01x01 - Montezuma's Curse

[bunniefuu]

Narrator: 500 years ago,
the Aztecs possessed

one of the greatest treasures
the world has ever seen.

Word of this treasure
attracted the attention

of the Spanish conquistadors.

But when they came for the gold,

it was already gone.

Hidden by Emperor Montezuma

in locations throughout what
is now the American Southwest.

Now, three
treasure hunting teams

all with different approaches

are closing in
on what they believe

is the location
of the lost Aztec gold.

This right here
is definitely manmade activity.

The Dillmans
are following a trail

blazed by the research
of their grandfather.

I believe it's my destiny
to find it for the family.

The Villescas
are treasure seekers

descended from
Spanish conquistadors.

They believe the Spanish
found the gold...

- All right. Here we go.
- and melted it into bars

hidden throughout
the American Southwest.

Gabriel: If anybody's
gonna find it, it's gonna be us.

Narrator: And
finally, the Hoaglands.

Fire in the hole!

They believe the treasure
is hidden inside mines

along well known
Aztec trade routes.

If anything happens,
be ready to go.

Decades of searching.

That's old as hell.

Three different theories.

Kevin: That's what
I do. I go find stuff.

Narrator: Which one of these
teams will be proven right

and be the first to find

the lost gold of the Aztecs?

Other families go to
Hawaii or go on other trips.

We don't do that. We
go searching for treasure.

Dan Dillman, along with
his wife Gina and son Derrick,

are continuing a


for the lost Aztec gold.

For as long as I can remember,
since I was five or six years old,

you know, I was sitting
at the kitchen table

of my uncles or my grandfather.

It was all about treasure.
There were treasure magazines.

There were maps.

They just really
opened my imagination.

Dan's grandfather
Raymond Dillman

became obsessed
with lost Aztec gold

after reading a 1964
magazine article

that detailed treasure
discoveries in the Southwest.

Over the next 20 years,

he poured over hundreds of
ancient maps and documents

searching for clues,

recording his theories
on a series of tapes.

Then in 1982, a discovery.

Raymond unearthed
the burial site

with Aztec pottery and tools

encouraging him that
he was on the right track.

Dan: When my grandfather
passed away in 1992,

he passed all of his research

on to my uncle Johnny
and my uncle Paul.

And my uncle Paul
recently passed away,

and of course it went on to me.

That's how I got everything.

That's why I'm the
keeper of the records now.

Narrator: Starting in 1428,

the Aztec empire extended across

what is now Central Mexico,

accumulating immense
amounts of gold.

The empire was
filled with treasure

until Montezuma had it hidden
across the American Southwest.

- Hold on, guys.
- For centuries, hundreds of treasure hunters

have continued to
search for this lost gold.

In 1981, an Aztec gold
bar worth nearly $140,000

was discovered in Mexico City,

giving Aztec
treasure hunters hope.

But Raymond Dillman's
research indicates

the bulk of the treasure is
located in southwestern Utah.

Dan is following this research

to a spring in Cave Lakes Canyon

which may hide the entrance to
where the treasure has been buried.

I'm convinced
this is the location

that grandpa had left
for us to investigate.

Seth, TJ.

Dan: Today's a big day.

I've got the divers
and my team here.

Today might be the day that
we uncover something big.

We got it all set up right now.

It's close. We're
close to starting.

This is the cave rover. Okay, this
is what the divers are gonna take in.

So as you can see, we're gonna be able
to see whatever's happening in the water.

Narrator: Based on his
grandfather's research,

Dan believes that the Aztecs

may have dug a
tunnel deep in this cave

to hide the treasure

and then flooded it to
conceal the entrance.

- I believe this is a water trap.
- Lon: Right.

It has the features
of a water trap.

So the Aztecs would
create these openings.

They would dam up
these natural springs,

these water sources.

And as they would hide
their treasures and artifacts,

they would then flood
these caves afterwards.

