--<font color="#FFFF00"> Captions by VITAC --</font><font color="#00FFFF">
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A+E Networks ♪♪ NARRATOR:
In 1999, in Seward, Alaska, Jenna Miller was out
doing a training run on Mount Marathon. This grueling, three-mile trail
hosts an annual race that draws hundreds
of participants. Jenna was planning
to take part in it. 200 yards from the top, a hiker named Marlo
warned Jenna to hurry. A storm was rolling in. She assured him she would,
and continued toward the top. Moments later, Marlo
saw something in the sky -- a bird the size
of a small plane. [ Wind whistling ] And it was headed
toward Jenna's position. Legends of a massive thunderbird
are common among Alaskan tribes and have been depicted
in Native art for centuries. Could these legends be based
on something real? Jenna never made it
down the mountain... 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... ♪♪ The team begins
their investigation by exploring Mount Marathon, which overlooks Seward, Alaska,
on the Kenai Peninsula. They're taking
a two-pronged approach. Jax and Tommy will hike
the trail, looking for anything that might explain
Jenna's disappearance, while Ken gets a bird's-eye view
from the helicopter. Tommy, didn't this race
start off as a joke? Kind of a dare. -Yeah?
-Yeah. One fisherman
dared another fisherman to run up the mountain
in kind of a competitive way. NARRATOR: According
to Mount Marathon folklore, a local man challenged another
to get up and down the harsh, three-mile trail
in under an hour. The attempt failed,
but the challenge has been re-enacted yearly
since 1915 as an organized race
every 4th of July. The current record
for the difficult route is just under 42 minutes. But Jenna didn't have
the benefit of race-day support. Could she
have suffered an accident during her training run
from which there was no return? Well,
I don't understand. I mean, this is
a massive search for her. They had National Guard,
volunteers. Hundreds
of volunteers out here. How she could just
go missing like that? You'd think
after some time, you'd at least
find some clothing or bones. Right, something. NARRATOR: As Ken scans
the ravines and gullies of the higher elevations, Jax and Tommy head off trail
to see what hazards might be lurking
below the tree line. Think about bears. That's one
of my biggest theories. Even if she fell
and was hurt... Always
that possibility. There's a lot of ways that Jenna
could have gotten hurt out here. What doesn't make sense
is how she vanished completely. Hey, Ken, you there? NO, NOT YET. NARRATOR: The thunderbird
is one of the most revered and feared creatures
of Alaskan lore. It's high stature is embodied by its place of prominence
atop totem poles. It's described
as a massive bird of prey with a wingspan
of 25 feet or more, as well as a hooked beak, curved horns,
and vicious talons. Its strength is also legendary, with stories of it
snatching whales for a meal. And as it's name suggests,
it is believed capable of spawning violent storms
by beating its enormous wings. In North America, the thunderbird legend
is second only to Bigfoot in the number
of reported sightings. A famous case happened
in Lawndale, Illinois, in 1977 when a monstrous bird
snatched a 10-year-old boy and carried him 35 feet until
his mother helped rescue him. No one
could conclusively identify what kind of bird it was. What -- what of all
the theories of thunderbird do you most lean to? NARRATOR: Teratorns were
a class of gigantic birds that ruled the skies
until about 10,000 years ago. The largest had wingspans
of well over 20 feet, with stout, powerful legs, and a sharp, hooked beak
for snatching prey. They lived for millions of years until disappearing
from the fossil record, along with other major fauna
at the end of the Pleistocene. If it's gonna be anywhere,
it's gonna be here in Alaska. Look at all the places
it could hide and food, resources,
and everything. NARRATOR: The mountains
beyond Mount Marathon have lots of craggy peaks
and hidden clefts in the rock. The team believes this could be
a place where large birds are able to roost
and remain out of sight. [ Sighs ] Damn, Jax, look at that --
how steep that is. -Yeah.
-[ Sighs ] -Look at that view, man.
-Wow. JAX: So I think we're about
200 yards from the top. That's the last spot
she was seen. Look how clear that is
all the way out there. It's not like when we were down
there at the tree line. This is wide open. Looking around, I don't
understand how someone could go missing up here. Ken: HEY, GUYS.
