05x03 - The Watchers

[bunniefuu]

Previously on Expedition Bigfoot...

We are here to explore this idea

that these creatures are
coming down from the north

and raising their young right here.

That lidar has given us
such an advantage.

- That's interesting.
- Wow.

This looks like those
could be little nesting areas.

And this place looks absolutely ideal.

It's exciting to know that
we suddenly have a target.

I definitely get the feeling

that something is watching me.

Holy.

Whatever made that howl was huge.

I said, "Well, I think I just heard Bigfoot."

What the was that?

And it sounded like a howl.

Just that long, drawn out howl.

While exploring a river

near the location of the large footprint,

primatologist Dr. Mireya Mayer
and researcher Bryce Johnson

have been trying to locate the source

of a series of strange noises,

culminating in a large howl
from an unknown animal.

This sounded like howl
with force and with volume

and just like, super animalistic.

I felt like that was something
communicating with us.

It almost felt like a recognition

that hey, I see you in my area.

I just wanna let you know
that I know you're here.

Why don't I play a call
back on the FOXPRO?

Sure.

In past expeditions,

the team has elicited activity

by playing recorded Bigfoot calls

using outdoor audio equipment
hunters use

that projects different forms
of game calls.

Okay, this is a howl
that was recorded in Oregon.

All right, well, I'm not seeing anything.

- Nothing, right?
- No.

God, so frustrating.

There definitely is a trickster element

to this Bigfoot phenomenon.

Somehow, some way,

these creatures always seem
to stay one step ahead of us.

It's really become
a game of cat and mouse.

All right, let's keep going then.

Definitely something out here.

While Bryce
and Mireya continue to search

for the source of the howl,

10 miles northeast,

survivalist Russell Acord
is tracking something he heard

moving through the forest
earlier in the night.

I wish I knew what we were following.

Earlier tonight, something
was moving down here.

I heard it moving.

There's gotta be prints.

There's gotta be some kind
of a trail left behind.

That is gonna give me the answers

that I'm looking for.

Be quiet.

It sounds like something's moving.

Look at this.

I can't reach this.

I have to pull the branch
down to break it off.

Same with this one.

I'm not sure what could've caused this.

But I'm seeing branches
that are broken off

and torn off at an eight
and nine foot level.

There's no other animals
in the forest that does that.

Something big has been through here.

And it wants to go through here quietly.

That's a big impression.

The detail has been just washed away.

I think this soil holds way more secrets

than it's given me right now.

Tomorrow morning, I wanna
see if I can find any tracks up here.

Let's keep going.

Back at base camp,
Bryce and Mireya regroup

after hearing a loud howl


I can't really sleep.

And I just can't stop thinking
about that howl.

And, just how powerful it was.

- Bryce, Bryce.
- My God.

We searched all night,

and we couldn't find a trace

of what made that sound
or where it went.

Which is so frustrating,

because if these Bigfoot are
using this area as a breeding ground,

then all we would need to do

is just find one of these creatures

that will lead us back to its family group.

It just gets me thinking

if we can actually elicit
more vocalizations,

then we can use those

to pinpoint exactly where
they're coming from.

And I think I have an idea
on how we can do that.

I feel like we're getting a ton of activity,

yet we're just not seeing anything.

- I have a bio acoustic expert I'm gonna send your way.
- Great.

He's an expert at eliciting Bigfoot calls.

And with our acoustic
surveillance system,

we'll be able to pinpoint exactly
where they're coming from.

Okay.

While Mireya and the bio acoustics
expert work on locating Bigfoot,

I'm gonna head back
to the command center

and comb through all of this
surveillance camera footage.

Because those howls and those sounds

were so close last night,

that I just feel we must've
captured something on camera.

- All right, well, good luck, and...
- -All right.

- You too.
- I'll be in touch.

Look up above me.

It's like a dang highway.

Nine miles northeast from base camp,

Russell returns to the site

where he heard activity the night before.

It's like a bear.

Something's been digging through here.

Maybe a coyote.

I think these things
are creatures of habit.

They're gonna walk the same trails,

they're gonna go to the same places

where they know that
they have a food source.

This could be either a mating ground...

These bones are much older, but,

or an area where they feel safe,

secluded and comfortable enough

to bring their young and
raise them in this environment.

Okay, let's keep going down this way,

see if we find anything else.

Whatever was moving here last night,

searching this area in the daylight,

I haven't been able
to find anything substantial

that explains what that was.

Hey, Ben. What's going on, man?

Hey, Bryce.

I actually had a really
interesting conversation,

with an eye witness named Debbie.

