♪ NARRATOR: In 2004,
two men were fishing in the Gulf of Alaska,
near Juneau, when one of them got
a huge tug on his line. He stood to fight it, hoping to reel in
a monster fish. But it might have been
another kind of monster instead. ♪♪ His buddy continued angling
for a catch of his own when he caught a glimpse
of a green, webbed hand. And the fisherman
was yanked overboard. ♪♪ The friend rushed to help and saw a tail disappear
into the water. His description matched an Inuit legend
of a vicious mermaid. Stories of similar creatures
are known around the world, some more sinister
than others. ♪♪ The missing man's body
has never been found. ♪ 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... --<font color="#FFFF00"> Captions by VITAC --</font><font color="#00FFFF">
www.vitac.com</font> Captioning provided by
A+E Networks The team heads
into the Gulf of Alaska, northwest of Juneau, right on the southern edge
of the triangle, going to the spot
where the fishermen disappeared. They're looking for any signs
of unusual marine life that could explain
the disappearances in this area. They've joined a fishing crew that had a bizarre find
in this location just two days ago. A fish was pulled up
in their net that appeared to have a bite
taken out of it. That's crazy, man. It was unusual enough that they recorded
a video of the catch and alerted
the "Missing In Alaska" team. Could it have a connection
to the missing fisherman? The team will see
if any potential culprits reveal themselves out here. One of the most famous
mermaid sightings involve the famous
British explorer Henry Hudson. JAX: Wow. And in 1608,
he actually logged that some of
his crew members had a sighting
of this mermaid, and he described it as,
you know, basically a beautiful woman
with pale skin and long, flowing,
black hair, and, then, from the waist down,
a tail of a porpoise. And so, you know,
just kind of makes you wonder when you're talking
about a famous explorer like Henry Hudson. NARRATOR:
Mermaid legends date back to the time
of the ancient Babylonians. One of their deities,
named Oannes, was portrayed as
a half-man, half-fish being who imparted wisdom to mankind. The Greek god Triton is one of the most famous
mer-beings of lore, believed to control
the ocean's waves. Even today, modern Hindus are known to worship
mermaid goddesses. Could there be something
to these legends? What makes them so prevalent
across cultural lines? You know, the natives
in the Arctic up north have legends
about this Qalupalik. It's a mermaid-like creature, and it's said
to have green skin. Parents tell stories
to their children about staying away
from the shoreline, because these creatures
will come up and snatch
their babies away. NARRATOR:
The Qalupalik is an evil twist
on the mermaid archetype. This aggressive creature is said to have long claws
and vicious teeth for attacking prey. She sports human legs, but also a tail to help
her steer through the water, and she wears
a garment with a pouch used to carry away
the children she kidnaps. She's believed
to steal their youth in order to stay young
herself. This story, this legend's
an Arctic story, though. We're in southeast Alaska,
and it's a long ways away. How far? Well, if you draw a straight
line from here to there, it's 1,100 miles. But to get from there to here,
it's not a straight line. You're looking down
around the Aleutians and back up and down
to the Panhandle. JAX:
Ken and Tommy are already doing
the math on this mermaid theory, but so far, the facts aren't
quite pointing there for me. KEN: Jeff, I got to ask, I'm all about the weird
and the strange, so... Besides that wounded fish
you found... What is the weirdest
or strangest thing that you've
ever caught out here? Um...