Narrator: Dan thinks that the
Aztecs would've created a way

to either block or divert the water
from a spring to flood the cave,

a spring that his grandfather
believed is in Shadow Cave.

Dan: So I'm excited
about today's dive

and what we may find.

But I'm definitely a
little apprehensive

because of our previous
experiences at Three Lakes.

Narrator: In 2003,

the Dillman family,
along with Lon Child,

explored another cave in this
canyon known as Three Lakes,

but they stopped after their
expedition was plagued by setbacks.

Dan: We've had
equipment failure.

Every hose here
is pissing water.

We've had barges sink on us.

We're sinking.

We've had divers experience
their air being turned off underwater.

I didn't order [ bleep
] F-16 fuel tanks.

Another day gone, man.

Yes, sir.

Narrator: Now guided by
his grandfather's research...

Dan needs to find evidence

that the spring was
intentionally manipulated.

Dan: Can you guys...
You know, make sure

you're lifting the camera
up a little bit as well

so we make sure that
we're getting full picture.

We'd like to see the floor.

Yes.

Can you guys turn the
camera to the left please?

Kind of pause
right where you are.

You know, where are you
guys are at, as soon as you can,

follow it straight down.

If you look at this,
we are at, like, 48, 49.

We're down to 42,
and it's dropping.

Look at that.

So when we see a
temperature drop like that,

it could be the indicator that
we're getting close to the spring.

And so the idea that
my grandfather said

is we're gonna find an opening,

possibly even where
the spring is fed,

and that's where we would find

treasure, artifacts, and riches.

Look at that. Look at that.

- Yeah, almost straight down.
- And what's that right there?

- Look at that? Do you see that?
- Yeah.

- That doesn't look natural.
- Gina: No.

If that was natural, you'd see
those piles of rocks everywhere.

Do those look
like individual slabs

stacked on each other,
guys? Are you able to tell?

- It's not a natural rock formation.
- No.

So these three slabs, from
what I'm seeing on camera,

they look to be engineered.

And if that's true,

they could've been
used to help dam off water

while the Aztecs
built their water trap.

And there's definitely
stuff pouring out of there.

Do you see all the sediment
popping out of these rocks?

This looks like a
spring to me, guys.

Look at this.

This could be the real deal.

- You guys see that?
- Mm-hmm.

What is that?

Yeah, can you brush
that off some more?

Look at that.

What is that?

Narrator: Using research
left by their grandfather,

the Dillman family
and their team

have found something unusual

in a flooded cavern
they call Shadow Cave.

What is that?

Proof that a human
presence, possibly Aztec,

existed in this remote
canyon in southwestern Utah.

- You guys see that?
- Mm-hmm.

The location of the
spring was exactly

where Dan's late grandfather
Raymond predicted.

Dan: These stones
get me excited.

You have to think to
yourself, "This isn't natural."

Is there any way we
can get that out of there?

I don't think so.

It was huge. It was,
like, part of the bedrock.

Did that slab look manmade
that had those carvings in it?

Diver: There's no way that
that could just be natural.

It has to be manmade with those
steps and then that carving we found.

Dan: Those slabs,
at least on camera,

that stuff looks
like it's been carved

and been placed
there and cut out.

Yeah, they
definitely look carved.

Narrator: If these pillars were
used to dam off the spring,

it could support Dan's theory

that the cave was
intentionally flooded

to hide the treasure.

So were you guys able
to tell which direction

that those lines were going?

- They were going about this way, right?
- I'd say about right there.

- This way.
- Yeah.

- So...
- Actually straight due north.

- Straight up north.
- Yep.

All right. So we've got a spring
and we've got some work to do.

Let's regroup, let's
get you out of the water,

and let's figure out
what our next steps are.

- Roger.
- All right.

Dan: I've got to look deeper
into my grandfather's research,

and I need to see
what's going on.