She was awakened
at around 3:30 in the morning

by a long, hair-raising howl.

You're kidding.

She pin-pointed what she thought

was the source of that vocalization

to a ridge right beside her house.

And she thought the source came up

about a half mile or so
up the ridge from her house.

If you look at the map,

that ridge actually extends
right into your hot zone.

Holy. Are you serious?

Given its location,
really useful information.

I love this, man,

and this is definitely
something we wanna flag.

This could be exactly
what we're looking for.

Based on the recent witness
testimony Ben Smith received,

the howl activity came from a ridge line

just three miles away from
Russell's current location.

Hey, Bryce, how's it going?

Hey, Russ, I just heard from Ben Smith.

He said he talked to this witness

who said she heard a Bigfoot howl

coming from the top of the mountain

that you're headed to right now.

What happened?

What did you see or experience?

This sound started
getting louder and louder.

The howl was so deep,
that I could hear vibrating.

Which direction did you hear it from?

The sound carried from this area.

It was that close.

Out here? Where I'm...
On the Northeast?

- Yeah.
- Nice.

Not only that,

she was hearing
all kinds of activity there.

So, if you're making your way
to that direction now,

why don't you check out
this location as well?

Awesome.

Just see if you can see
any recent activity

moving through the area.

And if these are the new nesting sites,

and she heard something recently,

this could be exactly
what we're looking for.

All right. You bet, man. I'm all for it.

All right, man.

Well, I will send you coordinates

and, appreciate it.

All right, Bryce.
Thanks, man. Appreciate it.

I wanna get to that location.

This might be exactly what we need

to break this investigation open.

Man, this is exciting.

So, now we're just going through

a lot of this surveillance footage

from our base camp.

And I wanna look at that
body camera footage,

from the other night.

Okay, so there's Mireya.

Mireya and I were equipped with
our body cameras front and back,

covering every direction.

We just set up base camp,

and I wanted to see

if these creatures are observing us

from the time we move into a zone.

With the whole idea

of being able to turn
the tables on these creatures

and watch the watchers.

So, I just wanna go through
these cameras

and see if I was able to pick anything up.

I feel like I'm being watched.

I'm just gonna start scrubbing past here.

God, right there.

Holy, what is that?

What the hell was that?

God, right there.

Holy, what is that?

What the hell was that?

It's right there, right there. Look at this.

You see that?

It looks like something is peeking out

from behind this tree right here.

Watch this. Look at this right here.

Right here there's nothing.

And then, you see this thing,

just start peering out.

There it is.

I mean, look at these ferns
too right here.

I'm trying to just figure out
how tall this thing might be.

I mean, these ferns
sit up to about my chest.

I'm six foot.

Man, this thing could be
around seven feet tall.

It's incredible.

Unfortunately, this thing was just far
enough outside of our camera's range

that it was barely able to pick
up on the details of this thing.

It's almost as if it knows

that I have that body camera on my back

because it just goes right back in.

But that's not bear behavior

or any other type of wildlife behavior.

This is typical Bigfoot behavior.

Peeking out from behind a tree,

observing someone as they
walk by, especially at night.

This creature that was observing us,

it was doing so
right outside of base camp,

which means it's probably
still in this area.

With a massive storm approaching,

Russell heads in the direction of
where the howl was heard by the witness.

While back at base camp,

Mireya prepares to meet the
audio engineer Bryce sent to help.

- Hey, there.
- Hey, there.

Dr. Mireya Mayor.

Thanks for meeting us out here.

- Sorry about the weather.
- Yeah.

You never know what
you're gonna wander into,

- and we got a little bit of rain.
- -Yeah.

So, put your bag down.

Okay, absolutely.

In an attempt to record the
location of a possible Sasquatch,

Bryce has recruited the expertise

of bioacoustics expert Tobe Johnson

to join Mireya for 72 hours.

Tobe has spent over two decades

capturing and investigating
Bigfoot vocalizations

by isolating sounds

and identifying peculiar hertz patterns

and waveforms in his studio,
Owl Moon Lab.

Holy.

Tobe Johnson has spent over a decade

investigating the subject of Bigfoot.

His extensive audio experience
makes him the perfect person

to help me record
some of the strange sounds

that have come from the target zone.

My God.

And that is actually, like,
very gorilla like that

- I don't know.
- You tell me.

That's amazing.

I believe we can get closest
to the phenomenon

if we stick a microphone out
instead of a camera.

Audio seems to be the key

in understanding a little bit more about

not only Sasquatch vocalizations,

but the most controversial
Sasquatch language.

The Holy Grail in Bigfoot stuff.

Wow.

Last night we heard this really long howl

coming from across the river.

