history,
sailors have always

encountered animals at sea

that they didn't know what to
make of, and that they feared.

We don't know what
these animals really were,

or whether they even
existed at all

outside of the imagination
of these sailors.

Wade: There is one fabled beast
whose name alone

was enough to terrify
hearty sailors for centuries.

The kraken,
the breaker of ships,

large creatures that would
pull ships down to their deaths.

Wade: The kraken has always
been assumed to be a myth,

but could there be a real-world
creature behind the legend?

There are tentacled titans
out there.

I've come face-to-face
with the giant pacific octopus,

the largest
of the octopus family.

Its 20-foot arm span
is impressive,

but it's no ship-breaker.

I've also encountered another
another potential suspect...

...Squid.

Voracious deep-sea predators.

This humboldt squid
has a powerful beak

made of one of the hardest
substances in the animal world,

and a bite force
comparable to a lion.

Quite an impressive beast.

Going back.

The humboldt squid
has the aggression

of the terrifying kraken,
but not the size.

There are, however,
much bigger squid out there.

There's been evidence
of giant squid

without actual
direct observations.

And that evidence comes from
their primary predator,

the sperm whale.

Wade: On their deep dives
to over 4,000 feet,

which can last for up
to 45 minutes,

sperm whales are known
to prey on giant squid.

Most of the early evidence

actually came from
just pieces of squid

that were found in the stomachs
of sperm whales,

or from the scars
on the whales themselves...

These giant sucker marks
from the battles

between the squid
and the whales.

Wade:
With only rare sightings and
occasional physical evidence,

it's hard to fathom the
potential size of this beast.

We know giant squid get big.

We just don't know
how big they get.

If you're gonna fight a sperm
whale, you better be big.

Wade: Just how big
giant squid can grow

is one of the great
deep-ocean mysteries.

But a new science involving
a remarkable national phenomenon

could provide the answer.

Bioluminescence is
biologically produced light,

and in the deep pelagic zone,


are bioluminescent.

This strange
light-producing property

inspired a team of scientists,
led by dr. Edith widder,

to attempt something unique...

Attracting the elusive
giant squid

using a lure
made of l.E.D. Lights.

Her theory was that, if we
can recreate the light sequence

that these squid prey make,

you could potentially use that
to attract giant squid.

Wade:
This extraordinary footage,
captured by dr. Widder's team


of japan, astounded biologists.

This clip is incredible
because we're seeing this squid

in its natural habitat
in the deep sea.

It's never been done before.

Wade: The footage is a first.

But the estimated size
of the squid

is just 14 feet long...
Half the size of the beast

that attacked
the racing yacht geronimo.

But dr. Widder is not deterred.

In 2019, she relocates
her search

to the gulf of mexico, 100 miles
off the coast of louisiana.

Her team has developed
the electronic lure

to mimic the light patterns of
the atolla deep-sea jellyfish,

which attracts giant squid.

And what rises from the abyss

single-handedly resurrects
the myth of the kraken.

When a huge tentacled creature

envelopes a racing yacht
in the atlantic,

it revives stories
of the kraken.

Could the giant squid
be the real animal

behind this recent story
and the ancient legend?

Off the southern coast
of the united states,

a revolutionary lure that mimics
bioluminescent creatures

is being used as bait to catch,
on camera, the stuff of legends.

We're visual animals,

and so, when humans have gone
down to explore the deep sea,

traditionally, we go down
and shine these great lights,

so that we can see everything.

But in reality, it probably
scares a lot of things away.

Wade: To avoid this,
dr. Widder's team

use infrared cameras
to penetrate the darkness,

allowing them to see,
but not disturb,

the creatures that come to
investigate the electronic bait.

Hours and hours of darkness,

with maybe the occasional flash
of something going by.

And then, suddenly, out of
nowhere, come these tentacles.





It's massive.

Wade:
This giant squid is taller
than a two-story house,

easily big enough to take on
the racing trimaran geronimo.

So could this be the legendary
kraken, breaker of ships?