Narrator: In
northern New Mexico,

treasure hunters Gabriel
Villescas and his father Ramon

are also chasing
Montezuma's lost treasure.

- It's a rough road.
- Yeah. I mean, we're out in the middle of nowhere.

Though father and son have
built careers in construction,

they've also sought
lost Aztec gold

for more than two decades

using a theory based on
their own family history.

Our descendancy follows
this long, long, long line

all the way to the late 1400s.

Related to conquistadors,

they've spent years researching
manuscripts and maps

left by the Spanish invaders.

And it was the old
way of writing, huh?

In 2020, they found what
they think is a key document

left by conquistadors chasing
Montezuma's warriors as they fled north.

The document has led them to
their own theory about the treasure.

Gabriel: My father and I
are not looking for Aztec gold.

We believe the Spanish
conquistadors had already found it.

We believe they looted
it, they melted it down,

they made their bars
for transportation,

and they were stored,
buried deep in the ground,

throughout New
Mexico by the Spanish.

That's what we're looking for.

Narrator: Gabriel's new map aligns
with clues found in other documents,

ones they believe point to a
possible location in Cuba, New Mexico.

Gabriel: Oh, this one right
here says Tierra Chamusca.

Here's the Tierra
Chamusca on this one also.

Gabriel: And also
right here. Look.

Tierra Chamusca. Same thing.

Ramon: Tierra Chamusca
means "a burnt place."

It could be red rock.

Searching for the gold, I
think that's just something

that just ignites a fire in me
that just keeps on burning

that I can't even
control myself.

Yeah, gold makes you do that.

Yeah. They call it gold fever.

I can't wait to hand
you the first gold bar.

I'll take it.

After speaking to locals
in Cuba, New Mexico,

Gabriel and Ramon
have a new lead.

They're meeting with
the relatives of a local man

who allegedly found a bar

of what could be
melted Spanish gold.

Gabriel: Apparently a
man named Johnny Segura

made have found some
Spanish gold here in Cuba.

So we're meeting
with a cousin of his,

and we're gonna try to
find out any information

of where he might've
searched for the gold.

We've heard some rumors, and we're very
interested in a man named Johnny Segura.

- He's my cousin.
- Crazy cousin Johnny?

Crazy Johnny? Is that
what you guys call him?

Yeah, he was always telling all
these stories about finding treasure.

He was always digging out there,

blowing things up with
dynamite, looking for something.

So I guess that's where the whole
Crazy Johnny thing came about,

- you know what I mean?
- Yeah.

Yeah, for years, people around here
have been saying that Johnny found gold.

Is it true?

Well, he showed me a
bar of the gold, you know?

Gabriel: Just one single bar?

That's what he showed me.

So what did the
bar of gold look like?

It wasn't like what you see
in the movies, you know?

It was just real crudely
made, you know?

Pockmarks on it, you
know, and a sort of indented.

- Kinda thin.
- Yeah.

Narrator: It was common
practice in the 16th century

for the Spanish to melt
down any looted gold

to make it easier to transport.

But their methods were crude,

which left a characteristic
pocked mark appearance.

The Spaniards never
buried just one bar of gold.

So we believe that there's gonna be a
mass quantity of gold buried out here.

Did Johnny say where
he had found the gold?

He mentioned that it was a
real beautiful place, you know,

especially when
sun was going down,

and it looked like it
was on fire, you know?

Mm-hmm. Did he ever name the
place or does it have a name to it?

Ah, fire pits.

You know, hearing Mr. Padilla
talk about Hoyos del Fuego

and mentioning that, you know,
it looked like a flaming sunset,

it's got me wondering,
you know, what's out there?

To me there's a connection.

We just gotta figure out
what that connection is.

Narrator: Could the fire pits
where Johnny made his discovery

be the same place
labeled Chamuscado,

or "Scorched Red Earth,"
on the Villescas' maps?

