♪♪ NARRATOR: On an autumn evening
in Palmer, 2005, a woman we'll call Jane Doe
was washing dishes after dinner when her daughter asked
to go outside and play. ♪♪ Minutes later, Jane heard
a strange sound outside. She caught sight
of a small, childlike figure darting through the trees. The figure suddenly raced away, faster than any child
she had ever seen. Could it have been
something else? Legends say that small,
malevolent creatures haunt the Alaskan wilderness. Whatever it was, her daughter was nowhere
to be found and has not been seen since. ♪♪ Inside the vast frontier
of Alaska is a mysterious triangle where, each year, 5 out of every 1,000 people
go missing. [ Animal growls ] [ Animal roars ] Three investigators look
for answers -- Jax, a former police officer... Ken, a specialist
in strange phenomena... and Tommy,
an expert on Alaskan legends. Together, they uncover
mysterious sightings and ancient legends, exploring the possibilities
of those who go... Captioning provided by
A+E Networks ♪♪ JAX: Lot of little places
to hide in here, Ken. KEN: I see that. Pretty dense brush
all through here. The team begins
their investigation exploring the woods
behind the town of Palmer, where the young girl
went missing. Her family has since moved away. ♪♪ KEN: Hey, guys,
can we stop for a second? I'm getting
a little winded. JAX: Yeah. [ Exhales sharply ] So, I got to ask.
I know your wheels are spinning. What's your theory? So, check it out. Other than the missing girl,
all of the children of Palmer were accounted for
at the time she vanished, right? Right. That's true. That's what you said. So, then, who was this
small, childlike figure that the mother reported seeing? All over the world,
you have these enduring legends of these little elves,
fairies, pixies. In Asia, you have the Nittaewo. In Africa, the Agogwe. Every continent
has different types of little gnome-like creatures. NARRATOR:
Diminutive, humanlike beings are among the most fabled
entities of all time. The more famous of these legends have become commonplace
in modern culture -- leprechauns,
which originated in Ireland, elves descended
from Norse mythology, and the dwarves
of Germanic folklore. Some are viewed as benevolent, others as pranksters
who hide gold or steal food. But the Alaskan versions are painted
as much more sinister. I've heard stories,
you know, all my life from other tribes
up north of here. The Yupik have ircenrraat,
and all the parents tell their kids
not to stay out after dark -- that they'll try to come
and take your kids away. NARRATOR: The archetype
of the Alaskan gnome is is a stout, powerful figure
about 3 1/2 feet tall, baring vicious claws and teeth
with clothing made from animals
and other natural materials. They are also said
to be incredibly fast and have a nasty,
aggressive disposition. KEN: So, you have stories
of little gnome-like creatures here in Alaska? I've heard stor--
stor-- yes. Little people, they've called
them, or gnome-like. In Alaskan lore, these stories
of these small beings are terrifying
and go back centuries. Different tribes give them
different names -- ircenrraat, jinxioc, imenaraat. But they're all described
the same -- violent, malicious. They'll kidnap you or even
kill you if you cross them. All right, guys,
we need to get to the top. JAX: Get moving? Yeah, it's starting
to get dark here. Ken always has
interesting theories about missing-person cases
in the Alaska Triangle. But right now,
I'm thinking either this is a natural predator,
like a bear or a wolf, or, even more likely,
a human predator. As an investigator, my mind
tends to go there in
cases like these. TOMMY: I'm seeing all kinds
of animal tracks right here. Got moose track here
and a wolf -- looks like
a wolf track there. Very large canine. Definitely a sign that there are a lot
of living things out here. JAX: After seeing signs
of wolf out here, it makes me wonder if that's
what the missing girl's
mother saw. You know, when you're nervous and you have
an active imagination, maybe you think
you saw a small person when you actually just saw
an animal. ♪♪ Hey, guys, what's this? Hey, what is that? -A rabbit's foot?
-That's a rabbit's foot. Something
was chewing on it and cleaned all the flesh
off of that. Hey, look at that. ♪♪ Looks like blood. I don't see any blood
on the ground anywhere. There's no tracks
around here. The leaf litter
is too thick. KEN: Finding blood in the forest
is not that unusual. Animals make kills
out here all the time. But were investigating
a missing-person case, so it's important
that we examine every piece of evidence
that we find. I think we need to take
some of this blood and have it tested.