I GOT EYES ON YOU. JUST CIRCLED AROUND SOME --
CHECKED OUT SOME OF THESE
MOUNTAINS. IT LOOKS LIKE
YOU'RE RIGHT AT THE SPOT
WHERE JENNA WAS LAST SEEN. HOW WAS THE CLIMB?
OVER. Treacherous. ♪♪ It's actually unfortunate that today's weather
is so clear and sunny. Thunderbird sightings
are most often associated with inclement weather. And it might help
our investigation yield more clues if there was
a storm approaching. Well done, gentlemen. Find anything? No.
Nothing at all. But you think about, with all
the rains that were coming down, it would make the path
really muddy, and, obviously, a lot of debris and stuff
you could trip over. We get large rains
and all that water, it should expose her body, and maybe
she should have been found. The storm
actually supports the thunderbird theory,
right, Tommy? Some of the native
legends say that the thunderbird
creates the thunder and lightning
shooting from its eyes. Most skeptics think
it's a large bird, you know, something like a California condor
or something like that. Let's give this summit
a thorough once-over. Okay. Guys, definitely
interested in droppings and discarded food items
or things that look like they may have been dropped
from the air, right? I know the larger birds
like California condors, they actually will fall off
of cliffs to get airborne. It's a straight
drop here, guys. KEN: Something like a large bird
could fall off this cliff and ride
the thermal updrafts. NARRATOR:
The rising winds of this area are ideal
for birds like the condor, which is known
to soar for an hour without flapping its wings,
saving its energy. JAX:
If a body fell down here, momentum would take it
pretty far. Guys, I know it's been years
since Jenna's disappearance, but birds are known
to come home to roost. You know, so, I mean,
there's a potential here that there could
still be some evidence. The question is what kind of
evidence are we looking for? That's just it, guys, though --
we haven't found anything. It kind of leaves me
with this runaway-bride theory. I mean, what if Jenna
went missing on purpose? Maybe the possibility
this might have been a ruse. You mean, like,
to start a new life? -Yeah, it's not unheard of.
-Yeah. So I want to check
with maybe a family member and see if there's more
to her disappearance than -- than what everybody else knows.
-That's a good idea. While you're doing that, Tommy and I will go
track down that eyewitness. All right. ♪♪ NARRATOR: With the initial
reconnaissance of Mount Marathon providing little to go on, the team splits up
to do some further research. Ken and Tommy go to meet the
key witness, a man named Marlo, who claims
to have seen a large bird just before Jenna's
disappearance. Hi.
Marlo? Oh, yes, sir. Hi, I'm Ken. Hey, Ken. -Nice to meet you.
-I'm Tommy. Nice to meet you. as well.
Hey, Tommy. Man, thanks for taking the time
to meet with us today. We really appreciate it. Oh,
I'm glad to help. Uh, I've always felt
a little weird about being the last person
to see Jenna alive. -Yeah.
-Um... and I would love to see
some resolution to the case. So tell us about the day
that Jenna disappeared. There was
a storm coming down and, I mean, I only exchanged
a few words with her. I -- I basically
just told her to -- to hurry back down the mountain
before the storm hit. She said
that she definitely would. She was sweating
and tired, but, uh -- but she seemed
mentally sound and alert. So tell me about the sighting
you had on the way down
the mountain. I happened to glance up, and I saw this really dark
figure flying in the sky. My first thought
was it was an airplane. I mean, the wingspan had to have
been at least 20 feet, easy. But almost immediately, I
noticed that there was no noise. And, all of a sudden,
it banked and I could tell
that it was a bird. It was really dark
and I could see a hooked bill. And as it -- as it -
as it banked and -- and flew by, I could also tell
that there were some really huge talons on the bottom
of its tucked-in feet. So -- so it -- it curved back in
and flapped its wings and basically just --
just beelined it straight to the top
of the mountain. Only later when I heard about
Jenna disappearing did it occur to me
that maybe this large bird had snatched her up
or something like that. It was unlike anything
I'd ever seen before, and I've lived here
for a long time. You think you could draw us
a sketch of this bird? I can --
I actually got one better. I-I've got a video. -What?
