03x06 - Return to Poverty Island

[bunniefuu]

- NARRATOR: Tonight...
- MATTY: Let's get in that water.

NARRATOR:
on Beyond Oak Island...

There's $400 million dollars'
worth of Civil w*r gold

- somewhere around Poverty Island.
- Heck yes.

We've taken treasure
hunting to new heights!

- There it is.
- MATTY: Wow!

RICK: If we can definitively say

that's the Lawrence,
that's the key.

Copy that.

Did you say a large chest?

All the while we
were growing up,

my brother and I were
fascinated with finding treasure.

RICK: Pirate treasure,

cursed treasure.

Civil w*r gold.

-[laughter] -Since then,
our work on Oak Island

has shown us there's
a world of mysteries...

- Whoa.
- Waiting to be explored.

RICK: So, we like to reach
out to other treasure hunters.

X marks the spot,
right there. Brilliant.

- MARTY: We want to hear their stories...
- That's right.

- And share our insights.
- "Ill-gotten gains."

- RICK: And who knows...
- GARY: I got it.

Maybe we can help
them with their search.

MARTY: Not only in America.

Wow. That is gold.

- RICK: But all over the world.
- Yeah!

MARTY: Beyond Oak Island.

MATTY: Well, Rick,

it's good to be on your
home turf, my friend.

It is indeed, Matty. Marty and I

were born, bred,
and raised here.

- Yeah!
- And, at some point,

you will become
an honorary Yooper.

MATTY: Yes!

NARRATOR: In
the city of Escanaba,

located in Michigan's
Upper Peninsula,

Rick Lagina and Matty Blake

are heading to the
Delta County Airport

to meet with Mike
and Jess Groleau.

They are a husband and
wife team of treasure hunters

who claim to have uncovered
new and surprising information

surrounding a long-lost
shipment of Civil w*r-era gold

that is believed
to lie somewhere

at the bottom of Lake Michigan,

near the shores of the
area's famed Poverty Island.

MATTY: This story alone,

the estimates are there's
$400 million dollars' worth

of Civil w*r gold
still in Lake Michigan,

- somewhere around Poverty Island.
- Yep.

NARRATOR: In 1863,

at the height of the
American Civil w*r,

the Union Navy's blockade
of Southern seaports

had cut off Confederate
shipments of cotton to Europe,

devastating the French economy.

In response, France's
emperor Napoleon Bonaparte III,

nephew of Napoleon
I, reportedly came up

with a daring plan to smuggle

over $4.5 million
dollars' worth of gold

into the hands of
the Confederacy

to help them win the w*r.

In the early days,

the Great Lakes were highways.

They were water-based highways.

Europeans came through

what we know today as
the St. Lawrence Seaway,

a passageway leading
from the Atlantic Ocean

into Lake Ontario.

And then that
connects to Lake Erie

and Huron and
Superior and Michigan.

So, this was truly
a highway system.

NARRATOR: But when
the ship carrying the gold

made its way onto Lake Michigan,

it was spotted by
a Union vessel,

which then began to give chase.

Fearful of being overtaken

and having this valuable
shipment fall into enemy hands,

the French captain gave an order

for the boxes of gold
to be chained together

and thrown overboard.

WESTRICK: The reason you'd
chain all these boxes together

would be to retrieve them later.

If it's chained together, you're
gonna be able to drag a hook,

grappling anchor
through the area

and snag it and retrieve them.

NARRATOR: However,
according to legend,

the French ship
was sunk shortly after

scuttling its cargo,
and both it and the gold

were lost beneath the
waters of Lake Michigan.

Until, as some accounts
state, the year 1933,

when a Milwaukee-based treasure
hunter named Wilfred Behrens,

leading a search
operation aboard his ship

the Captain Lawrence,

reportedly located
the sunken chests

using a diving bell drag line

just offshore from
Poverty Island.

The operation was
witnessed by an 11-year-old

named Karly Jessen, the son
of the island's lighthouse keeper.

WESTRICK: The young son
would sit on the shore watching

the Captain Lawrence,
watching the diving bell,

watching the operations,

and something unusual
happened on board.

They were out there
hooting and hollering.

The lighthouse keeper's son,

he thought they had
discovered something.

NARRATOR: But just after
Wilfred Behrens and his crew

were reported to have made
their astonishing discovery,

a violent storm rolled in.

Both the Captain Lawrence

and anything it may
have taken on board

were quickly lost
beneath the waves.

RICK: I think there's
reason to be very hopeful.