-Figure out what it is. It's a good idea to make sure
this isn't human blood
on this tree. I don't think it is, but the lab will answer
that question for sure. ♪♪ NARRATOR: As Jax takes the
blood sample in for analysis, Ken and Tommy decide to investigate
the gnome theory further. They meet with a local native
named Jerry who's an expert on Alaskan legends
of little people. So, we're investigating
a disappearance. A small girl disappeared,
and what's really strange is that the mother claims
that she saw this little figure, like a little person,
maybe, right around the time
that her daughter vanished. There's been many, many stories
of the little people. They're Imenaraat
or jinxiocs. They're powerful
little people. And do you think
that these little people could
somehow be connected to the disappearance
of this little girl? Very possible. There's many stories
of children not coming back. Supposing we wanted to go
find these little people... Up in mountains,
they live in caves. You will find little things
that they leave behind -- bones, animal parts. Bones? Hm. There's stories
of them stealing caribou meat. They leave no tracks. KEN: Jerry's descriptions
of the gnomes makes them seem very primitive,
almost caveman-like, and it supports the idea
that whatever they are, they could be very uncivilized,
almost dangerous. ♪♪ NARRATOR: With the information
from Jerry to ponder, Ken goes to meet with Jax, who has results
from the blood-sample analysis. KEN: What do we got? So, here's our sample,
all right? Yeah. We had it tested
against five other things. First thing I wanted to have
them rule out was human blood. Sure. All right, bears,
because they roam the area. Moose -- we obviously saw some
signs of moose being in there. Saw some droppings.
Yeah, yeah. Then a rabbit. We did find that rabbit. And the last,
and this is what it came positive for,
is caribou. KEN: Finding caribou blood
several feet up on a tree is highly unusual. A likely explanation is
that a hunter bagged a caribou, passed a tree, and wiped
some blood off or something. But we didn't see drag marks,
and I can't help but think of the folklore we heard
from Jerry. Well, check this out --
this is really crazy, because Jerry
was just telling us that the Alaskan gnomes,
the jinxioc -- that's what he was
primarily calling them -- supposedly don't leave
any tracks, and their primary food source
is caribou. Suppose one of these beings, because they're super-strong,
super-fast, was actually carrying
a dead caribou and smashed the carcass
up against a tree and that was the result of the blood left dripping
down the tree. -I don't know, man.
-I know. You know I always hear you out,
but you know I always have a hard time
with some of these things. You know, I mean, I need
to see a lot more evidence than what we got
right now. JAX: We've seen some pretty
crazy things here in Alaska, but to jump to a gnome theory
based on some blood on a tree is quite a stretch. I still think that girl could've been snatched
by a human predator, and if not that, then a bear's
the next obvious guess. I think that what we need to do
is set up a trap, put caribou meat in an area near where we found
the blood splatter on the tree, and use
a GPS tracking device. And we can monitor it
from our phone. ♪♪ NARRATOR:
After tracking down some caribou meat
from a local hunter, the team heads out
to plant it as bait, in hopes of identifying
whatever is eating caribou in the mountains behind Palmer. Got all our gear? -I got the cameras.
-I got the meat. The infrared's in my back.
Let's go. All right, lead on. JAX: We've got to hike up the mountain again
behind Palmer, this time in the dark,
to the spot where we found
the caribou blood. [ Ken breathing heavily ] Feel the burn, Ken. ♪♪ Is this it, Tommy? Yeah, I think over here
is where we're at. Does it look familiar? Yeah, yeah.
Right here. We probably want to set
the camera uphill facing down. That way, we have
a wider coverage area. -Exactly.