that would be a wolf eel. You know
what a wolf eel is? They're weird-looking fish. It looks like a person
kind of, right? NARRATOR: The wolf eel
is a reclusive species native to
the northern Pacific Ocean. Although not truly an eel, this creature can grow
more than six feet long. But its most prominent feature is a face that looks more like
an angry, old man than a fish. TOMMY: Animals like the wolf eel
make you wonder if they might have inspired
these mermaid legends. If you caught a glimpse
of that face over the side of your boat, it'd be easy to see how it could look
half-human, half-fish. KEN: So, Jeff,
what do you think? What types of animals
or predators out here would actually be capable
of pulling a man under the water and holding it there? I think somebody got a line
wrapped around their foot tied off to a crab pot,
and he's at the bottom. You get a commercial -- My cousin was found
in his bowline of his boat two years ago. Yeah, so you know
what I'm talking about. Yeah. I mean,
you get hit -- those dungy pots --
they're heavy. Yeah. Even that little,
50-foot lead line -- that could haul me
off long enough, and I'm done. JAX:
I'm starting to realize how many hazards there are
in these waters. Obviously, there's predators
like sharks and sea lions, but there's
a ton of fishing equipment and the very cold temperature
of the water. There's a lot of ways
to die out here. Oh, man. Some basic kelp. Could a clump of that
be interpreted as a claw? JEFF: Got the right color.
When it dries, it dries black. Really? Maybe the guy that went
overboard got wrapped up
in a bunch of seaweed. Maybe that's why his friend
couldn't find him. NARRATOR: The team was hopeful
that whatever caused the strange injury to the fish
two days ago might still be active. But without
any leads appearing, the next step will be to check out that fish
for themselves. Mysterious attacks
in the waters of the Gulf have seen a small spike
in recent years. Randy and Sarah experienced one
on Kodiak Island in 2006. SARAH: It was really mild,
summer weather, and I just wanted
to read my book and just kind of
enjoy the weather. RANDY: While she was camped out
with her book, I went swimming in the water
for a little bit. And that's
when I felt something grab my ankle
and pull me down. ♪♪ I heard him crying out,
and I look over, and he's almost completely
submerged in the surf. And then I catch this glimpse
of something near him, and it was this green foot
and a tail. So I run over to help him
at this point, and I am completely
freaking out. ♪♪ And I start to kind of
tell him what I saw, thinking he would tell me
that I was crazy. You know, 'cause I have
no explanation for it either. ♪♪ The injured fish caught
by the fishing crew was left with a local
ichthyologist for examination. At this point, it's really
the only clue we have. Ken and Jax receive word that he's completed
his analysis. They head to the lab
to find out what he's learned. KEN: Dr. Chris. Come on in.
-Hey, there he is. -Hey.
-How are we doing? -How's it going?
-Good. Well, it's kind of
interesting here. Now, what you've got
is a really nice species of the keta salmon. But this salmon was,
as you said, was net-caught. -Is that correct?
-Correct, correct, yeah. Okay. You can see this
crisscross pattern here. KEN: Yeah. That's from
the gill net. And then the fish is caught
in the gill net, so this part of the body,
it's still trying to swim, and it's still alive
at that point. When this injury
hit, that was it.
The fish was done. Is there a possibility
that this animal could have injured itself
somehow? Maybe a boat propeller
or -- Well, a boat propeller
is gonna slice across here. So if something
had an injury like this and it was instantly dead, how did it end up
in the net? Well, it would have
sunk normally, but I think it got injured
after it was in the net. So, what kind of predator
could make that kind of bite? The bite here
has a curved feature to it, even with this ripping here, and it's about 14 centimeters
by 7 centimeters deep, which is quite a large
bite mark. When you look at the predators
that we have in these water, the orca -- they would have
just taken the whole fish. You might have gotten
a head left. We look at something
like the salmon shark, they would have come in
for the tail, and it would have been
a very clean hit. This is
a sea lion skull. Ah. This often hits salmon
coming in, but I'll tell you, when they
take something like this, they're gonna shred it. Have you seen any kind of bite
like this before? I can't say I have, no. It's almost humanlike,
just much, much bigger as far as
how we would bite something. It's kind of
interesting here. We've also got
some really deep bruising on either side
of the wound. You can see that in here, and you can see
the scale loss, almost as if
it was being grasped. NARRATOR: The ability
to grasp and hold prey is limited to
a few animals in this area, such as crabs,
like the king and tanner crab. But their claws would leave
much smaller marks. These are pretty big.