-Video? NARRATOR: Coming up
on "Missing in Alaska"... This could be definitive proof that the thunderbird
actually exists. NARRATOR: Plus,
how might this ancient fish give the strongest evidence yet
of the thunderbird's existence? And Jax pursues
other answers to the mystery. Is there any reason
that you could think of that she would have
intentionally gone missing? NARRATOR: Alaska is home to
great numbers of large birds. Eagles especially thrive
in this vast expanse, which is rich
with fish and other prey. But could there be
a flying creature much bigger than any eagle? Is there a raptor
in Alaska large enough to inspire stories
of the thunderbird, a legendary creature
that can control the weather and snatch large animals
with its powerful talons? A witness named Marlo claims
to have seen such an animal just before a woman went missing
on Mount Marathon, and now he's making
an even bigger claim. You think you could draw us
a sketch of this bird? I actually got one better.
I-I've got a video. You've got a video
of the bird? -Well --
-This giant bird? Well, un-unfortunately,
I don't have a video of the day that Jenna disappeared,
but, yeah, I've got video. NARRATOR: Marlo's video
was recorded by a friend who saw a large bird
and sent the footage to him. Could it be the evidence
the team has been waiting for? -Wow.
-I had contacted the police, but the police,
they just dismissed it, and they didn't bother
looking at the video. So... Definitely a raptor. Yeah, look at that wingspan
on that. It's hard to tell
how big it is. Yeah,
it's a good-sized bird, but there's no point
of reference for it. Yeah, this was -- again, it was
taken, uh, uh, seven years ago. The resolution
isn't as good as I'd like. Your classic raptor, it's just hard
to see exactly what that is. I am seeing
kind of a light fringe. I would love
to have this analyzed, maybe spend some time kind
of reviewing this and -- Get it checked out
and see what we've got here. Exactly. I've been
actively investigating accounts of giant mystery birds
for over a dozen years now. So I'm anxious
to get this footage looked at, 'cause this could be
definitive proof that the thunderbird
actually exists. NARRATOR:
As Ken and Tommy download
a copy of Marlo's video, Jax goes to meet
with Jenna's cousin, Stephen. He's curious if Jenna might have
any personal motivations for disappearing on purpose. ♪♪ Stephen. Jax.
-Jax. -Nice to meet you, buddy.
-Nice to meet you. Thanks for taking
the time, man. -Anything for the case, right?
-Yeah. It's been 16 years.
I'm -- I'm kind of surprised. I'm grateful,
but surprised people are still interested
in the case. As an investigator,
I'm always trying to look at all the possibilities
of a case, you know? So, basically,
that's why I wanted to pick your brain
about things. -Sure.
-Find out what you had to offer. Is there any reason
that you can think of that she would have
intentionally gone missing? You know, trying to get
away from something, whether that's an enemy
or something like that? I don't know of any enemies
she might have had. How about her financials? I don't know. We never
really talked about money. She seemed pretty well-off
for herself. I mean, she wasn't asking
for money, but... Any boyfriends or any kind
of abuse in her life? She seemed really happy,
and there's only one way up and down that mountain,
so even if she did want to disappear on her own,
it'd be kind of difficult. I mean, somebody would have seen
her coming through. Stephen's responses,
assuming that they're genuine, are undercutting
the runaway bride theory. Maybe Jenna was a normal,
well-adjusted girl, and she just went missing
'cause of natural causes. I do
appreciate your time. If I come across any leads,
then I'll be in contact. Awesome.