-Good idea. Figure out where you want
to put the caribou meat. Right. We're going to attach
a thermal-imaging camera to a tree
facing the caribou meat. So, if anything
or anyone touches the meat, we'll get video. And it looks good. Big chunk of meat. JAX: Yeah, I'm gonna cut it
right through here, and we're gonna insert
the tracker there, okay? All righty. JAX:
With the GPS tracker in place, we'll get a message
on our smartphone if there's any movement
of the caribou meat, which means
we can leave the area. Hopefully with us gone, that'll encourage something
to take it. All right,
looks like it's running. We got a good signal. Next step here is,
if it moves, it'll alert us. Good deal. You know, guys,
I got to tell you, there's actually some
scientific basis to believe that these gnomes,
if that's we're gonna call them, are actual
flesh-and-blood creatures, and I'll tell you why. 2003, on the island of Flores,
which is in Indonesia, they discovered bones
of a very small hominid -- Homo floresiensis. NARRATOR:
Standing a mere 3 1/2 feet tall, Homo floresiensis
lived alongside modern humans until 12,000 years ago. Despite their small brain,
they are believed to have built boats
and used stone tools, as well as being
incredibly successful hunters. Who's to say that they
might not have migrated across from Asia
into North America when the land bridge
still existed, right? So, I mean, we could
essentially be talking about an archaic, basal, relic,
hominid form remaining undetected
somewhere here in the wilderness
of Alaska. -It is possible.
-Yeah. All right. ♪♪ [ Animal screeches ] What was that? [ Animal screeches ] What was that? Did you guys hear that? I don't know, guys. That could've just been
a dying animal. I think it was
a snowshoe hare. NARRATOR: Snowshoe hares
are common in Alaska and are known
for their sharp, shrill cry. [ Snowshoe hare screeches ] What direction did it come
from, guys? Guys, it's over here. Let me get
the thermal imager out. -This way.
-Yeah. JAX:
I pull out my smartphone, which has
a special thermal adapter. It will show any residual
heat signatures in the darkness. This direction, huh, Ken? Yeah,
it was right over here. ♪♪ Hold on, guys. Picking something up
over here. Guys, get -- get over here. -Oh.
-What is that? That's weird, man. Aw, man. What the heck is that? KEN: Our thermal imager picks up a couple
of warm marks on a log. Heat dissipates quickly, so whatever left those marks
must've been right by us. Something warm
had stepped there, huh? It's like something
was just standing right there. There's something
moving around out here. Obviously, we don't know
what that something is. JAX: These marks could've been
left here by anything. Maybe a wolf
caught a rabbit here and that could explain
the noises that we heard, too. Well, I'm pretty sure
the sound was a hare. They're pretty common here. I think we need to get moving,
let our bait have a chance to work
and do its thing here. I agree. Us trampsing around the woods is
just gonna ward something off. -Yeah.
-What do you think, Ken? KEN: I think I'm getting
pretty creeped out right now. Let's go. ♪♪ NARRATOR:
By the next morning, with no sign of movement
from the GPS tracker, the team decides
to continue their investigation by seeking out new witnesses who have stories
of gnomes in the area. Jax meets
with a local security officer, Dean Spradlin. He claims to have had a highly unusual experience
just a few years ago. We're out here in Alaska. We're kind of exploring Alaskan Triangle areas
and anomalies. What is exactly the case
you're investigating? The girl who turned up missing
10 years ago? Exactly.
That's why we're here. Okay, so you're familiar
with that story. Very familiar with it. So, I'm assuming it's still
on people's minds. Yeah, and that girl
is still missing. So, it's still
an open cold case right now? Yeah, we still don't know
what happened to her. It sounds so strange,
but a lot of our information has led us to this area
because we're looking for a possibility of creatures
that are like gnomes. Gnomes
could be behind it. Really? Actually,
gnomes aren't that unusual to hear about
in this town. Well, Halloween,
you know, most towns, the kids go trick-or-treating
until late into the evening. Here, they shut down
by 8:00 at the latest. I found that out
the hard way my first Halloween here
several years ago. Really? Yeah, I was actually out
at about 8:30, thinking that I was gonna be
looking for rowdy teenagers, and I received a call
about checking out a strange disturbance
in a nearby residential area. I'm walking to where
the report was given... ♪♪ ...and the only light is what's
coming from my flashlight. Then, all of a sudden... ...a rock
crashes behind me. Well, I turn around to see,
you know -- "What was that?" And a little person throws
another rock the same size. It was a rock
that I could barely pick up, let alone throw it. So you saw
what threw it at you? It looked like a little man, like a man-child, but the build, the demeanor,
the face of a man. But like I said,
I only got a glimpse. But you saw enough of it
to think that there was a possibility
that it was a gnome. I can't deny
the possibility of it. Everywhere else, it sounds like
folklore, superstition, but I do know
what I saw. JAX: A child
could not have thrown rocks the size that he's describing, so I'd say
this is an usual story. But we still need
to find hard evidence
that these gnomes exist. Where would
these gnomes live? Well, some people think
they live underground. We have
over 600,000 square miles of wilderness in Alaska. We have lots of places
where nobody's ever been. We have a lot
of unexplored territory. Who knows
what's out there. Is there caves
in this area? Well, there's not caves
like you would think of caves, but there's ice caves. You think you could point
them out on a map for me? Yeah, if you got a map,
I can show you right there. Have you been there? -Yeah, I've been there.