I'm so glad I'm getting
another crack at this,

'cause two previous
attempts with your brother

and Bob Kreipke, who is super
passionate about this mystery.

We checked the north side,
we checked the south side

and we got some
intriguing results.

LUKE: It's one hundred percent,

that's old shipwreck material.

NARRATOR: During
the past two years,

Rick Lagina's brother
Marty, along with Matty Blake,

have explored the
Poverty Island area

with local treasure hunter
Bob Kreipke as he attempted

to locate the
underwater wreckage

of the Captain Lawrence.

Well, he can't bring
it up though, can he?

NARRATOR: But despite uncovering

some very promising clues,

finding the remains
of the lost ship,

and its potential
treasure cache,

has remained an elusive target.

I believe they're right here.

- There they are, right there.
- Is that them?

- Yeah, that's them.
- Okay, I'll park here, then.

RICK: We're trying
to unravel a mystery,

a really cool one,
and what's even

better for me is my
brother had a go at this,

and now I have a go at this.

Any maybe together we can
put this mystery to bed, at least.

- Mike, Jess!
- How are you, Rick?

- How are you?
- Good, how are you doing?

My name is Mike Groleau.
I'm from Escanaba, Michigan.

I am a detective for the
Delta County Sherriff's office.

And this is my
wife, Jess Groleau.

We've been together
about seven years now.

Over the course of about
ten years, I was involved

with an organization that
provided rescue services

on the Great Lakes for
other vessels in distress.

So I was in that area a lot

and I had heard the
Poverty Island gold story...

JESS: I love history
and researching,

and so what drew me to
the Poverty Island mystery

is the rich history
of the Great Lakes.

There's all this history
that people don't even know.

It's personal to us
because we live here.

You know, it's a U.P. thing.

I love that, that it's all
right in our backyard.

MATTY: I would love
to hear what you guys

are thinking, what you've
learned and what the plan is.

Well, let's head inside
and we'll talk about it.

- All right, perfect, love it.
- See where we go. -RICK: Lead on.

GROLEAU: What draws
me to the Poverty Island story

is the lack of good
documentation around it

and I love to explore
a little bit more

and then discover something

and find out... what's
the story behind that?

So, kind of chasing
down the different leads

and trying to figure
it out is awesome.

I love that stuff, too, so
one thing led to another.

I found all these breadcrumbs
and it just, it captivated me.

So what is some of the
research that you've...

you've come up with?

I started just, you
know, searching

the Library of Congress
for Poverty Island,

and then, lo and behold,
there was a lot more

than I could have ever imagined.

Did the captain of
the Lawrence ever...

Was there any documentation

in terms of how the ship went
down or anything like that?

Yes, there's actually dated
records to the specifics

of the time: 3:00
a.m., September 19,

- 1933, like...
- Wow.

It's all, it's all dated,
documented, everything in...

The captain of the Captain
Lawrence is Wilfred Behrens.

MATTY: Wilfred Behrens.

JESS: Behrens, yes.

And so he sent
out a distress call?

Or did he just notify and say
"I've encountered a storm"?

The captain of the
Captain Lawrence

did deny assistance
from the Coast Guard.

- Really?
- Yes.

Why would the Lawrence...

When she foundered,

why wouldn't she
have asked for help?

JESS: If there was gold,

you don't want to
tell a lot of people.

Now that's interesting.

So do you guys
believe, sitting here,

that if you find the Lawrence,
you find the treasure,

'cause that's kind
of been the thought.

I think they're gonna
be one and the same.

If you find the Lawrence, you
can confirm it's the Lawrence,

you know, within a
hundred-foot radius,

you know, we
should find a chain,

maybe leading to a chest?

Do you guys... I mean,
we're sitting here today,

do you have a target in mind?

I've got an image
here to show you.

- Poverty Island.
- MATTY: Yup.

- You guys searched here.
- Yup.

GROLEAU: Then you searched
down here on the south side.

- MATTY: Yup.
- So this is going to be over

on the west side of the island,

which is still within
view of the lighthouse,

and the proposed search location

is going to be right here
where this red dot is.

So that's going to give us
kind of a fresh look at things

and explore something that
maybe hasn't been explored before.

I-I'm just curious, from a...
I'm not a seafaring person,

but if you were in trouble...

is that where you
would seek refuge?

So, if the wind
was out of the east,

common sense would say we'd want

to get on the southwestern
side of the island,

but in doing so,

you put yourself
at a bigger risk,

um, not knowing the area, maybe,

and the waves
build in that area,

'cause it's so much
more shallow in that area.