[ Chuckles ] So I don't have
an explanation for it. KEN: So far, this fish is
the only tangible clue we have as to what could be
hurting people in the waters of
the Alaska Triangle, and it's not giving us
many answers. ♪ NARRATOR: Missing-persons cases
in the Alaska Triangle aren't limited to
the rugged mountains
and vast forests. A fisherman disappears
in the ocean. A witness sees
a green, webbed hand. Other similar reports,
some including a green tail, have many thinking of
an Alaskan legend of a mermaid-like creature
called Qalupalik, which they believe could be
roaming Alaska Triangle waters. The team is looking
for any clues that could explain the creature
at the heart of these reports. CHRIS: It's kind
of interesting here. We've also got
some really deep bruising on either side
of the wound, and you see
the scale loss. So are you saying
that this fish looks like it was grasped
by human hands? I wouldn't say that,
but it's not impossible. Hmm. JAX:
What other predator options
do we have, then? Uh... I'm stumped. The ocean is obviously
very vast and unexplored. Is it possible
that we could be dealing with some type of
invasive species here, maybe something
that's not native to these Alaskan waters? All kinds of predators
in our water, all kinds of new things
being discovered in
the ocean every day. And, Dr. Chris, this is
some awesome information. I think it's definitely
gonna help us along in our investigation. Yes, sir. Gentlemen,
I've been glad to help you. NARRATOR: The possibility
that an underwater predator could be part human has been hypothesized
in the aquatic ape theory. This idea suggests
that during evolution, primates went through a phase
of living in water, at least part-time. Proponents of this theory
say vestiges of this era remain. The ability to walk upright
enables monkeys and humans alike to explore deeper
sections of water while still breathing. And if we do submerge, humans' relatively
hairless bodies enable faster movement, and our dive reflex
allows us to hold our breath twice as long while submerged
as we can on land. With such innate adaptations
to water, could a strain
of humanoid creature have gone fully aquatic and be haunting
the ocean today? Without a known animal on which to focus
the investigation, Ken and Tommy decide to gather more intel
on the Qalupalik legend to see if it might correlate
with any nonlocal species that could explain
these incidents. TOMMY: Hey, Ossie. Hey, Tommy.
Good seeing you, my friend. You too. Hi, Ossie. I'm Ken. Ken. To what honor do
we owe your presence here? We're investigating a case
of a missing fisherman. Very unusual circumstances. It's almost like something was dragging him
straight down into the water. Almost a green-like skin,
webbed hand is what he described it as. Yes. Okay. The Qalupalik --
it's an Inuit legend that stems
from northern Arctic to discourage children
from wandering off by themselves or to the shore. The Qalupalik
is a humanlike creature. She has
grayish-green-like color, and, you know,
their teeth are going inward, so that once they bite,
they will not let go. And her eyes,
being really dark, the child can be drawn into
those eyes like that, and then they're snatched. It's very sinister. Wow. That's a very
chilling description. But, now -- now,
this story is from the Arctic. Yes. Is it possible
that the Qalupalik is migrating down
from the Arctic down to here,
southeast Alaska? It's probably due
to lack of resources. You know,
some of the villagers are migrating to cities
for economic reasons, and so there's less children
to go after. Predators
follow the prey. Yes. Exactly. So, has anyone ever seen
this thing in modern times? Are there any sightings? Yeah, yeah. It's been not just children,
but also adults, as well. Ossie, we really appreciate
your time. You're very welcome. Always good seeing you,
my friend. -You too.