-Okay, so it's on a glacier? Yep. -So we're here.
-Let's see. We're here. Right there. -Oh, the Matanuska Glacier?
-Yes. JAX: I definitely think that we
need to investigate these caves for any signs
of these so-called gnomes. Really appreciate you
taking the time. Yeah, you're welcome. And be safe out there. Okay,
take care of yourself. NARRATOR: As Jax finishes his
meeting with Officer Spradlin, Ken and Tommy
seek out another local who claims to have experience
with these mysterious gnomes. -Hi, I'm Ken.
-Hi, Ken. Sarah here. KEN:
Sarah volunteers her time working with kids
at a local community center. According to her,
all the children are afraid that gnomes are lurking
in the area. KEN: Sarah, this is such a cool,
little playground, and yet
there's no kids here. Why is that? Uh, it's -- well, it's starting
to get late at night, and... -I'm scared of them myself.
-Mm-hmm. I know I've heard about
children being abducted, and some kids ran to me. They said there was something
chasing them from the woods. Do you think they were being
chased by the Imenaracs? It's a possibility
that there's Imenarac
around the neighborhood. And, you know,
these are dangerous creatures. I've always heard
that these Imenaracs are very strong
and powerful. Clearly,
there's something in this area that's being witnessed
from time to time, and I'm hoping that we'll get
a good look at it from our thermal camera
up on the mountain. -All right, thank you.
-Awesome. -Be safe.
-It's getting dark, man. -Let's get out of here.
-Yeah. [ Cell phone beeping ] Check this out.
Our tracker is -- What?! -No way.
-It's moving. TOMMY: The tracker in our
caribou meat is on the move, which means something
has taken it. We've got to grab Jax, get on
it, and follow it right away. ♪♪ NARRATOR: Why do so many people
go missing in Alaska? Is it purely because
of the rugged landscape and aggressive predators, or are there other reasons
lurking in this vast terrain? A mother sees a small,
unknown being just before
her daughter goes missing. Could native stories
of vicious gnomes be more truth than legend? The team has just sprung a trap
that could answer that question. -We got everything, guys?
-I got the GPS here. Yeah, have we got
any other notifications? Well, it's still working,
but it is not moving. It's just stationary. We just have to find the location it last --
last transmitted. Yeah, right. The best part about using
a GPS tracker in our bait is we have a last-known location
transmitted to us. We need to get
to that spot quick, 'cause whatever took our bait
could still be in the area. ♪♪ We still got a ways,
but we're on the right path. The first thing
that we want to do is check the original location
where we left the bait to see
if there's any clues there. Maybe we can determine
what moved the GPS before we track it down. ♪♪ There's the camera right there. Camera looks good. So the meat's right there. Well, it's gone. We see any tracks? Nothing. All right, well,
we got to fan out right here. Right. Hey, Ken, anything? Nothing.
What about you? No, just brush. ♪♪ You guys got anything? -No.