Big waves, they
get shallower water,

they get steeper
and they curl over,

and that'll overtake
a ship easily.

And in your time
working, like, in that area

in the rescue
services and all that,

did you hear rumors
about wrecks in that area?

GROLEAU: We did. Uh...

It was local lore that,

maybe, possibly, the Captain
Lawrence could be there.

Wow. all right so you have
a target, this is exciting.

So, based on all
this information,

based on all the tips,
based on our research,

what I've arranged for us today,

we've chartered a plane
out of Iron Mountain,

and we're going to run
out there, get on board,

and go up in the
air and take a look.

And the thought would be
we might see something?

The thought would be
we might see something

and it's always great to
have a different perspective

- on something, as well.
- MATTY: Sure.

Well, I say, let's get up
in the air, let's go find it!

- All right.
- MATTY: I love it.

- Hello!
- Hello, how you doing?

Good, how are you?

- Mike.
- Bryan.

NARRATOR: At
Delta County Airport

in Escanaba, Michigan...

Rick Lagina and Matty Blake,

along with treasure hunters
Mike and Jess Groleau,

meet up with pilot
Bryan Granholt

to begin a visual
reconnaissance search

in the skies above
Lake Michigan.

Oh, here we go
Rick, this is different.

NARRATOR: They will be
traveling 24 miles southeast

to the shores just off the
coast of Poverty Island.

♪ ♪

RICK: Airplane treasure hunt.

I know, this is
next-level, Rick.

[chuckles]

NARRATOR: There,
they hope to find evidence

of the Captain Lawrence,
a salvage vessel

that foundered and sank to
the bottom of the lake in 1933

after discovering
what is rumored to be

the location of nearly $400
million in lost Civil w*r gold.

- MATTY: Here we go, Rick.
- Here we go!

We've taken treasure
hunting to new heights!

- RICK: Wheels up!
- MATTY: Wheels up!

- That's a full Drayton, there.
- [laughs]

RICK: Common sense
would say we need to dive

to look for the treasure.

But the clues might
be up there in the sky,

and that is really a
very unique perspective.

♪ ♪

MATTY: Oh, it's beautiful.

I didn't realize how
close to the lake we were.

Beautiful county.

- Yeah, it is.
- MATTY: It is, yeah.

GROLEAU: On the ground,
we don't see the whole story.

By getting up in an airplane,
or getting an aerial view

on something, you
can really map it out

and be able to tell what areas
we need to concentrate on.

BRYAN: You guys,
we're coming up on

Poverty Island, right
up here on the left.

- RICK: Oh, yeah, right there.
- MATTY: Look at that.

The lighthouse
on Poverty Island.

- That's kind of our marker.
- I see it.

GROLEAU: So, what
we're looking for is

a shape, you know,
of a hull that's up there.

- Yep.
- Most likely it's going to be

beaten and battered
because of the wave action,

but we should be able
to try to make those out,

or some planking and decks.

MATTY: Great.

GROLEAU: So, we're going
to be looking off the wing.

MATTY: Okay.

Is that it?

GROLEAU: It's very
possible it could be it there.

JESS: Yeah.

I might've seen
something, but I wasn't sure.

MATTY: Yeah.

We took a pass

over where Mike thinks
something might be.

I didn't see it
on our first pass.

I saw things I thought might
be maybe evidence of a wreck,

but they were mostly
rock outcroppings.

BRYAN: I'm going to
make a 360 to the left.

GROLEAU: If we could bank again?

- There it is, I see it.
- Yeah!

- MATTY: Oh, there it is!
- It's actually light-colored,

it's in front of the boat.

MATTY: Yep!

GROLEAU: It's
actually lighter colored.

You can see a big beam
running down the middle.

RICK: Well and truly,
there it was, I saw it.

What I believe to be the bow.

It was a real ah-ha moment.

Kind of like staring at a
three-dimensional drawing,

where all of a sudden,

after you stare at it
long enough, there it is.

- GROLEAU: See, that's exactly...
- MATTY: Oh, my God.

- Wow!
- JESS: I know!

MATTY: That's incredible, hey!

That's a... That's something
underwater, man, that's...

- Yep, something big.
- MATTY: Yeah.

MATTY: Hey, this is a victory.

These things take steps,
it takes determination.

And you had the theory,
you did the research,

you picked your
spot and I see it.

RICK: It is indeed a victory,

but we're not to
the last page yet.