When I heard that he
had passed, you know,

it was kind of a shock
because he was fine.

He was a pretty stout,
healthy guy, you know?

Well, for him to just
pass away, I don't know,

it just kinda
doesn't make sense.

Gabriel: You know, there's
always been a legend

of Montezuma's
gold having a curse.

I think we've experienced a
few of those curses ourselves,

and we've triumphed over them.

- Right.
- You know, but others haven't.

He never got to enjoy it, huh?

No, he never got to enjoy it.

Narrator: Back at
his office in Utah,

Dan Dillman found a spring

where his grandfather predicted,

but the unexpected discoveries

of stone pillars
and the pictograph

provided more
questions than answers.

What is that?

Questions Dan hopes his
grandfather's research can answer.

Dan: I've got to figure
out a way that we can

speed up the process,
maybe look for key markers

that my grandfather
has left for us.

But he had so much
research that it's not all,

"Go exactly here," but it's giving
me the clues that will connect me

to the location that he's
trying to direct me to.

I have to trust and believe

that my grandfather
is guiding me.

I believe that we found one
of the two springs already,

and I'm convinced
that's Shadow Cave.

Three wavy lines... we discover
the petroglyph underneath the water.

We see clearly manmade stones.

Shadow Cave is
absolutely our starting point.

I'm convinced of that.

So there's gotta
be another spring

right in the same area.

The trouble is,
there's 117 here.

So we've gotta figure out a way

to find out which
is the other spring.

If we find the second spring,

I'm convinced that we'll find
some type of tunnel system.

And if we find the tunnel,

we find the treasure.

Do you really believe that
the Aztec were this far north?

I think so.

If it's not ground zero,

it's definitely a
large stepping stone

to what we're looking for.

This area has a bunch
of mines and everything

of different minerals

that would've
attracted the Aztec.

Everything that I've
found points to here.

Narrator: Meanwhile in
Mineral County, Nevada,

goldminers Kevin
Hoagland and Chris Hegg

have a radically different
theory of their own.

They believe that
Aztec warriors fled north

from what is now
known as Mexico City

along well-known trade routes

and that they buried their
gold in mines along the way.

I have started my search
down south, down in Caborca.

We followed the trade
route up through Arizona

and into Nevada.

So we used these trade
routes as a jump off spot

in all of our research.

Narrator: Kevin and
Chris believe the Aztecs

hid their gold in mines
along the trade route.

A discovery Kevin made in a
mine in 2012 reinforces his belief.

Kevin: When I was working on an Eastern
trade route through southern Arizona,

I came across an
incredible artifact.

This piece is tangible proof

that the Aztec were in
the American Southwest.

I started my search not
necessarily looking for the treasures.

I'm a miner.

I'm looking for mines
as the origin story

because the mines are
where the gold came from.

Narrator: Like Kevin, Chris
has been obsessed for decades

with the mystery
of lost Aztec gold.

I've been researching here my
entire life for anything ancient.

I grew up around
all the old miners,

so I have geologic background.

I went into the military
and got into cryptology,

and those skill sets allowed
me to break code for petroglyphs.

So where are we headed?

Where the mines
we're looking for are.

Kevin: Okay.

So from down
here all the way up,

these are the mines
that we've searched.

Grab the overlay.

Narrator: Kevin and Chris
have marked on an overlay

the mines of the
Western trade route

that they have yet to explore.

Wow, look at that.

Up on that ledge supposedly

there's old, old
mines all along there.

All these mines are
within the trade routes.

Kevin: Yeah, everything
we've worked on.

The trade routes are significant

because we know
the Aztec were there,

and they would've taken
all of their gold and treasure

back to someplace
that was familiar.

What better place
then to hide your gold

than in the mines that
you had already dug

that only they knew about?

Everything leads right there.

That's the target.
Never been to them.

They're up on a mountain.

- Let's go.
- All right.