-No. I'm gonna take the trail cam
back to the truck, see if we got anything
on here. Had to have caught
something. TOMMY: Since we don't have
any clues from the scene of what we're dealing with here, it's important to get eyes
on the footage right away. Even if this is just an animal, we need to know what kind
of animal for safety sake. You got your bear spray,
Tommy? I do -- in the pack. We got about 1/4 mile to go,
so you and I got to hoof it. I think he can meet us
back down at the truck. Something could be eating
that meat out there, so
you guys be careful. Give us a shout as soon
as you get there, okay? I will. Okay. TOMMY: This is the second time
we've found signs of something in the forest without finding
any tracks nearby. Back when we found
the blood on the tree, there were lots of leaves
on the ground, so that could've prevented
tracks. And here,
the ground is hard enough that maybe something
could've passed through here without leaving any marks. But Jerry also talked about how Alaskan gnomes
don't leave tracks. The natives who established this lore centuries ago
were expert trackers. So, you have to give
that detail some credibility. Is there an animal
that walks lightly enough to avoid leaving tracks, or does this gnome legend
have some truth to it? Hopefully,
the video will tell us. ♪♪ That's just weird.
What is that? This is as close
as we're gonna get. It's gonna be
within 10, 15 feet of here. You got
the big spotlight, so -- Yeah, yeah, I got it. I'll scan this brush. Oh, man,
look at this [bleep] It's a mess, man.
This might take us a while. I'm not seeing anything. Don't give up yet.
It's got to be over here. [ Grunts ] Ken, it's down there. That's it! -Aw [bleep]
-Can you pull it out? Yeah, I got it. All right, cool. Let me hop down there. [ Grunts ] Let's see that. Man, we got some
massive scratches. Where's the meat? It was right there.
There's no meat. [ Beep, static ] Tommy:
HEY, GUYS, ARE YOU UP THERE? Yeah, I got you, man.
What's going on? HEY, YOU GUYS
AREN'T GONNA BELIEVE THIS. WE GOT SOMETHING
ON THE TRAIL CAM. YOU GUYS NEED TO COME DOWN
AND CHECK IT OUT. All right,
we're on our way. ♪♪ [ Jax exhales sharply ] What do you got
for us, buddy? Check this out. See that? KEN: Wait. Wait, wait, wait.
Rewind it. Back up.
Back it up. Holy [bleep]
What is that? Something small. You can't tell
what it is, though. This shape on the screen
is hard to make out. Look at that.
It's hauling [bleep] What do you think, Ken? Um, actually,
that kind of appears humanoid. There's no doubt that whatever
that is, it took out bait. The figure in this footage
is hard to pin down. I can see how it might be
a small person hunched over, but it could be a fox or a wolf. It's just not clear. Well, guys,
what do we do now? I've been thinking
about this. -So, here's our map, guys.
-Right. JAX: The green marker
is where we left the GPS, the yellow one
is where we found it, and the red marker's
the ice caves. They're right there.
Look what that is. It's an exact, straight line. Whatever took that meat
was heading towards those caves. So are you saying we need
to head out there? -We need to go to those caves.
-Let's do it. All right, guys,
let's pack it up, and let's get to the ice caves
in the morning. KEN: Obviously,
the ice caves are where this investigation
has to go next, and it could be
right into the den of the vicious jinxioc. ♪♪ ♪♪ NARRATOR: Alaska is known for the biggest animals
on the continent... [ Bear growls ] ...but could the most dangerous
creature here be a small one? Horrifying tails
of aggressive, violent gnomes permeate native legends,
and local resident Natalie Vega believes she had
a close encounter with one. NATALIE: Our dog ran away,
and the next morning, our neighbor called us
and said that they saw our dog a few miles away
in some remote area. And I called my friend Ali
and asked her if she could look
for the dog with me. We get to the area
and we get out, and Ali saw blood on the ground. And then we start calling
for our dog. And as we're calling, we get hit
with a bunch of snow. And we turn around,
and I saw something move. It was small,
maybe three feet tall, and it had the face
of an old man covered in moss
and sticks and dirt. It was just horrid. All of a sudden,
it just moved so fast. We couldn't believe it. We were so scared, we ran to the car
and just drove off. ♪♪ We never saw the dog again. ♪♪ NARRATOR:
After tracking their stolen bait
toward the Matanuska Glacier, the team heads out