Loud enough that we both
stopped and went, like, what?

- And...
- And it's been recorded?

- And it's been recorded.
- Okay.

I think when they communicate,

especially when it involves language,

there's more than one.

And that makes sense, right?

- 'Cause you're having a conversation...
- Sure.

Like you and I are.

And so, I put them in a
different classification 'cause,

Mireya, if we have language,
then we have a culture.

Because there are no cultures that
don't have this type of language, right?

And if we have a culture, it's game on.

And so that's what
we're gonna be pushing for.

So, typically at night,

how do you conduct the investigation?

We're gonna use audio equipment.

Cameras seem to scare them.

So, I brought my small recorder.

Just hang it in a tree

and we're just gonna announce
our presence

and leave out a simple recorder.

Okay, cool. That sounds perfect.

You wanna grab your stuff and
we'll start making our way out?

Yeah.

Just outside the perimeter of base camp,

Mireya and Tobe prepare to
deploy the acoustic surveillance array

near the location where
they heard strange sounds

the night before.

So, what we've got here
are these little sensors

that we can easily attach
to a tree or a limb.

- Okay?
- And they send out a transmission signal.

Supplied by Bryce,

these long range,
high powered microphones

were originally developed by law
enforcement for covert surveillance.

These microphones record continuously

and can transmit their data files

to a receiver up to 100 yards away.

By placing them in a strategic array,

Tobe and Mireya will be able to pinpoint

the precise location of any sound.

Let's come up with a plan.

I'll go this way

and I'll just walk in a semicircle

and meet you at 12 o'clock.

- Okay, sure. Yep.
- Makes sense?

- Perfect.
- All right.

Tobe suggested that we place
these acoustic monitoring devices

in a pattern based off the general vicinity

of where we heard that howl.

This looks like a good spot right here.

Use this as a little table,

and set up the computer
where we can actually monitor.

Yeah, I feel the bass in that one.

- Yeah?
- Yeah.

That's really, really powerful.

That's, that's great.

Now, we wait for nightfall.

- Isn't that great?
- Yeah.

As Mireya and Tobe begin to
monitor their surveillance array,

Bryce heads to the north edge
of the target zone

to the site of a 10,000
year old sweat lodge

to meet with a local
hupa tribal council member.

So, I've heard lore

of Bigfoot observing people
from local tribes.

And after seeing footage
of what looked like

an upright creature
inspecting me near base camp,

I wanna speak to someone
who's gonna help me understand

what might've been watching me.

And more importantly, why.

So, I'm headed to meet
a man named Isaac,

and he's agreed to discuss some
of the known behaviors in this area.

And hopefully, that's gonna
help me make better sense

of what I was experiencing
out in the field.

Isaac, what do you think the link is

between Bigfoot and the hupa people?

Well, this is the village

where we have some of our
most sacred gatherings.

This is the center of the hupa world.

And a long time ago,

Big foot shared
in our ceremonial dances.

We called him

which is the boss of the woods.

- And he was the best singer.
- Wow.

During that time, there
was a man that came forward

and he sang a song
that was so beautiful,

he made the elders cry.

And from then Bigfoot had
become somewhat jealous I heard,

and he had shoved the man.

The man fell and died.

And the rest of the Bigfoot clan

had gotten ashamed
of what he had done.

So, they all stood up and
they walked off to the mountain.

And so the story is that when you dance,

you look at the top of
the ridge lines in the trees,

because that's where you'll see Bigfoot.

'Cause he watches the dances,
'cause he misses it.

But that's where he watches from.

What really interests me in this legend

is that the hupa have stories
going back thousands of years

that outline and document

this voyeuristic behavior
exhibited by Bigfoot.

Not only is that fascinating,

but it also affirms the
experience that I recently had.

Have you ever had
any personal encounters

or heard stories...

Yeah, my sister had an
experience at my gram's ranch.

She saw a man standing
in the edge of the tree line,

and he had made
his hand motions to come here.

And the man was covered in hair.

He had red hair between his arms

and between his legs
and under his neck.

And he was attempting
to get her to go with him.

Did she say where this
thing wanted to take her?

No, she didn't say
where it wanted to take her,

but she did describe the hillside

that he had run down the hill,

and she could see what he was seeing.

And he jumped across the creek

and went around the hill into

a small cave system there,

which she described as
one of his homes.

Really? So they're
using these cave systems

as shelters and places to live.

Yeah.

I'm always interested in hearing
about another cavern system

because I can't tell you how many times

these creatures are spotted in
and around these caves

that give them great shelter

and access to other parts
of the wilderness.