Kevin: What we're
hoping to find here

is some sort of sign

of ancient mining.

It's a little hairy.

The road's getting steeper too.

But it's like trying to find
a needle in a haystack.

Chris: There's no road
left. We're spinning tires.

Yeah, from this
point, it's drones.

Kevin: Let's just
start at the left

because that's what
the Aztecs would've seen

from the valley bottom.

And start making passes on that.

If these are old mines,

a lot of them are
gonna be covered up,

and we're going
to be just looking

for signs on the ground.

An open mine, a deep shadow,

something pushed in or
something brought out.

- So far I'm not seeing any holes.
- Nothing.

Whoa! Right, you see
that? See what I'm seeing?

- The shadow.
- Kevin: I see it, I see it. There's a shadow.

- Okay, I gotta go lower
- Put a GPS mark on it.

It's really craggy.

The mineralization,
everything is there.

Ah, we gotta hike up there.
We gotta go check this out.

Narrator: Following their theory

that the Spanish
found the Aztec gold

and melted it down into bars,

Gabriel and his father Ramon

studied old Spanish
maps and manuscripts.

We have two mentions
here of Tierra Chamusca.

Tierra Chamusca means "a
burnt place." It could be red rock.

- There's something scorched.
- And after meeting with Johnny Segura's cousin...

It was a real beautiful
place according to him.

The sun looked like it was fire.

Gabriel believes he
has a way to identify

the gold's location.

Let's take a look at this.

In the manuscripts we have,

there are several
mentions of Chamuscado.

The term means
"scorched" or "burnt."

So it'd be scorched
or burnt earth.

Narrator: With his father and
Mr. Padilla's nephew Jerome,

who has volunteered to help,

Gabriel is using
satellite imagery

to search for any area that
could fit the description provided.

Gabriel: So this from the USGS's
geographical information system.

- This type of imagery is used to find minerals.
- How's that gonna help us?

It's gonna allow us to
strip away all the colors.

There's only brown
out there, man.

Johnny Segura described the
area that he found the gold bars

as kind of a sunset,
fiery reds and oranges.

I'm thinking we're gonna be
looking for something red out there

in the middle of this
vast ocean of brown.

Let's say we strip away the
colors, just focus in on the red.

So if there's red rock out there, what
you're telling me is we're gonna pinpoint it

and then you wanna go out
there and explore and look for it?

Right, so here's
Cabezon right here.

- See it?
- Jerome: Oh, yeah.

That's the large landmark
that all the maps show.

And from there we're
gonna go up north.

Yeah, this is the
Rio Puerco in there.

And then take a look at this.

Now that is as
red as you can get.

- Dude, look at that.
- Holy moly.

It's not brown,
I'll tell you that.

Gabriel: This could be
part of the whole story.

We could tie everything
back to Johnny Segura

and possibly find his dig site.

Let's get the
coordinates for that, Dad,

the lat and long right here.

I mean, this could be
what we're looking for.

Today's a big day.

Narrator: Dan and his family
are headed back to Shadow Cave

where they found a
pictograph and stacked stone

that his late grandfather
referred to in his recordings.

Working from Ray
Dillman's research,

this spring connects
with a second spring.

Dan believes that connection

could be the tunnel leading
to Montezuma's treasure.

But there are 117
springs in this canyon.

What's up, guys? Glad
you guys could make it.

So Dan is gathering up his team

in an attempt to
find the one spring

that connects to Shadow Cave.

My grandfather said that
there would be another spring

possibly across from Shadow Cave

where this tunnel system exists.

And so that's what
we're hoping to find.

Narrator: Dan's plan is
to pump a non-toxic dye

into Shadow Cave to
see whether a connection

to another spring exists.

Implementing this dye test are
divers TJ Cottam and Dan Burns,

who are preparing to carry a
hose to the mysterious pillar

that covers the spring
in Shadow Cave.