to search for ice caves and, if they find them, to see if anything
might be living inside them. Ice caves --
it'd be a great dwelling for something
that doesn't want to be found. TOMMY: We have a little stop
up here where a guy's been gracious enough
to loan us his snow machine so we can get out
to the glacier. Looks like here we go,
and I think -- Is it? Yeah,
There's our machines. NARRATOR:
It is unsafe for large vehicles
to traverse a glacier because of the shifting nature
of its surface. The team
will have to use snowmobiles to approach the ice caves, but the machines
will only take them to a point where the terrain
becomes too rough. Then they will have to hike
the rest of the way
to the caves. ♪♪ Matanuska Glacier is the largest
accessible glacier in Alaska. At 4 miles wide
and 26 miles long, it has been carving its way
through a valley for the last 10,000 years, moving at a rate
of one foot per day. Six people are known
to have died here, with dozens
of other reported missing. Is that because
of the ever-shifting and unpredictable landscape
or something more sinister? ♪♪ All right, guys. Definitely think with all this
ice, we need our crampons today. TOMMY: Hey, guys. We got to be careful
out here, you know, with this warm weather,
the sun beating down. We got to watch our step, make sure we don't step
in any crevasses. How deep are we talking? Some have been known
to swallow up airplanes. Really? Let's head off that way,
up that first mountain there. Let's do it. A lot of this glacier
is uncharted because it changes constantly. But some local guide said the kind of caves
we're looking for were recently seen
due north of here. ♪♪ Walking on glacier ice, especially glacier ice covered
in snow, is very dangerous. It's important
to take it very slow and with each step to make sure there's not
a crevasse underneath you. Whoa, what do
we got up there, Ken? You guys seeing this? -Wow, this has got to be it.
-Whoa! That's got to be
what the cop said. Check it out. KEN: After trekking
across the glacier, we finally see
our very first ice cave. This is extremely exciting. Whoa. It's what
we've been waiting for. We've been searching
for evidence of these proto-pygmies... Wow. ...and this would make
a perfect habitat for some small
and rarely seen creature. Literally a cave of ice,
smooth as glass. TOMMY: Pretty incredible. These caves are awe-inspiring
but also dangerous. A lot are formed by meltwater
runoff, which erodes them
and makes them weak, and they are known
to collapse suddenly. So, we have to be on guard. You know, guys,
it goes without saying -- If we're looking
for a small hominid, which is what I think
we're looking for here, a cave
makes perfect sense. They're excellent
defensive fortifications 'cause they only have
like one entrance. You can stockpile weapons
or food or whatever. Don't leave
any stone unturned. Look into every little,
small opening, hole, cut --
whatever. -We'll do it.
-Let's go. KEN: I've done a lot
of research in caves, but I've never been
in a glacier cave. I mean,
here you have a structure that's constructed
of frozen water. It's rather mesmerizing, but I can't lose sight
of the fact that I'm in an extremely volatile
and dangerous situation. I could slip and fall
on my head. I could step into a crevasse
and disappear, never to be seen again. JAX: Tommy, I want
to take this a little slow. As warm as it's been today,
I don't [ Grunts ] I don't feel like taking a bath
right now. Well, that's plain smart. Feels pretty solid,
buddy. ♪♪ Look at these walls,
Tommy. Look how far
you can see inside of them. Yeah. Guys, this thing goes in
pretty deep here! Look at this indentation
right here -- this natural little cove. Watch your step. ♪♪ Look at this, Tommy. -Hey, Ken!
-Ken, check it out! Ken, you got
to check this out! TOMMY: Come over here! That does not belong here. KEN:
All right, I'm coming guys. Hold on.
Where are you? Come back here.
It's low. Watch your head. It's slippery, too.
Watch your step. This way? Ken, you got
to check this out. Crap. Look at this, Tommy. -Hey, Ken!
-Ken, check it out! -Ken, you got to check this out!
-Come over here! That does not belong here. Ken,
you got to check this out. Crap. We got a caribou rack here. Definitely not a normal place
to find something like this. As far as I know, Tommy, caribou don't go
to die in places like this. No, they're on tundra,
usually -- flat land. No, but it is common
for a predator to basically drag something
into a cave. Yeah, yes. But look around.