Thanks, Jax. NARRATOR:
Experts dismiss the possibility of any modern bird
picking up a human. But Judy Benson believes that it not only happened
to Jenna Miller, it almost happened to her
a decade ago near Dillingham. Well, it was early spring, and the weather was nice,
so I decided to go for a jog. ♪♪ And I was about, oh,
two miles into my run when I thought I noticed
something above the tree line. And I glanced over,
but nothing was there. A moment later,
I got this really eerie feeling that I was being followed. And I stopped running,
and I turned and looked. And that's when I saw
this enormous shape rise up above the tree line. It passed in front of the sun. I didn't know
what I was looking at. And then I realized I was
looking at the biggest bird I'd ever seen in my life. [ Shrieks ] It was as big as a Cessna. That's when I realized
it was circling. And I remembered
that birds of prey circle just before
they're about to attack. So I ran into the woods. I'm scared out of my mind. And the bird circled
once more and flew away. I waited a moment, and I stepped
back out onto the road, and I high-tailed it home
as fast as I could. I'll never, never forget what it felt like
to be prey to that bird. NARRATOR:
With Marlo's video in hand, Ken and Jax meet up
to visit Dr. James Klein, an ornithologist who is
an expert on local birds. Dr. Klein? -Hi.
-Hi, Ken Gerhard. KEN: I'm curious
to get Dr. Klein's opinion on this potential
thunderbird video. But, first, I want to get his
take on the endemic species -- the types of birds
that are native to Alaska that might explain the legends
and the sightings. We're here to gather
more information, kind of pick your brain
about the history and taxonomy of large bird species,
and particularly here in Alaska. What can you
tell us about the largest birds
in the world today? The largest wingspan of any
living bird known today is that of
the wandering albatross. Now, it's got a wingspan
of about 12 feet, but it doesn't reside
in Alaska, so we're not gonna see it
up here. The largest predatory bird
in the entire world is the Andean condor. So the Andean condor
is going to have a wingspan of about
10 1/2 feet. Um, but, of course, it resides
in the Andes Mountains and on the Pacific coast
of South America. So we're not gonna see it
in Alaska, either. The largest North American bird
is the California condor. Now, that's got a wingspan
of about 10 feet. But, again, its territory is going to be limited
to California, Arizona, and during certain times
of the year, southern Utah. And we haven't had documented
sightings of them up this way. So what are
the largest bird species that can be found
in Alaska? The bald eagle, and that
is quite prominent in Alaska. The large females are gonna get
a wingspan of about eight feet, so, again, we're gonna see those
throughout a lot of Alaska. But all four of these birds
just aren't likely to, uh,
be able to carry a person. Is it true that eagles
can only pick up about 50%, about half
of their body weight? Yeah, about half is --
is pretty accurate. Yeah, they're definitely
not big enough. Are they any chance that
teratorns are still alive today? It's highly unlikely, but there
is always the possibility. We've seen it
throughout history -- is what's called
the Lazarus taxon. NARRATOR:
A Lazarus taxon is a species thought to be extinct
that was then found alive. The most famous example
is the coelacanth, believed to have died out
65 million years ago, until a specimen was found
near South Africa in 1938. Could the thunderbird be
a Lazarus taxon teratorn that's still hidden
in the wilds of Alaska? Um, I do have one other thing --
if we could bother you for an expert opinion
on a video that we're trying
to get analyzed. Oh, sure. Can you tell us
what that bird is? Let's see. Oh, that's a nice-looking
specimen. So, can you tell us
what it is? ♪♪ NARRATOR: Still to come,
on "Missing in Alaska"... This gigantic bird
is carrying a deer. NARRATOR: ...a look
at the largest flying animal of all time, plus... See these
ripple patterns here? ...could the flapping
of massive wings be the cause of these bizarre
weather patterns? Wow, that's wild. ♪♪ NARRATOR:
The vast state of Alaska is one-fifth the size
of the continental U.S., but its population
is approximately the same as San Francisco. With so much untamed land,
the Alaska Triangle has the highest rate of people
going missing in the country. Could one of the causes
be coming from above? Flying creatures with 40-foot
wingspans are not fictional. The quetzalcoatlus -- the largest flying animal
of all time -- was this size
when it roamed the skies during the Cretaceous Period. Could there be a similar
creature alive today? Legends of a massive thunderbird are well-known
in native folklore. And a modern sighting
could be connected to a runner vanishing
from a mountaintop. A video of just such
a flying creature might answer
if the thunderbird is real. KEN: Can you tell us
what that bird is? KLEIN: Let's see. Oh, that's
a nice-looking specimen. It appears
to be a turkey vulture. Hmm. Are they native
to Alaska? They're not native
to Alaska, but with their ability
to -- to travel vast distances with relatively
little energy expended, it's not entirely out
of the realm of possibility they could make it
up here. I'm honestly not surprised that
this bird is a known species. But Marlo did say
that it was smaller than the bird he saw
when Jenna went missing. So maybe these are different
animals altogether. And this video
does prove one thing -- large birds can be active here
without people realizing it. Yes, nice to meet you.