If the dye turns up
in another spring,

Dan may have evidence
of the tunnel system

that he is looking for.

All right, team, Gina, Derrick,

why don't you pass out the
flares and the walkie-talkies?

You guys, hit me
on the walkie-talkie

if you see any of the
green dye showing up.

Hit the flare for me as well

so that I can get your position
in the canyon of where you are.

Dan is sending his team

to springs in the immediate
vicinity of Shadow Cave

- to watch for the dye.
- Let's do it.

Let's jump in the vehicles
and get to where we need to be.

Dan: If this traceable dye
shows up in one of these caves,

to me, that could be the proof
and evidence we've been looking for

that there is a tunnel system

connecting these
caves and caverns.

Narrator: While the
team takes their places,

Dan and his family have arrived at a key
vantage point overlooking Shadow Cave.

As the divers make their
preparations to start pumping the dye,

other team members
keep watch nearby

checking to see if green
dye travels to their location.

Hey, Jaron, just checking on
you, man, making you're in position

and ready for that
tracing dye to show up.

This is Jaron. I'm in position
at cave number three.

- Awesome.
- If the dye is seen,

they will fire a flare g*n

indicating that it
has successfully

traveled underground
to their position.

TC, you out there?

TC: TC's here. You'll
see my flare when I see it.

All right, gotcha.

Dan, Gina, and Derrick
stand by in the canyon

for a bird's eye view
of the whole area.

Derrick, how you doing?

I'm good. I'm just here
waiting. Fingers crossed.

In the event of a
flare g*n being fired,

the Dillmans will see where
in proximity to Shadow Cave

the dye has traveled.

Dan: We have found a
spring at Shadow Cave,

and we have found
several other caves

and springs within the canyon.

And my grandfather
specifically speaks

about a connection between them,

about two springs across
from each other connecting.

The dye is being pumped
into the spring right now.

- I'm excited, babe.
- Yes, me too.

Dan: We'll stay here
as long as it takes

until somebody says something.

It could take all night before that
could seep into the other springs.

You know, just because the drone
found it doesn't mean we can get there.

Yeah.

Narrator: After finding
an ancient mine,

Kevin and Chris are headed to
what they hope is an Aztec mining site.

Their theory is that the
Aztecs brought the gold north

and hid it in the mines
along their trade routes.

Chris: Oh, whoa, whoa.

That's a snake.

Kevin: Rattler too.


Chris: Oh, [ bleep ].

That's pretty fresh. We're
gonna run into them here.

Kevin: I got bit in the
arm a few years ago

by a big black-tail.

My arm just dropped.
I couldn't lift it.

It took a while for me to be
able to use my arm again.

I don't really
want to relive that.

I am going to do everything
I can not to get bitten.

Chris: This mountain is just
known for just being snake infested.

I think the more we
get into the mountain,

the deeper we go up,
it's just gonna be worse.

- Look at that.
- Oh, man.

- [ laughing ]
- Yes.

This is old. This is really old.

Look at this geology.
Look how that dike is there.

When they came into this
area, all they would've done

is gone right back to the
same gold burying spots

that looked the same as what
they were in Mexico, and that's it.

If this turns out to be the
area that all of this started

and the Aztecs came home,

we are looking at all
of the Aztec treasure

plus the goldmines where all
of the Aztec treasure started.

I can't even wrap my head
around the value of that

in any way, shape, or form.

Yeah, for the Aztecs, Kevin,

that would've been a
neon sign for "gold here."

Where are we at, Dad?
Keep heading north?

Still continue north.

In about a quarter of a
mile, you need to turn left.

Okay.

Narrator: Based on satellite
images and GPS coordinates,

Gabriel and Ramon
are headed to a site

deep in the desert outside
of Cuba, New Mexico,

that they believe
could be an area

where a Spanish
gold bar was found.

Newest team member
Jerome follows close behind.