Yeah, so I think the next steps
are we get out here on a boat.

We use our side-scan sonar.

See what's actually down there

beneath that wreck
where it's deeper,

where we can't see from the air.

And then, hopefully,
identify some targets to dive.

MATTY: Right now, I want
to land, you know, because

I've seen it from
above, let's see it below.

We can get imaging and
then if the imaging is promising,

as promising as
it was from the air,

we can talk about a dive plan.

So do you have people
that you're in touch with

that could do a side scan?

- A friend of ours, Todd Berg.
- Okay.

He'll get us a side
scan all set up and ready

to go on the boat.

If we can definitively say,

"That's the Lawrence,"

that would be huge.

- MATTY: That is huge.
- That would be...

- That's the key.
- RICK: That's the key.

NARRATOR: Later
that afternoon...

Rick Lagina and Matty Blake

arrive at the Fayette
Historic State Park

and Harbor in Garden, Michigan.

- How are you?
- How are you doing?

- Good, how are you guys doing?
- Good, good, good.

NARRATOR: Once again,

they are joined by treasure
hunters Mike and Jess Groleau,

who have brought
along their friend,

underwater imaging
expert Todd Berg.

Great to meet you
and great to be here.

- We're excited.
- Ready?

Let's go!

NARRATOR: Utilizing
a search vessel

equipped with side-scan
sonar technology,

the team will be
traveling 13 miles

back out to the coast
off Poverty Island,

where they will hopefully
pinpoint a more exact location

of the wreck they
viewed from the skies

earlier this morning,

and gather more data

in preparation for a
potential dive operation.

GROLEAU: I took a mental
reference when we were in the airplane

and we were doing our orbits

off that area on shore.

So, the first thing we
did was orientate ourself

on the water with that landmark.

MATTY: All right, Mike,

are we on the spot, you think?

I think we're pretty close,

so this is right where

we were flying over, where
we saw the ship come up.

- Yup.
- It was right in this area

of white rocks on
the beach here, so...

MATTY: Boy, yeah.

I think if we run lines
back and forth here.

Mow the lawn, as they say.

Yeah, mow the lawn.

MATTY: All right, let's do it.

GROLEAU: How are we looking,
Todd, are we up and running?

Ready to start scanning?

- We are set to go.
- GROLEAU: All right.

NARRATOR: Today,

the team will be using

the Garmin ECHOMAP UHD


As the team's search
vessel moves back and forth

in a grid pattern across
the lake's surface,

the device will emit
pulses of sound waves

pointed down toward
the lake bottom.

The acoustic reflections that
are subsequently generated

help to form three-dimensional
images of any objects

or structures that
might be located below.

MATTY: What are some little
tells that you see sometimes where

there's something, you
go, "Okay, that's clearly...":

You know, do you see like,

raised feature or
something like that

- when you know?
- Yeah, especially

if you go right over,
because you'll see it

on both sides in the black area.

Right, right.

GROLEAU: A lot of times
you see shadows, too,

the taller the object,

you'll see a shadow.

- It'll be casting a shadow?
- Yeah, exactly.

Just like shining a
light on something.

MATTY: Sure.

TODD: Ah, there's
something interesting.

GROLEAU: What do we got there?

I think that's our shipwreck.

Coming right up the wreck.

MATTY: Yeah, you
can totally see that.

So we're right on it right now.

GROLEAU: Right
over the top of it.

MATTY: Boom. That's so cool!

This is extending up
to 150 feet to starboard.

- Holy moly.
- Yeah.

MATTY: And what do we know
about the dimensions of that boat?

- It's in the ballpark, yeah.
- All right, good.

You're absolutely in the
ballpark, that's a wreck.

- JESS: What's that?
- GROLEAU: Yeah, what's that?

What's that?

- GROLEAU: That's pronounced.
- MATTY: Yeah.

GROLEAU: We got
something else there.

JESS: What is that?

- JESS: What's that?
- GROLEAU: Yeah, what's that?

- There's something.
- What's that?

NARRATOR: In Lake Michigan,

just off the coast
of Poverty Island,

while investigating
a shipwreck believed

to possibly contain $400
million in lost Civil w*r gold,

Rick Lagina and the team

have just made what could
be a surprising discovery.

I haven't seen that before.

GROLEAU: We got
something else there,

possibly two wrecks.

One across the top of another.

It does, it looks like two.

MATTY: Right now, I'm following
the imaging on the screen,

and we see what
clearly could be a ship

and then, all of a sudden,

we all kind of realize

that there could be two.