Thanks for coming in. NARRATOR: Judging the size of an airborne bird
can be difficult, but Carlos Diego claims to
have had a thunderbird sighting in Sterling
that solves that dilemma. DIEGO: It was a clear
spring day outside. I was in my driveway
replacing a battery that had gone bad in my truck when I hear something
off in the distance. [ Bird shrieks ] I looked up,
and I saw something. I figured it was
just a small bush plane, but I looked closer
and I realized this thing is -- this thing
is not a plane at all. It was moving like a bird. ♪♪ So I start thinking
it has to be much closer than I realize because there's
no way any bird is that big. That's when I noticed
that it was carrying something. People don't believe me
when I say this, but this gigantic bird
is carrying a deer. [ Bird shrieks ] I was terrified,
but I couldn't move. This thing flew right over me,
then it was gone. I've never seen
anything like that again. ♪♪ NARRATOR: After determining
that Marlo's video was of a known species
and not a thunderbird, Jax and Ken go to meet
with Tommy. There's still a chance Marlo's
earlier sighting on Mount Marathon was
of a larger, unknown bird. But the team
will need more evidence to consider the thunderbird
as a possibility. Hey, bud. -Hey, guys.
How's it going, man? What's up? Well, I've been looking in
on finding a connection on the Thunderbird and storms,
and a lot of stories that I'm reading
about the thunderbird -- that the thunderbird
supposedly is flapping its wings,
creating these storms. So I went over and checked out
the NASA database... Mm-hmm. ...the day that Jenna
went missing, and there's some interesting
stuff here. Check this out.
-Oh, wow. This is
the Aleutians down here. We got this --
these cloud systems here. It's coming in off the Aleutians
heading right towards Kenai Peninsula
there where Seward's at. Uh-huh. Look
at the next one here. -Look at that.
-Wow. See these
ripple patterns here? That's wild. Got a direction there,
another direction here. Looking at these images,
I can't help but visualize the giant flapping wings
of a bird creating these waves
in the clouds. Obviously, I can't say
that's what it is, but based on the legends, I have to wonder if
there's a connection between storms like this and sightings
of the thunderbird. That looks like sound waves
rolling through the clouds. Yeah, almost like
something is out there creating a pulsing structure
out there. I think we need
to find an expert on the weather --
a meteorologist. Yeah,
this is beyond me. I have trouble believing
that a single animal could be affecting
the weather like this, but something very strange
is going on. Maybe a swarm
of animals is causing this, or maybe it's man-made somehow. But either way,
it's worth investigating. -Let's do it.
-Yep. ♪♪ NARRATOR: Just ahead
on "Missing in Alaska"... I felt like a mouse
in the woods. NARRATOR: A new exploration
above Marathon becomes a race against nature. ♪♪ NARRATOR: Alaska is known
for its extremes -- from its mountains
to its weather. Could there be an extreme
animal -- a thunderbird -- capable of creating storms
with the flapping of its wings? The team wants to learn more
about the bizarre cloud patterns that occurred near
Mount Marathon on the day Jenna went missing. They meet
with geophysicist Gary Huffard, who has helped them
on previous investigations. -Is this your guy?
-This is Gary. -Hi, Gary.
-Oh, hi, guys. -Good -- good seeing you again.
-Same here. You got some interesting case
you were looking at? TOMMY: We do, actually. Um, we're investigating a story
of a missing person. Okay. The first week
of July years ago, during the springtime
up on Mount Marathon, a runner named Jenna
disappeared on the mountain. Without a trace. The day that Jenna went missing,
there's a storm that was brewing
and had -- had blown in. And we actually were able to get
some satellite images of that. -Oh, excellent.