We just now know they're there.

So, it's answered one question.

It's opened up about
a bazillion more.

Deep-water diving can be deadly,

and I've had glimpses
of what can go wrong.

When diving deaths happen,

their causes are often lost
beneath the waves.

So when the decapitated
corpse of a diver

is discovered
off the coast of England

at the height of the cold w*r,

there are many theories about
what or who may have k*lled him.

Can new analysis of the evidence

solve the mystery
of the headless frogman?

June 9th, 1957...

Chichester harbour,
on the south coast of England.

The crew of
a commercial fishing boat

make a gruesome discovery...

A swollen mass in the water.

It can only be one thing.

A body in a wet suit,
missing its head and its hands.

Wade:
Preliminary analysis of the
rubber-suited torso reveals

it may have been submerged
for many months.

And diving fins attached
to the rotting feet

indicate the body is a frogman.

But who is this mysterious
dead diver?

All we actually have
is the body,

so, if we can understand
the body,

maybe we can say something
about the mystery.

Wade: The autopsy report
raises many questions.

Why are the diver's head
and hands missing?

Have they been eaten by fish,

cut off by an unfortunate
boating accident,

or has there been foul play?

Typically, when you find
only a torso

missing the head and the hands,

this is an effort to try to hide
the identity of the victim.

Wade: Investigators are baffled.

They are unable to match
dental records or fingerprints,

or even determine how long
the body has been in the water.

How can you actually
recognize a corpse

if it doesn't have
a head and hands?

Wade:
When authorities comb local
files going back over a year,

they discover a possible victim.

And a small scar
above the corpse's left knee

leads investigators to conclude
that the body

is that of retired military
diver lionel buster crabb.

Buster crabb was a frogman.

We're talking about soldiers

that are creme de la creme
of the underwater commandos.

Wade: Crabb, it turns out,
was a scuba-diving pioneer

who served with distinction
during world w*r ii.

As a demolition frogman,

he was involved in numerous
dangerous underwater missions.

The navy frogmen
during world w*r ii

were the elite of the elite.

Higgs: Combining the kind of
rudimentary diving technology

with what was essentially
underwater b*mb disposal.

Wade: Crabb officially retired
from the navy after the w*r

to become a commercial diver.

He was a treasure hunter.

He was doing a whole lot
of other things.

But he wasn't supposed
to be doing anything

related to the military anymore.

Wade: But when investigators
study the equipment

recovered with the corpse,

they notice that the dive fins
are military issue.

So, on the day that he died,

was crabb back working
for the armed forces?

A royal navy report
released weeks later

suggests that this is the case.

The navy puts out an official
notice that he's missing,

presumed dead, that there was
an apparent accident

related to testing out
new dive equipment.

Wade:
The idea that w*r hero crabb
was testing new equipment

for the navy seems plausible.

But there's no mention
of decapitation,

and according to the report,
the incident in which crabb died

did not take place
where his body was found.

It happened over 10 miles away,
near portsmouth harbour.

And this is where
the plot thickens.

At the time of crabb's
disappearance,

portsmouth was playing host
to a very special visitor...

An advanced battle cruiser
belonging to the soviet navy.

I think the big question is, is
was he in fact actually working

as an operative
at the time of his death?

Was crabb spying on the soviets?

And if so,
did they catch him in the act?

A mutilated corpse is discovered

off the south coast
of 1950s England.

What the dead diver was doing
there is shrouded in mystery,

but the answer
could shed new light

on a closely guarded
state secret.

The cold w*r between the eastern
block and the western allies

is at its height.

In 1956, there's a summit,

and khrushchev
is coming to England.

Wade: The soviet leader,
nikita khrushchev,

has been invited for diplomatic
talks, and arrives by sea.

The ship was really
a state-of-the-art

military battleship.

Wade: It's the battle cruiser
the ordzhonikidze.

Incredibly attractive
for british intelligence

to have an opportunity to maybe
do a little bit of spying on it.