GROLEAU: So we got one
shipwreck this way and another one

- laying across it.
- MATTY: Holy moly.

- So you got one here...
- Wow!

And the other one across it.

RICK: And that would
fit the story, right?

It definitely fits the story.

MATTY: [claps] Come on!

- Come on, this is great!
- Well done.

MATTY: This is one of those
awesome times when what

you're finding fits the story.

And the story here
is that a ship sank

after they jettisoned
Civil w*r gold

into Lake Michigan.

Another ship, at
a later date, came,

possibly found some of
that gold, but then sank.

And so, we are finding
evidence of two ships.

One looks like it could
possibly be on top of the other.

That fits the story,
so that's exciting.

That's two ships.

And if one went down, and
there was already one down,

it would pretty much, could
look like that right, Mike?

That's what I would
expect it to look like.

- I love it.
- That's awesome.

How you feeling,
Jess, right now?

Pretty awesome. I'm, like,
I'm speechless, for once.

MATTY: Your hard
work's paying off.

You know what I mean?
You're telling the story.

And it's emerging right
before our eyes, it's incredible.

All right, so, I
mean, we've seen it

from it from the air. [chuckles]

We've seen it with our eyes,
we've see it on this imaging.

Great job, guys. So,
next step is what?

Let's get in and dive it.

Look, I think this
is a great day, Rick.

It was better than a great
day, as far as I'm concerned.

Whenever you can take

your analytics and overlay it

onto the historical
narrative, you've... you've...

you've moved the
dial, and the next way

to move the dial is what Mike
is saying, you gotta get wet,

- right?
- You gotta get wet.

Well, it's getting late, so
let's get that dive plan going

and get back out here tomorrow
morning and just get at it.

- All right.
- Great day!

RICK: It's been a great day.

NARRATOR: The next morning...

MATTY: Let's get in that water.

NARRATOR: Mike
and Jess Groleau,

along with Rick
Lagina and Matty Blake,

return to the waters just off
the coast of Poverty Island

to begin their
underwater dive operation.

Do we have any zip ties?

NARRATOR: Joining
them is the Groleaus' friend,

diving expert Jon Smith.

I have dove with him many,
many times in the past,

and we share a mutual interest
for the Poverty Island gold.

NARRATOR: He will
be helping the team

to hopefully find and
confirm the existence

of two shipwrecks
identified during yesterday's

side-scan sonar search.

JON: Okay, you ready?

GROLEAU: So the first dive

is a reconnaissance dive.

We're looking for

a second wreck.

Um, we're looking for
that second shipwreck

that's across the top of
the older, bigger shipwreck.

If we do find something,

we need to approach
the state and get a permit

to bring it up.

MATTY: Okay, divers are ready?

Divers are down.

MATTY: Hey, Mike,
it's Matty at the surface.

Just want to see how
you guys are doing

down there. Over.

Do you have eyes on the target?

♪ ♪

Mike, just confirming,

so you're seeing
something? Over.

MATTY: Unbelievable,
that's great.

- They're over that shallow...
- JESS: The shallow one,

- so the first ship.
- MATTY: The one we could see.

It looks like he said
it's pretty broken up.

GROLEAU: What it looks like to
me is maybe the ship went down,

and because it was
in such a shallow area,

right off the big lake,

waves came in,
busted up the wreck.

I mean it looks like
a tornado, ya know,

stuff was rolling
down down there

and it's, it's a
huge debris field.

MATTY: Mike,
I'm just confirming.

Ballast rock?

You think you see
ballast rock? Over.

MATTY: Well, that would be cool.

If we have ballast stones
down there near the wreck.

NARRATOR: Ballast stones?

Lying adjacent to
the wooden remains of

a shipwreck on the lake floor?

During the 18th
and 19th centuries,

ballast stones were
commonly placed

in the hulls of
large sailing vessels

to offer additional weight
and stability to ships

as they traveled over
rough or unstable waters.

Could these ballast
stones suggest

that the shipwreck
the team has just found

might date as far
back as the Civil w*r?

If so, might it be the ship

that once carried
the lost cache of gold

that the Captain
Lawrence and its crew

were reported to
have found in 1933,

before also sinking to
the bottom of the lake?

The ballast stones
are key in a lot of ways,

because, first
of all, it narrows

what kind of ship it could be,

and when that ship was sailing.

MATTY: Oh, Rick!

MATTY: So there's two ships.

They crisscross.

RICK: That's good news.