-Care to have a look here? We'd appreciate
your expert opinion, Gary. This is really a neat
picture because -- oh! Now, that picture is incredibly
interesting because we only discovered
that in 2006. These are called
mountain waves. NARRATOR: Mountain waves are
caused by a rush of wind hitting a row of mountains where
a column of stable air sits on the leading edge. The push of the wind compresses
the column upward, forcing the air to condense
and create a cloud. When the air descends on
the other side of the mountain, it resonates,
like the bouncing of a spring, forming clouds during each
subsequent compression that look like ripples
in the atmosphere. Mountain waves, you've got
massive turbulence, you've got
extremely strong winds. These occur often enough that if we have a storm coming
in, that's an opportunity to look for these kind
of mountain waves. And, in fact, I saw these clouds
this morning in Cook Inlet. -That's significant.
-Mm-hmm. KEN: Gary's explanation
seems to rule out a thunderbird
creating these storms, but the bird Marlo saw
was riding the front of one. And if there's a similar
storm rolling in, that's something
we can look for. I think we need to get up
on that mountain, see for ourselves.
-I agree. Well, thanks
for your time, Gary. You bet. It sounds like we got
our hands full tomorrow. [ Thunder rumbles ] NARRATOR: The team surmises
that these unique storms might prompt the thunderbird
to make an appearance. Witness Gary Metzenburg agrees, after an incident he experienced
in 1998 near Valdez. METZENBURG: When I was younger,
I used to go to my uncle's place to split wood for him
just to earn some extra cash. One day, I'd been working
for a few hours, and I sat down on a log
to take a breather. And I looked up at the house, and flying towards me
was this huge bird. I mean, this thing was massive. I'd never seen
anything like this before. And I stand up, just in awe
of looking at this thing. I cannot believe how big it is. Next thing I know, this thing flies
over the top of me. [ Bird shrieks ] And I'm able
to see its wingspan. It could have been
the width of a house. I mean, I felt like
a mouse in the woods. It could have easily
picked me up. ♪♪ NARRATOR: The next day,
the team prepares to take advantage
of the coming storm. They gear up for a second
exploration of Mount Marathon, hoping to experience
similar conditions to the day Jenna went missing. KEN: Man,
it is brisk out there. Need my crampons.
I almost forgot. Let's make sure we pack our snow
pants, 'cause it's gonna be
hot getting up there, but it's gonna be cold
when we get to the top. Yeah,
I'm thinking about that. Just going down the checklist. You know, Tommy, if Gary's right
about the storm, this could actually work
to our advantage. Large birds are often known
to take advantage of the thermal air drafts
that are, you know, coming in the front of storms. I mean, sometimes
it's a playful thing. Mm-hmm. Sometimes, you know, obviously,
with bigger, heavier birds, they can really use those
updrafts to their advantage because, again,
it gives them a surge of air that they can kind of glide on.
-Yeah. This could increase our chances
of actually seeing some
really big birds. Well, hold that thought, guys.
We got ourselves a new toy. On this case,
it's very important that we have some
good long-range vision. So I combined our camera
with some binoculars for maximum zoom potential. So, basically, we have our
3x zoom on our camera, and then combined with the
30x zoom on the binoculars. So we got roughly
90x magnification. So it's basically
a 35 millimeter camera using
a 4,000 millimeter lens. -Awesome.
-So... Well,
short of physical evidence, which is what
I'm really hoping for, that we can find some signs
of a feather or droppings. Photographic evidence of a
thunderbird would be amazing. I mean,
we could be talking about one of the greatest discoveries
in science. -All right.
-All right, guys. ♪♪ NARRATOR:
With their gear in hand, the team heads out
to Mount Marathon, hoping to stay ahead
of the coming storm. ♪♪ There's your bird. -Right.