Based on numerous mentions
of the name "Chamuscado"

in old Spanish documents...

We have two mentions
here of Tierra Chamuscado.

Tierra Chamusca means "a
burnt place." It could be red rock.

And information from
a relative of the man

who found a Spanish gold bar...

It was a real beautiful
place, you know?

Especially when the
sun was going down,

it looked like it was on fire.

Gabriel searches
satellite images

to find an area in the
desert that was red in color.

Gabriel: Look at that.

Now that is as
red as you can get.

It's gonna get rough. Hold on.

I'm looking for a super red area

where Johnny Segura
may have found some gold.

Getting close.

That might be it right
there. Look at that.

- Ramon: Look at that.
- That's an ocean of red right there.

That's unusual.

Gabriel: Just like
Mr. Padilla had described,

we got a whole ocean
of brown out here,

and all of a sudden
sitting in the middle of this

is a red pile of rocks

just standing out
like a sore thumb.

We have multiple references

in our Spanish
documents from the 1500s

that refer to "scorched earth"

where these men
stashed their treasure,

and they would bury them deep.

The legend is that
Johnny found one bar.

The Spaniards never
buried just one bar of gold.

- Oh, man. This is it.
- Sure does look like it.

I'm starting to
get really excited.

You know, this is a
long time in the making.

- This is everything they described.
- Yeah.

- Yep.
- Red.

And it's red.

If this is the place where
Johnny found that gold bar,

we could actually be this close

to finding the
fabled Aztec gold.

Oh, man.

My goodness. Look at this.

Wow. We definitely
found the spot.

They said Johnny was crazy, man.

This looks crazy to
me. What do you think?

If this is Johnny's site, he kept
this place secret for 40, 50 years.

He must've known
something was here.

I wanna metal detect down there.

- Yeah.
- Let's check it out, man. Let's do it.

Kevin: Man, this
thing goes down fast.

Look at these sidewalls.

That's half mud
and half granite.

- That's not gonna be stable.
- This is delicate.

Narrator: Discovering what
appears to be a hand dug mine,

Kevin and Chris prepare
to descend into the opening

hoping to find to proof of
a possible Aztec presence.

I can see where it opens
up down here a little bit.

It looks like there's a turn.

We're so close, Kevin, I
can feel it. I'm telling you.

Kevin: I can't wait
to get into this mine.

Everything is
starting to line up.

There's a possibility that
nobody's been in this mine

for 400 years.

- Chris.
- Yo.

Grab my backpack and get down
here. This thing goes a long way.

You got it. I'm coming.

I love being underground,
but this mine right now

has me a little worried.

How's it look like over there?

Yeah, look at this.

I've been in so many
mines over the years,

you get to where you
know what you're looking at.

And this mine, square ceiling...

One of the most unsafe
things that you could ever see.

- [ bleep ] - And the
tool marks that are in it

are not steel tool marks.

Now for Aztec, they were using
more, like, sharpened stones, right?

- Chris: Yeah.
- They look more like wedges made out of rock.

This goes back older than any mining
techniques you and I are familiar with.

Yeah, I agree. I just wonder
how many died doing it, you know?

All right, we're gonna go forward
one foot at a time. Check everything.

- Chris: Getting narrow and shorter.
- Kevin: Yeah.

The most exciting
part about all of this

is we have no idea
what we're going to find.

Chris: Oh, yeah,
that's really bad.

We just got inside,
and looking at this,

doing an integrity test,
the roof's pretty bad.

Look at this. Look at this.

- Look at the vein.
- Chris: Aw, man.

We've decided to go a
little deeper until we can't.

We just gotta keep track
of what this rock's doing.

If it gets any worse than
this, we're gonna have to bail.

Ah, I can stand up a little.

Kevin: I've looked
down this shaft a little bit,

and this thing is
ridiculously long.