You were saying that
she was able to describe it

almost perfectly,

and yet she had never been there.

She described it so perfectly.

She was seven or eight years old.

There's no way she would
have been down there

to know what the terrain looked like.

And I know the landscape.

So I knew automatically

that we were dealing with something.

Bigfoot is a magic man.

And one of his things he's known to have

is telepathic abilities.

Bigfoot's on another level.

He's a spiritual being.

He comes in and out of our reality.

He's known to make portals,
and travel to other places.

What should we do if we
encounter one of these creatures?

Walk away.

Walk away.

So I'm still headed north.

The temperature's dropping.

Gotten up here quite a ways.

On the northeast side of the target zone,

Russell hopes to reach the location

of a recent witness report

before the incoming storm hits.

We're coming out here at the top.

Right now, we're just
a little over a mile away

from where the eyewitness heard
what sounded like a Bigfoot howl.

That thing's just leaning,
just waiting to drop.

But the further north we're traveling,

the more treacherous this area is getting.

But I'll tell you what,
this wind is getting worse.

We're almost right on top of the
coordinates that Bryce gave me

for a witness testimony of somebody

who actually heard some crazy audio.

Keep an eye on these trees.

Those things swaying back and forth.

There's a storm coming.

We've been kind of trying
to stay ahead of it.

It's bringing rain, snow, snow load.

And these big trees are
dropping branches like this

all over the place.

Listen to that wind.

Let's keep moving.

The trees have just blown over.

It's just fresh right here.

We don't want to be
anywhere near this stuff.

Right now, we're right
on top of the coordinates

that Bryce gave me for
that witness for that audio.

But this storm is coming in,
temperature's dropping,

and it's starting to cover up
any kind of evidence

I'd be able to find on the ground.

We've got to get out
of the open right now.

And get into some cover.

That storm's coming.

It's gonna bring all this stuff
down on top of our heads.

We need to find a place
where we can set up,

get into some shelter.

We've got some rock outcroppings here.

Hey, check this out.

We've got some space here
we could probably use.

All right. Watch your step.

You good?

All right, I'm gonna cut across.

Let me get over there.

Look at this.

This is exactly what we needed.

Get this stuff cleared out.

It's not gonna be warm,

and it's certainly not
gonna be comfortable. But...

This is where we're
spending the night, buddy.

Even though this weather
has derailed my plans,

I'm going to take advantage of this night.

We're here underneath the shelter.

I'm gonna use
my parabolic mic, my thermals,

and see if I can find any clues

as to what that witness heard.

Perfect.

The storm that has
forced Russell to find shelter

has now fully engulfed the entire region.

With the storm gaining strength,

Mireya and Tobe decide
to call off the investigation.

Our mission tonight
is to record some audio,

but the weather is not
cooperating with us.

The rain is falling so hard

that any sound that
we could potentially record

is being completely masked
by the sound of the rain.

We're gonna leave the audio
surveillance up and running,

but I think we should
head back to base camp

and wait out the storm.

Everything just dropped straight down.

Nothing with any heat.

And I'm not surprised.

Back at the northeast sector
of the target zone,

Russell begins to surveil
the vast valley below

after needing to take
shelter from the storm.

I'm getting nothing.

I can see maybe 50 feet away
with this undergrowth.

It's gonna be hard to see
past most of that stuff.

The forest trees, the underbrush

is obstructing my view
from my thermal imaging.

So that means I have to break out

every tool I have.

I think I need to spend time
with this parabolic mic.

We're in the perfect overhang
for this parabolic mic.

Designed with the same
principles as a satellite dish,

a parabolic microphone is
a microphone mounted

inside a parabolic dish

that collects sound energy
from a large area

and focuses it onto a single point,

providing natural amplification

and can pick up distant sounds
from up to 600 feet away.

You're sitting in the back end of a cone,

all that sound you'll be able to hear

as it bounces off the walls around you.

It couldn't be a better situation.

I'll wake her up.

I can hear something
moving down there.

It's moving to the side.

I sure wish I knew what that was.

That's right below us.

That sounded like a...
It sounded like a gorilla.

Holy.

That sounded like a gorilla.

I've never heard anything like that before.

That was wild.

It sounded like a couple of grunts.

Like...

That's weird.

I heard what sounded like
multiple sustained grunts.

That was big lung capacity.

A big sound.

That was not a bear sound.
That was not an elk sound.

The sounds that came up
from that valley

was unnatural and didn't belong there.

I can hear something on the rocks.

There's something walking down there.

It's moving.

So it's been raining
absolutely nonstop today.

It's kind of like with so many expeditions,

where you plan and you plan and then,

nature happens.