-You be safe. KEN:
See you on the top side. NARRATOR: Ken will once again
take to the skies, this time to keep a sharp eye
on the weather. Jax and Tommy will
hike up the trail once more, seeing if any new clues
present themselves. No easing into this one. [ Panting ] I don't remember it
being this steep. We should be able to get
a better bird's-eye view when we get past
the tree line. Hopefully, Ken gets a better
bird's-eye view for us, too. ♪♪ Looks like the forecast
is spot-on. The horizon displays a huge mass
of dark clouds headed our way. It's still sunny here now, but this could get really
dangerous really fast if we're not careful. NARRATOR: Up next on
"Missing in Alaska"... This is brutal. NARRATOR:
...a slog of a hike.... How's it looking
down there, over? ...becomes
a potential deathtrap. Guys, from up here,
the weather is crazy. [ Birds chirping ] NARRATOR:
With a storm incoming, the team surveys Mount Marathon
once again for any signs of a large bird. We're gonna make our way
to the summit. We'll see you there. All right,
let's keep moving. ♪♪ Did it just get steeper
or is that just me, Tommy? Oh, this is
pretty steep, man. [ Both panting ] Want to pull over
and take a break? Yeah.
Ooh, boy. Yeah, pull out the binoculars.
Have a look around. ♪♪ Now, our witnesses
described a bird that, ultimately,
our expert told us was probably
a turkey vulture. And that's not indigenous
to this area. Not at all. I've never heard of a turkey
vulture here in these areas. Well, if we have
some bird that's not indigenous to this area,
maybe that's what's happening. Entirely possible. Two, three years ago,
a penguin appeared. We don't have penguins
in Alaska. That's crazy. Yeah, totally crazy. -Just one, or was it --
-Just one. It was found
in our waters. Well, I'm not seeing
anything right here. -Want to keep moving?
-Yeah, let's do that. [ Thunder rumbling ] NARRATOR:
As Ken circles in the chopper where the weather remains clear
at the higher elevation, an early precursor to the storm is starting lower
on the mountain. [ Thunder rumbling ] ♪♪ [ Both panting ] This is brutal. Tommy, I need to stop
and swap out some wet clothes. That was crazy. The weather on the lower part
of the mountain has been
drenching us. But, so far,
we haven't seen a thing. All these rock crevasses,
you'd think would be potential bird habitats,
but I'm not seeing anything. Well, they might be making homes
to get out of this weather. Sure.
I'd want to get out of it. The fact that we don't see
birds right in the front of the storm could just mean
that we're too early. Or it could mean
that birds in this area
don't exhibit that behavior. Maybe they've learned
these storms are too violent, and they go into hiding. Hey, Ken,
you have any luck up there? Well, the weather is nasty.
It's socked in here. Well, we're not seeing
anything down here. NARRATOR:
The team hurries to rendezvous
at the top of the trail. They know they will have
a limited time to scan the surroundings
for activity before the full brunt
of the storm rolls in. If they're going to spot
a thunderbird, they'll have to do it
with enough time to get down the mountain ahead
of the violent weather. Tom,
what's with this weather? We're drenched,
now we're dry. Now the wind's picking up.
-It's crazy. I just noticed -- look at those
clouds back there. They're moving in.
-We need to keep an eye on that. We don't want
to get stuck up here. Definitely. ♪♪ -Well, here we are again.
-Oh, wow. We're doing okay. We're all dry now,
but we were wet earlier. LOOKS LIKE WE MIGHT BE DEALING
WITH SOME WIND AND ANOTHER
STORM COMING IN. Why don't you land
and come help us out? [ Sighs ] -You guys okay?
-We're good. -Yeah.
-Haven't seen anything all day. -Yeah?
-No signs. I think while we're up here,
let's pull the binocs out. -Have a look.
-Might as well. This looks promising over here,
some of these high peaks. ♪♪ NARRATOR:
In addition to their binoculars, Ken uses
the enhanced magnification unit to watch the horizon. Even with 90x zoom,
he isn't seeing anything yet. I'm just thinking a rap --
raptors have excellent vision, so, you know, they're gonna take
advantage of that to have
a good vantage point. He'd be able to survey
this whole surrounding area. Maybe up there or up there. ♪♪ [ Howling ] You guys heard that?