There's no tracks. I mean,
we got glacier silt. [ Sighs ] We'd have some sort
of paw print, hoof print, right? Bottom line is
this does not belong here. Want to move
to this backside? Yeah, we got a lot of ground
to cover. Let's keep going. NARRATOR:
The team continues their trek to find deeper caves
in the area. If the gnomes
of Alaskan legend are real, it's believed
they live in groups and sometimes keep
their kidnapping victims in their underground lairs
with them, requiring a larger space. Look up ahead, Ken. Wow.
Looks like a bigger cave. This is what
we're looking for, guys. JAX: We find a second cave that appears to go much deeper
into the ice and potentially offer
a lot more shelter. This could be the perfect place
for something to move in, set up camp, and stay hidden. Be careful, guys. Look at how much
this thing's melting. -Be careful.
-It's melting. TOMMY: Look at all that water
running down there. What's the plan here? All right. What do we think about
Ken and I going down and you monitoring us
from here? Good idea. NARRATOR: The team decides
the safest approach is to have Tommy
remain outside as backup in case there are any
dangerous shifts in the ice. Jax and Ken will be equipped
with wireless cameras, which Tommy can use
to follow their progress. Let's go. TOMMY:
All right, be safe. ♪♪ [ Grunts ] Looks like it gets
pretty tiny in here, Ken. ♪♪ KEN:
This thing is endless. I think so. I know this
is gonna be tight, but I think I'm gonna go
that way. Maybe this will open up
when I pop through this crack. I mean, I trust you, man,
if you think you can make it. That looks like
a pretty tight squeeze. Are you sure? Yeah, let's do it. [ Tool clanks ] -All right.
-Just keep on coms. -You got your walkie, right?
-Yeah, I got my walkie. -All right.
-All right, be careful. JAX: Because these gnomes
are supposed to be quite small, I decided
to investigate a crawl space. It's a bit claustrophobic
for me, but for a gnome,
it would have plenty of room. I just have to keep my cool
and keep pressing forward. [ Walkie talkie beeps ] Tommy, this is Jax.
Can you hear me? [ Walkie talkie beeps ] Yeah, I gotcha. [ Walkie talkie beeps ] Ken and I have split up. Can you see my feed? [ Walkie talkie beeps ] Yeah, I got you here
on the screen. [ Walkie talkie beeps ] Okay,
still a good signal? [ Walkie talkie beeps ] GOOD SIGNAL. [ Walkie talkie beeps ] All right,
I'm pressing forward. [ Walkie talkie beeps ] CAREFUL DOWN THERE. I also want to be careful not to
get out of communication range. If I get in trouble, Tommy's my only link
to the outside world. [ Walkie talkie beeps ] Tommy, come in. Over.
Can you hear me? Over. [ Walkie talkie beeps ] I can you hear you,
Ken, yes. I'm gonna go down this corridor.
You copy? [ Walkie talkie beeps ] BE SAFE THERE, MAN. [ Walkie talkie beeps ] Yeah, will do.
This looks pretty amazing. KEN: Our greatest concern when investigating this cave
is shifting ice. Because the glacier
is constantly moving, a shift nearby could create
a chain reaction, resulting in the collapse
of the cave. ♪♪ All kinds of little nooks
and crannies, and it looks worn down. It looks like something's
been moving through here. [ Grunting ] [ Walkie talkie beeps ] Tommy, you seeing
what I'm seeing? -What is that?
-I DON'T KNOW YET. I GOT TO GET CLOSER. Yeah, it's amazingly bright
in here. Really, really bright. Wow. Oh [bleep] ♪♪ [ Walkie talkie beeps ] Tommy, you seeing this? THERE'S ANOTHER ANTLER
LIKE WE FOUND in the other cave --
just one rack. BUT IT'S AS FAR
AS I CAN GO. [ Walkie talkie beeps ] You better come
on out, then. All right, I'm gonna bring
the antler with me, so it'll take me
a second. Tommy, did you hear that?
Over. [ Ice cracking loudly
in distance ] Tommy, I'm hearing something.
Do you hear that? Over. [ Walkie talkie beeps ] Hey, Jax, I'm not hearing
anything from Ken. Can you -- can you see him
or hear him? [ Walkie talkie beeps ] Tommy, I got nothing. I can't see him.