British prime minister
anthony eden

is said to have ordered
no surveillance operations

as a sign of good faith,

but the temptation
perhaps proves too great

for some inside
the intelligence community.

Unfortunately, what happens here
is, mi6 goes a little rogue.

Wade:
Mi6 operatives, possibly acting
on their own initiative,

decide to recruit a diver

to undertake
a dangerous operation...

An underwater spying mission
beneath the ordzhonikidze.

And one man fits the bill...

Retired navy diver
lionel buster crabb.

One of the theories
is that they chose him

because he was already
out of the military,

and perhaps, if you were caught,

there'd be some room there
for plausible deniability.

Wade: But 47-year-old crabb,
a lifelong smoker,

is not in peak condition.

A diver like that,
especially in those days,

they were pretty
hard-living guys,

and they drank a lot.

Wade: What crabb is tasked
with finding out

under the soviet ship
is unclear.

One possibility is that he was
trying to study the propeller.

He was trying to get
either photographs,

or even just to see it.

Wade: On April 19th, 1956,
crabb is believed to have headed

out into the waters
of portsmouth harbour

with his mi6 controller
in a small boat.

After testing his equipment,
he disappears into the depths.

Buster crabb
is never seen alive again.

What happened to crabb?

Theories abound.

Was he cut by the propeller?

Was he captured by the russians,
and decapitated?

Nobody really knows.

Rondeau: It's my speculation
that he may have been k*lled

by the russians,
but it's anybody's guess.

There are other,
less sinister, theories.

Back in those days, diving was
a risky business in itself.

Using rudimentary underwater
breathing technology,

you know, the possibility
for something to go wrong

is bound to happen
at some point.

If you do twibble a knob
a little bit too much,

you can soon find yourselves
in a lot of difficulty.

Wade: To avoid detection,
crabb was using a rebreather.

This diving equipment doesn't
produce telltale bubbles,

but it does require
constant attention

and clear thinking
on the part of the diver.

The night before the mission,

apparently, buster is in a pub
getting drunk,

bragging, and telling everybody
about how he's a spy.

Diving and drinking do not mix.

Oxygen poisoning
is a significant risk

when you're breathing
from a rebreather.

Adding alcohol into the mix...

Wade:
But could a highly decorated
diver of crabb's experience

really have made such
an obvious error of judgement?

Lionel crabb was a w*r hero.

And for many people,

the idea that a w*r hero
of his magnitude

make mistakes
seems impossible to believe.

Wade: If crabb's death was not
an error or an accident,

it opens up the possibility
that he was deliberately k*lled,

either under the soviet ship
or elsewhere.

Evidence for this is limited,
but some have questioned

whether the corpse
that was finally found

could possibly have spent
over a year in the water.

It's really unusual that
you would find a headless,

handless,
and at all identifiable

as a corpse 14 months later.

Wade: Experts also question
how a corpse could possibly

have made the 10-mile journey

from portsmouth
to chichester harbour.

So, it is unlikely that
it would've been carried

that far away.

Goodhan: If you look at
the currents and the tides,

it doesn't quite match.

According to the regular trends,

that would not be the right
place for it to show up.

Wade:
So, if crabb's body could not
have floated on the tides

to chichester,
how did it get there?

Was the body dumped?
And if so, by whom?

Something happened
between the time it was found

and the time he went missing.

Wade:
Did the soviets throw the body
overboard as they sailed east,

or was it planted
by an embarrassed

british intelligence service

trying to cover up
a failed operation?

An answer to this mystery
may exist,

but right now, there's no way
of knowing for sure.

In an unusual move
by the british government,

files relating to the
disappearance of lionel crabb

have been classified
for 100 years.

These documents can't be opened
until 2057.

By actually making it so secret,
and by putting in this thing,

you've actually added
to the mystery.

Whether it was an accident,
m*rder, or misadventure,

the solution to the mystery

of what may have happened
to lionel crabb

lies locked in the depths
of a secret vault,

as unreachable as it would be
at the bottom of the ocean.

But like a sunken body,
it may well resurface one day.