-What was that? Which way did it come
from? ♪♪ ♪♪ [ Howling ] What was that? Which way
did it come from? Man, I couldn't tell 'cause it's echoing
through this canyon. [ Howling ] That was
the same noise. What was it? Guys, that was just... the howl of wind coming
through the crevasse there. I can hear
the wind there, yeah. That's all that was. It represents
the up currents that thunderbirds
would want to ride. [ Wind howling ] TOMMY: Hey, guys,
these clouds are moving in. The wind's picking up, too. With this storm coming in,
it would be prime time to see a possible thunderbird
coming in in front of it. If there were a raptor out here
of an earlier variation, this is the perfect terrain
to find one. Oh, I agree, man. An ocean of fish
for the taking -- look at these
vast expanses of land full of hoofed animals
that it could have. NARRATOR:
The locations and conditions are almost identical
to when Jenna went missing. But the team
hasn't seen anything, and they're out of time
in the face of the coming storm. You know,
it's getting windier. The wind is picking up and
rain's probably gonna be coming. We don't want
to be stuck up here. The last thing
we want to do is slip and fall and end up
off one of these cliffs. It's a very valid
theory that that's what happened
to Jenna. I agree. KEN:
It's disappointing not to have a thunderbird sighting
after all this effort. But we can't stay up here
as this storm moves in, so we have to end
our investigation. ♪♪ [ Thunder rumbles ] [ Rain pouring ] NARRATOR:
As the storm rolls in, the team reconvenes at a local
pub to discuss their findings. This has been one
of the most intense investigations we've been on,
I would say. There's really something strange
going on here, though. When it comes
to Jenna's disappearance, I mean,
there's so many factors. There was no places
that she could go missing up there
off that trail. And then
the search after was, you know,
an intensive search. So I don't think something
would have been missed. It's not like some
of our other hunts where we've had searches
that were very limited. This one was
a very extensive search. The fact that foul play
was ruled out -- plus, this is
a heavily trafficked mountain. They have that huge race here
every year. It really makes
her disappearance that much more intriguing.
-Suspect there. -Yeah, exactly.
-Yeah. The myths and legends
have been around for a long time
about thunderbirds. There are
so many things out there that are named
after thunderbirds. And most myths out there
are based on reality. You know, could this have
been an eagle, absolutely -- a big snow owl, there's other
types of hawks out here. But these other birds
may have been mistaken for, you know,
this thunderbird creature. They're large, but not large
enough, I don't think, to have invoked these legends
of the thunderbird. Well, guys, for me, it all comes
back to eyewitness testimony. I mean, here you have examples
of credible people that, you know,
are giving credible testimony about something they've saw that
is utterly remarkable, you know? The thing about
the thunderbird in relation to other cryptids like Bigfoot
where people have, like, a fleeting sighting is there are
a number of accounts on record that include actual physical
attacks on humans. That's not a case
of misidentification. I mean, you talk about something
actually swooping down from the sky
and attacking somebody. My own personal belief,
after researching this for 12 years and interviewing
dozens of credible eyewitnesses is that some aspect of the
thunderbird phenomenon
is genuine. There's definitely something
going on up here. Now, whether or not that's what
got to Jenna, we may never know. But we certainly can't dismiss
the possibility that the thunderbird exists
and that it could be responsible for some of the disappearances
in the Alaska Triangle. ♪♪ NARRATOR: For now, the question
of what happened to Jenna Miller remains one of the great
mysteries of the
Alaska Triangle. How does one disappear
from a mountaintop? It's well-known
that Alaska is home to many large birds of prey, and some of them
show up here unexpectedly. It appears
to be a turkey vulture. But could there be one
big enough to target a human... It could have
easily picked me up. NARRATOR: ...and stealthy enough
to remain hidden in tumultuous skies above? You've got
massive turbulence, you've got
extremely strong winds. The fossil record
proves flying animals of this magnitude
really existed. And if native tribes
are to believed, they haven't disappeared
completely. This gigantic bird
that is carrying a deer. NARRATOR:
Maybe this elusive creature is one more reason people go... Missing in Alaska.