So I was getting actually really excited

about heading out with Tobe

because he has had so much
success in recording sounds

that you don't seem to fit
in... in this world,

meaning they're not known sounds,

sounds that we can attribute to animals

that we know of out here.

I was actually really excited and hopeful.

But, yeah, nature had other plans.

Mireya is still asleep.

The stars are finally out.

The weather's let up.

So we're going to take
a peek around here.

Mireya and the team said they
had some activity around here,

so I'm hopin', now that
the the rain has let up,

we can finally get something
on audio recorder.

Man, the rain did a number on this place.

If there was evidence here,
it's all washed away now.

I want to see if I can make contact.

What was that?

That didn't sound like
anything that should be out here.

Is that a bird?

That sounded almost like a goose.

Geese wouldn't be here
at this time of year.

I wanna figure out what that was.

After hearing a witness account

detailing the extrasensory
abilities of Bigfoot,

Bryce heads to the northern
boundary of the target zone

to set up an experiment

near where
the team recently heard howls.

After talking with Isaac
and how he told me

that these creatures
observe members of his tribe.

And not only that, but they also have

these special powers.

It really got me thinking back to
when I was wearing that body camera.

Because when
I was reviewing the footage,

it's as if this creature knew when to hide,

even when I had
the camera on my back.

It's like it sensed the camera's
electromagnetic frequencies.

So it got me thinking,

perhaps, as some of our
research has suggested,

these creatures have the ability

to detect electromagnetic frequencies

given off by some of our state
of the art equipment.

Which can explain how they're so able

to avoid not only our trail cameras,

but even some of our special tech,

like these body cameras.

Now I want to run an experiment

with that in mind,

and perhaps, with what I've got planned,

I'll be able to retain some of my

well, let's just say "cloaked ability."

Electronics like cell phones,

digital cameras and audio equipment

all transmit electromagnetic frequencies,

also known as EMF,

to transmit large amounts
of data wirelessly

through long distances.

An EMF blanket or shield

is a fabric specifically designed

to block these waves
from being transmitted.

This EMF tent will basically
make us invisible in the night.

We can observe these creatures
undetected ourselves

with eyes in all directions.

So I've set up a suite

of electronic surveillance equipment.

All of this equipment
is housed inside this tent,

which basically serves as a giant cage.

What this tent does is this
blocks all this EMF frequency,

keeping it sheltered right in this area,

making us invisible.

I've got a thermal setup.

I've got infrared.

I've got north, south,
east and west covered.

And not only that,

but I've also set up
a parabolic microphone

faced in that direction.

So anything making noise,
walking through the brush,

we're going to be able to hear it.

Something is definitely
moving outside of our camp.

In order to prove
the existence of a species,

you have to collect DNA
to have irrefutable evidence.

So I always carry
a tranquilizer g*n with me

on my expeditions,
because a tranquilizer g*n

enables you to capture an animal

without harming it,

and then being able to
release it back into the wild.

Historically, explorers would
go out and sh**t an animal,

k*ll it and then bring it back
to have it as evidence.

We know what that does
to the balance of nature,

and we know better than to do that now.

So a tranquilizer g*n is a way for me

to be able to collect a blood sample,

tissue sample, measurements, weights,

all of the documentation
and evidence that we need

in order to prove the
existence of a new species.

And most importantly, do so
without harming the animal.

Something is definitely
moving oustide of our camp.

That could be a deer or a bear.

That sounds pretty big.

It's strange that we're unable to see

whatever was making that noise.

I mean, perhaps it's hiding
behind a tree or something like that.

But...

Did you...

Guys, something just moved
across. Like, guys, look.

I saw something on this
camera move across like this.

My God. Look at this.

Look at this right here.

Holy.

That's what's making our noise.

That means this tent is working.

As soon as I'm inside that tent,

I start hearing sounds outside.

And then I saw a head peeking
around a tree on the thermal.

Look at that. Look at that.

Holy.

Something moved across right there.

And then as I'm trying
to monitor all this equipment,

out of my periphery,

I see something swipe
through my camera,

and I'm starting to get the feeling

that there's more than one of
these creatures observing me.

If something came this way,
it already passed that camera.

And something else just came by this.

That means there's two.

Man, I just got chills.

Even though I feel very secure
in this tent,

it's an illusion.

This is just fabric, and I'm not protect.

I just heard something right here.

Something's really close
to our base camp.

Holy!

The was that?

What the?

Holy.

I heard it go off this way.

Holy.

Dude, my heart is racing.

I just got a really bad
vibration, and the feeling...

It feels like I'm being stalked.