-Take care. We'll see you again. NARRATOR: Almost all legends
are based on some seed of fact. Even if the Qalupalik
doesn't exist as described, could there be a living creature
out there similar enough
to keep the legend alive? A fisherman named Jamison Cantor
says yes. On an outing in 2009, he experienced
something bizarre. I was fishing
off the coast of Yakutat, and I had just hooked
a king salmon. I put my landing net
in the water to try to catch it. ♪♪ And just about that time, I looked up, and I saw
this shape moving towards me. ♪ It was like it was
this baby seal or a porpoise. But as it got closer, the proportions weren't right
for a seal or a porpoise. ♪ Suddenly, it rammed my net. I struggled with it,
trying to untangle it, but instead,
it jerked the net away. ♪♪ Of all the weird things that have ever happened to me
on the water, that was one of the strangest. ♪ NARRATOR: The team reconvenes
to discuss their findings. Even if sightings
do suggest the Qalupalik, there's a problem. The legend places this mermaid thousands of miles away
from these incidents. But Ken has a theory
that could answer this dilemma. KEN: You know, one thing
I've been thinking about, guys, is migration patterns. We're talking about
a huge distance from here to northern Alaska, where the legends of
the Qalupalik are relevant, maybe thousands of miles
if you were to literally go around
the coast of Alaska. That sounds daunting, but, I mean, when you keep it
in perspective, there are
certain marine animals that migrate immense distances
over the course of a year. NARRATOR: One of the more
well-known ocean travelers is the humpback whale. They can cover
up to 5,000 miles annually from their tropical
birthing grounds to their polar feeding grounds. Leatherback turtles
can swim even farther, some going more than 7,000 miles on their annual Pacific Ocean
round trip. And Pacific salmon
traverse up to 900 miles, plus a 7,000-foot
elevation change, as they travel inland
from the ocean as far as Idaho to spawn. Based on these facts, an animal swimming around Alaska
is within reason. But what animal could it be, and why would it have made
that journey? JAX: I've put together
a list of similar incidents
reported to the authorities. I want check and see
if we can map out
these sightings and see if we can see
any correlations. Absolutely. TOMMY:
A marine chart here. Okay, Tommy, first one's
gonna be in Juneau, May of 2004, and the second one's gonna be
on Kodiak Island. And that's gonna be
June of 2006. And our third and final case
is gonna be Yakutat, and that's gonna be
July of 2009. A salmon fisherman said he saw
a shadow in the water, and it appeared
to take his net. It just got me thinking, what do these all
have in common? Well, you mentioned
the salmon fisherman. These dates on here
are the peak of each region for their salmon migration. So you're saying
whatever this thing is, it seems to be following salmon
around the Gulf of Alaska. Possibility. Hmm. Tommy, when is the peak season
for king salmon right here where we are? Right now. NARRATOR:
In southeast Alaska, king salmon maintain
a strong presence from May to July, with subtle variations
each year. This year,
July is the top month. KEN:
Observing this pattern means
that humans may not be the primary prey
of this creature, as the mermaid legend suggests. Perhaps it's salmon. And that gives us an opportunity
to track this animal down and find out what it is
once and for all. Well, at least now we know
what to use for bait. You guys thinking
what I'm thinking? I think
we need some chum. ♪ NARRATOR: Every year,
thousands of people go missing in the Alaska Triangle. The disturbingly high number
suggests there could be unrecognized phenomena
at work. The team's search for answers has led them to
the Gulf of Alaska, where a fisherman vanished at the hands
of a mysterious creature. A wound found in a fish indicates a predator
with sharp teeth that might have the ability
to grasp its prey. Could it be a mermaid
of north Alaskan lore called Qalupalik? The culprit appears to have
a taste for salmon, following the different
migrations around the gulf. The team is going to prep
some salmon chum for another outing
on the ocean, hoping it will
draw the creature to them. KEN:
All right. Nice and bloody. ♪♪ TOMMY: Here we go. KEN: Well,
I sure hope this works. Well, looking at
all the locations and then what happened to us
the other day with the fish in the net, it all points back
to salmon. So I'll be at a loss if this doesn't at least
get us another clue. We're going back out
with the fishing crew today. We'll do an overnight trip to maximize our chances
to find this creature. I doubt it's a mermaid, but it definitely
could be a creature that hasn't been
identified before. NARRATOR: New ocean species are being discovered
all the time. Just this century, animals like the ghost shrimp
and flapjack octopus have been identified
and catalogued. With less than 5%
of the world's oceans explored, who knows what else
could be out there? My theory is, you know, this predator
has gone after humans on a couple of occasions, so I have a backup plan. While you guys
were resting today, I went and gave
a little bit of blood, and I thought we'll add
some human blood in with the chum. Whoa!