NARRATOR: Just off the shores

of Poverty Island,

treasure hunter Mike Groleau

has just alerted Rick
Lagina and Matty Blake

that he has come across a
second unidentified shipwreck

at the bottom of Lake Michigan.

MATTY: That's
great news, fellas.

Two ships is good.

Great work, keep going.

NARRATOR: The team is hoping

that this could be
the Captain Lawrence,

the legendary salvage
vessel that was lost in 1933

after it was believed
to have recovered

nearly $400 million
in lost Civil w*r gold

from another shipwreck,
before it too sank

into the lake's
treacherous waters.

GROLEAU: I think
it's the Lawrence,

because it fits the story,

and we go back to the
lighthouse keeper's son again.

He could see that area we
were diving from the lighthouse,

and without binoculars,

and be able to see what
they actually pulled up

was a chain and a chest.

GROLEAU: And that
second wreck across the top of

the one they were there
to salvage makes sense.

Ballast with a cable.

Copy that, Mike.

He says he appears to see

a lot of ballast
stones with a cable,

what appears to
be a cable on top.

GROLEAU: The cable,

I saw a lot of it down
there, and it was a mess.

It was like a bowl
of spaghetti, almost.

And it was over
the entire wreck.

It was over the entire
area surrounding the wreck.

I mean, it looks rather violent,

like things were...

moving, and storms,

and pushing and
dragging stuff around,

and the cable itself was
two and a half, three inches.

So, that's definitely important.

MATTY: Copy that.

Copy, Mike, we'll see
you on the surface.

Over.

GROLEAU: The fact that

we found the old
shipwreck, and then we found

another one that was
completely different

construction over the top of it,

so we had old versus new,

kind of two different
time periods there,

was kind of a dead giveaway
for me that these are,

one: two different wrecks,

and two: built at
two different times.

So I just kinda
went and explored,

and... and kind of got a
visual map of what it was.

The wreck on top, is it
smaller than the bottom?

So, the second ship is
definitely a smaller ship.

[quietly]: Wow.

And that wire that
you were following,

I mean, could...
any sense of like,

could that have been part of

the Lawrence
salvage effort or...

So, I think it was
most likely that.

- MATTY: Yeah.
- 'Cause it wasn't chain.

- Right.
- It was, it was clear cable,

long cable.

And it was, it was big.

MATTY: Wow.

GROLEAU: That
cable is definitely

something they would
use in an attempt to

salvage a vessel or raise it.

So I was kind of excited,

because we know that they were

maybe in this area, then,

and we're in the right spot

to continue searching.

- RICK: Good.
- Yeah, it definitely

warrants further investigation.

There's a lot to see
down there, so...

All right, well, if you
guys are willing, man,

I think this is a great start,

and a second dive is now
mandatory, if you can do it.

- Yeah, absolutely.
- JON: Absolutely.

GROLEAU: So we're
heading in the water again

to really focus now

on that second wreck
that we found down there,

because we orientated ourselves

on the first dive.

So, we really want to

measure the keel, we want to

measure ribs, the
thickness of wood,

how it's constructed,
so that we can

compare that to
something that is known.

You know, hopefully some...

something from the,
the Captain Lawrence.

- RICK: Air on?
- MATTY: Yep.

♪ ♪

MATTY: It's Matty
at the surface.

Just want to see how you guys

are doing down there. Over.

♪ ♪

Matty, do you have...

Jess, do you have eyes on Mike?

I don't,

- and I don't see their...
- No, just Jon right now.

JESS: Oh, their
bubbles are over there.

Oh, okay.

That sounds unbelievable, guys.

Jon is down with you, Mike,

taking measurements? Over.

Copy that.

MATTY: Copy that.

It's Matty at the surface.

Could you repeat? Over.

MATTY: Mike, repeat.

Did you say a large chest? Over.

Unbelievable, that's great.

NARRATOR: In the
waters of Lake Michigan,

just off the coast

of Poverty Island, Rick
Lagina and Matty Blake

have just been informed of

a potentially astonishing
discovery made by

treasure hunter Mike
Groleau and diver Jon Smith

as they search wreckage
they believe could belong to

the Captain Lawrence,

a salvage vessel
that sank in 1933

after reportedly
rescuing a treasure cache

of lost Civil w*r gold worth
more than $400 million.

RICK: When they did
mention, possibly, a chest,

the story is, it's
a treasure wreck.

There's Confederacy gold

in boxes chained together.

You hear chest?

Of course you're going
to pick up your ears.

MATTY: Copy that.