I don't know where he's at. [ Cracking continues ] Whoa!
[bleep] Ken, can you hear me? JAX, WHY DON'T YOU COME ON
OUT HERE? I'M NOT SURE
WHERE KEN'S AT. We need -- regroup here. [ Walkie talkie beeps ] Jax: ALL RIGHT,
I'M COMING OUT. NARRATOR:
Somewhere inside the ice caves, Ken and the cameraman
following him are no longer in communication
with the others. The team doesn't know
if they're lost or hurt. Tommy: KEN?
KEN, ARE YOU THERE? [ Breathing heavily ] Check this thing out. Another caribou rack,
man. -Wow.
-What's going on with Ken? Nothing.
I'm not hearing anything. [ Walkie talkie beeps ] Ken, it's Jax.
Do you read? [ Ice cracking loudly
in distance ] ♪♪ [ Walkie talkie beeps ] Jax, Tommy, do you copy?
Over. Hey, guys, I don't know
if you can hear me. I'm completely turned around
in this cave, and I'm hearing cracking ice. I'm trying to find my way
out of here. Over. Ken, it's Jax.
Do you read? It's getting warmer. You think -- I mean, shoot,
I don't want to think -- This thing looked pretty stable
where I was, but, you know, he could've gone
down somewhere smaller where the ice
is melting. Man,
I'm getting worried. Jax! Did you hear that?
I think I hear him. Ken, where are you? Ken?! Yeah? -Tommy, hurry up.
-All right. I'm coming. Ken!
Ken!
Ken! -Jax!
-Tommy, I hear him! Ken! Don't worry. [ Grunting ] JAX: Need any help? Come on, bud.
Come on. [ Grunts ] Oh, my God. -Can you get it?
-I got totally lost. JAX: You all right? I thought the ice was gonna
cave down right onto my head, and I couldn't reach
you guys. Yeah. TOMMY:
Ken's experience in the caves is closely related
to the gnome legends in Alaska. Look. It's said
that they can disorient you and lead you into danger,
and they'll do it just for fun. Obviously, Ken could've just
taken a wrong turn or something, but it does make you think. What do you say we get
out of here for the day? Yeah, sun's going down.
It's gonna be dark here soon. -All right.
-Yeah. [ Breathing heavily ] -So glad to see you guys.
-I bet. JAX: We were very,
very worried, man. NARRATOR: With the mystery
of the missing girl still not solved,
the team heads back into town to consider
everything they've found during their investigation. ♪♪ Okay, guys, so what do we got?
Let's review the evidence. We have the blood
on the tree, and then we have
the small figure that we got
on the trail cam. It was just a small image
of something moving. It was something.
It was a blur. But it was small,
and it was fast. And we also heard
that noise out there, remember, that was kind of like a weird,
high-pitched whinny. Tommy thought
it was a snowshoe hair. Well, earlier today, I was reviewing the footage
from the ice cave, and right before
the ice started cracking, there was an odd sound, but I didn't notice it
at the time. There was almost like
an undertone to that sound. Okay, here we go. This is the recording. [<i> Ice cracking loudly,
animal screeches</i> ] Play that back. Turn the volume up
right here. [<i> Ice cracking loudly,
animal screeches</i> ] Did you hear that? Yeah, that's what
I'm talking about. [ Exhales sharply ] That sounds
a lot like the noise we heard in the forest
the other night. There was nothing out there
but us, okay? -It was the ice and us.
-Right. Gnomes are known to be
tricksters and mischievous. Perhaps they've been toying
with us this whole time, leaving clues
that are big enough to hint at their existence
but too small to prove anything. Maybe by going in
that ice cave, we were, essentially,
invading their domain. Too strange, guys. Yeah, that's odd. ♪♪ NARRATOR: For now,
the team is unable to tie the young girl's disappearance
to the fabled gnomes of Alaska. But history proves
that small humanoid beings have existed and even thrived
on our planet. Could Alaska be
their new breeding ground? In these rugged wilds,
a creature lacking in size would have to compensate
through cunning... [ Animal screeches ] What was that? NARRATOR:
...or viciousness. And if native legends are true,
such violent creatures could be one of the reasons
people go... Missing in Alaska.