I don't know... I have no
idea how far back this goes,

but given the age of
this mine and the fact

that it was not built with
any modernized tools,

it's all hand built, the
idea of finding a mine,

an old Aztec mine full of
treasure is very plausible.

Hang on, hang on,
hang on. Don't move.

- Feel it?
- Yeah.

Really light air. Man,
we're about 100 feet in.

Chris: Whoa.

Check this out.

That's a lot of air
moving in here.

- Chris: There's an opening.
- Yeah, I did not expect

to have to deal with
another opening in this.

Narrator: Since mines
typically have a single entrance,

a second way in
suggests that this mine

could be part of a
larger tunnel system.

Kevin: Wow. This
is all hand dug.

There's not a single
tool mark in here?

And there's a secondary opening?

There's a second
opening. Maybe more.

This has got to be
a complex system.

- Yeah.
- All right, man. Let's keep going.

Slow. Easy.

It doesn't matter what's ahead
of us if we don't make it there.

Chris: Yep, I'm with you.

It's such a long way.
It's getting tighter.

Someday this is just
gonna completely seal in.

Oh, [ bleep ].

Kevin: Whoa, boy. Stop.

This is a huge cave-in. Oh, man.

- Chris: Everything fell in?
- Yeah. This is beyond sketch.

Nathan, we're not
seeing anything yet,

and I'm just thinking maybe we don't
have enough pressure pumping that dye.

You think that you guys can
kick up the pressure on that pump?

Yeah, you bet. We'll
try that right now.

Narrator: Back at the canyon,

Dan, Gina, and Derrick Dillman

have been waiting for hours.

Dan: If you see the
dye starting to bubble up,

I need you to sh**t off a flare.

They hope that the dye that is
being pumped into Shadow Cave

will emerge in another
part of the canyon

providing possible
evidence of a tunnel system,

a tunnel Dan's
grandfather believes

could lead to lost Aztec gold.

- TC, you out there?
- TC is here.

Not seeing anything yet.

Tom, how about you?

Any updates? See anything?

Negative, we've got
no green. No green yet.

Not good news.

If the dye doesn't show up, it
means that I need to move on

to one of these other
caves and springs,

and we need to test there.

This might be a major problem

for the resources that
we planned for this trip.

Derrick, hey, man,
how you feeling?

Just keeping my eyes
peeled and hoping for the best.

Already, the things that we've
discovered inside of Shadow Cave...

Oh, epic.

- That alone right there would be enough for me.
- Enough.

- [ expl*si*n ]
- Holy [ bleep ].

Guys, we've got a flare!

Dan, I got color in cave five.

Derrick, we have
got tracing dye.

If I wasn't standing on an edge,

I'd be jumping
for joy right now.

Dan: We just had a
major breakthrough.

We've got evidence of
traceable dye in cave five.

It makes complete
sense that Shadow Cave

is directly across from
cave five where TC is.

And so we know we've
got a tunnel system.

Narrator: This season on
"Lost Gold of the Aztecs"...

Whoa, whoa!

That's old as hell.

That's it. That's one of the
symbols we're looking for.

- You gotta be kidding me.
- All right.

Whoa-h*-h*-h*. Why
is it dead in that tunnel?

Bam! I believe that this
treasure is still there for the taking.

- What is that?
- Spanish death trap.

Ooh, yeah, you
got a little blood.

Treasure hunting is
not for the faint of heart.

Kevin: We will figure it out.

We will get in
that son of a b*tch.

Because it ain't gonna beat me.

Raymond: I knew that somewhere
close there was a treasure chamber.

Hey, Dad, you want
to come check this out?

Derrick, this might be where
grandpa was talking about.

This just might be it, son.

- Is that water coming out?
- Yeah.

This has been a 55-year
journey for my family.

We keep going and
we keep searching.

Look right there. You see it?

And we never quit.

All right,
let's make it happen, Captain.

Because when we find
Montezuma's treasure...

We found the mine.

It's gonna rewrite history.