We have eyes on you guys.

This is it.

This is the moment of truth.

Mike is gonna
surface and tell us

that we're either
still in play here

or "Hey, we found
the Captain Lawrence,

"I found something
with its name on it

or an engraving
or something," or...

this is just a
benign pile of wood,

and we were wrong.

Of course, I don't
want it to be the third.

All right, fellas,
what'd we see?

What did we get?

So, I was looking in every
little nook and cranny I could,

just for, like we
say, little clues

that you're not going
to see in a side-scan

or even if you swim over it.

And I came up to a section
where there was another...

I don't know if it
was part of the hull

or part of another deck...

Laying on top of
the hull of our ship.

And I peered in between there,

and I was able to see

two fairly large objects

sitting right next
to each other.

Rectangle on the sides
that came up at an angle,

and they were flat on top.

How big, how big?

GROLEAU: I would say, boy, um...

- 18 inches long?
- Yeah, I'd say close to that.



and I would say
at least six wide.

MATTY: Just the simple fact

that this legend is about
chained boxes of gold,

and you guys are talking
about boxes that are mysterious

and unidentified. I mean,
that's exciting to me.

I'm not saying they are
the boxes, but I'm not saying

they're not, either,
you know what I mean?

Right. It was awesome,
'cause it was like,

"Okay, now we got something.

"Something we can
approach the state with,

- and get a permit."
- MATTY: Yes.

GROLEAU: So, all these
items that I'm finding down there,

it's really pushing me towards

we do have the
Captain Lawrence here,

and when we do our research,

and we can verify that,

we're gonna say,
"Yep, it's obvious

it's the Captain
Lawrence, and this is why."

It was nice knowing that
all of my nights awake,

doing all this research,
that I wasn't crazy.

Look, to me, the
most important thing

you guys need to
do is get your permits,

talk to the appropriate people.

To go look at those boxes,

I'm telling you,

it'll reap far more rewards

if you get your ducks in order.

We've got measurements,

we've got two very
interesting new targets,

and hopefully these two targets

on some high-quality
video to have analyzed.

I mean, that's what
I'm thinking, right, Rick?

- Yeah.
- MATTY: It's awesome.

And it just goes to show,

in just two dives,

the wealth of targets
that you guys have found.

- It's just the start, I think.
- RICK: Everything about

the story that Jess uncovered

has been made
manifest by the dive team.

That's a huge win.

MATTY: Well, this
has been awesome.

I want to thank
you guys; and Rick,

I want to thank
you for inviting me.

And I know that
these are your friends,

and it's an honor
to be back here.

This is my third
crack at it now,

and man, I feel more
confident than ever

that there's a story here.

And I... like Matty, I am
grateful for the experience,

I'm grateful for the call,

and I'm grateful
to help in any way.

GROLEAU: I think it is going
to be a really long road ahead.

I think it's going
to be a lot of effort

on both mine and Jess's part,

but it's a group effort,

and we're more
determined than ever

to continue on now
after what we saw.

Well, thanks guys. What do
you think, we head back in?

It's getting late in the day,

and, uh, let's get this
stuff off and head back.

MATTY: All right, let's do it.

♪ ♪

MARTY: Okay, this
is the deal, you guys.

I go up to the U.P. twice.

Our old stomping grounds,

and find out about this
Poverty Island treasure hunt

and go out twice looking for it,

and basically
don't find anything,

and I don't know
exactly, but I know

you did a lot
better, didn't you?

- We did.
- MARTY: All right.

We did really well.

RICK: I think we did

better than well.

Mike and Jess, they
have been invested.

They know the area.

Mike is a pilot, he's a diver,

and Jess did the research.

Do you know this wreck
is the Captain Lawrence?

- RICK: Well...
- We don't... yet.

There's a whole

- series of things...
- MATTY: There's indications.

That led us in that direction.

The story,

the visual sighting
from the air,

and then we saw another
wreck over the top of it,

- like this.
- Wow.

RICK: The whole
story lined up. So...

Did you image a chest?

Did anybody see a chest?

You know, the divers
did say that they saw

a square anomaly down there,

which, you gotta think chest.

And it was highly descriptive.

He saw it tucked away in an area

- that he couldn't get to.
- Yep, yep.

You know, the
wreck is all over it,

and there's a little open space,

and he sees this chest.
And the other thing

he's looking for, of
course, are these chains.

- Chains.
- 'Cause that's

a big part of the story.

I mean, if you find a chain,

you could be in business.

Mike and Jess are standing by,

and they said they had

a 911 update for us,

- so let's see.
- Oh, no, I'd love to talk to them, yeah.

MATTY: Hey, Mike and Jess!

- Mike, Jess!
- Hello from Oak Island.

- RICK: Good morning.
- Hi!

-Hi. -MATTY: How are ya?

I'm on the edge of my
seat here, so, I'll ask you.

Any new finds?

So, we do.

We've got two big things,

I think, that came up

since we were out there last.

And one of them is,

as clear as day,

a chain coming out from

what we think is the
Captain Lawrence.

♪ ♪

MATTY: Wait a
sec. So, since we left,

you've seen chains
down there? On that site?

Correct.

I mean...

Did you get any
images or anything of it?

We do. We have
an image to show ya.

- Great.
- So whenever you're ready.

Let's see the pictures!

I'd love to see these images.

Oh, wow!

I see it right
there. Look at that.

- See that?
- That's a chain,

and that looks old.

RICK: Mike, can you
explain where that is, about?

So that's actually in one of
the deeper sections of the dive,

which would also make sense

if they were salvaging
that other ship

and snagged the chain.

So, on the left is
part of the wreck

which we think is
the Captain Lawrence.

Then on the right is the chain,

which goes
underneath the decking.

Man, so there could be a
box attached to that chain

under the wreck again

- with more treasure in it.
- GORLEAU: Right.

The chain, we think,
extends out quite a ways,

but it's buried in
the zebra mussels,

and that's where the
metal detector will come in

to help us find the
end of the chain

and where it goes.

MATTY: Given the fact that

everything you found,
with two shipwrecks

on top of each
other, in that area...

- The older wreck...
- The older wreck

underneath the
newer one, and then

two chests, and now a chain!

Now, to me, that chain
becomes possibly a smoking g*n.

I mean, it definitely fits.
The chain definitely fits

the wreck it comes out of.

So... and this is the second
thing we want to show you.

We picked it up on a
side-scan near the wrecks.

We think it could be a chest.

MATTY: My goodness.

RICK: If it is a box,

how close to the wreck is it?

Uh, I would say
probably 200, 300 yards.

[exhales]

That sure looks like a box.

You know, when
we were out there,

there was a lot of rocks.

But this thing looks
like it's sitting by itself.

GROLEAU: It is.
It's all out in the open

sitting by itself, and if
you look at the shadow,

it's very square, as well.

So, I think it's got
well-defined edges on it,

and it's something we need to

get the ROV down or a
diver down and look at.

Wow. So that's

three chests and a chain.

[laughing]

And a newer wreck on
top of an older wreck.

This is starting to fit, huh?

MATTY: It's
starting to really fit.

MARTY: Do you think

the State of Michigan would

eventually let you salvage it,

or what's your thoughts on that?

GROLEAU: I think so.

We have been in contact,

we've sent some emails

and we're starting
that process right now.

Unbelievable, you guys.

This is next-level.

- I mean, this is more...
- Yeah, this is

way further along
than I thought.

[sighs] Really,

really great work.

You know, Mike, your expertise

and your dogged determination

has turned up clue
after clue after clue.

You told us this
was a site of interest,

and there's been nothing
not interesting so far.

And Jess, you impressed me

right away at
that airport hangar

with the research you'd done.

- So, congratulations.
- Thank you.

All right, then.

We will definitely
stay in touch.

Get those salvage rights,

and if there is a next step,

they're going to
want to be there.

GROLEAU: Well, we look forward.

Best of luck, guys.

- MATTY: Congrats.
- MARTY: Till the

- next time, stay safe.
- Bye, guys.

All right.

MATTY: I hope
they get the rights,

'cause they should
be able to salvage this.

Identify it.

If nothing else, then to say to

the State of Michigan

and the country and the world,

"We've identified
this story as true.

This happened."

Well, there would be some

real history-changing
things in those chests.

It's not just gold,
it would be...

"Who did this?"

- Yes.
- RICK: Every treasure hunt

is an information hunt as well,

and this will provide
some unique perspective

on Civil w*r, Confederacy,

- you know...
- It could. Yeah.

Who associated with whom?

And right in your backyard.

- MARTY: Yes.
- MATTY: Pretty cool.

Right in our backyard.

Well, speaking of your backyard,

you've got a pretty big
one right out here that you

need to get back to, so...

Yeah, we do. Need to have...

I want to see some
images like that back here.

Yeah, I know, right?
We need that image.

MARTY: We'd like
to see a box, right?