That's you, brother? That's me.
Donating to the cause. I've really
got to hand it to Jax. I mean,
bringing his own blood -- that's a brilliant idea. It's been demonstrated
that certain ocean predators, like sharks, for example, can detect scents as diluted
as 1 part per 25 million. So if this creature really
is drawn to people, a bag of Jax's finest
should get its attention. NARRATOR:
With their bait ready, the team joins the fishing crew and heads back out
toward open waters. JEFF:
All right! Everybody's on! The crew will help them
put out nets, with an eye towards catching
whatever's eating salmon and leaving these
unidentified bite marks. As the boat
heads toward a location where there have been multiple
reports of king salmon. The team keeps a sharp eye
on the water. -See them?
-Nice. Hey, there we go. Look at those bait balls on the depth finder. KEN: Oh, yeah. That looks good. Oh, yeah, look. 1, 2, 3. Look, look, look, look. See those bait balls --
1, 2, 3. We need to set the net. We need to set the net. GRANT:
Heck yeah. Get her done. NARRATOR: With a swarm of salmon
beneath them, the team feels
this is the prime place to try to catch
their quarry. JAX: This is the spot, guys.
Everybody toss the chum? TOMMY: Yeah, I'm good. As the crew readies the net, the team starts
chumming the waters, hoping to entice
any predators to action. Perfect.
Let me have that line. There we go.
That's what we're looking for. That's perfect! Jeff, is there any chance
that, you know, doing this chumming is gonna
bring in other predators, like maybe seals? Oh, heck yeah. That's something we got
to keep in mind, guys. That chum will bring all kinds
of stuff into that bait. Hey, Jeff,
if you don't mind, can you keep an eye
on our line for us? And, then, Tom
if you want to hit the bow... Sure. and keep an eye out there. Yeah, I'll take the bow
for sure. And, then, Ken and I can be
watching both shorelines here. Yeah. KEN: Okay. NARRATOR:
With their traps set, the team settles in
for some diligent surveillance. KEN: Got a lot of surface area
to cover here, and this is kind of daunting.
-Oh, yeah. ♪♪ -Do you see something?
-I thought I saw something big. -It wasn't just a whitecap.
-Yeah. I just saw it off -- Yeah, yeah.
-South by southwest over there? JEFF:
Yep. I do see it. Hey, Grant... Yeah. ...go ahead and glass
that corner. There's something in the water
over there, seriously. Yep. Yep. Something
just popped out right -- right about -- See that? Right there. No, it was a black object
that broke the surface twice. ♪♪ Just keep looking in that area
right there. You see it? GRANT:
Oh, big clumps of seaweed. -Is that what it is?
-The two that I'm looking at. -Seaweed?
-Yeah. This is odd. The amount of chum that
we're putting into the water should be drawing in
all types of predators. Instead,
we're not seeing any. I'm wondering if there could be
some other animal in the water that's scaring
all the others away. [ Beeping ] Oh, that's
the sonar. Wow. See that, Shelby? Oh. Big, huge thing in there. Huh.
Whole bunch of stuff. GRANT: Hey, guys... What's up? ...there's something pretty big on this depth finder there. JAX:
Go check it out, Ken. KEN: Oh, I see it, that shape
right there in the middle? Yep. Can you tell
what that thing is? We're not talking about
a school of fish here. -That's definitely not --
-No, that's bigger. No, that's
a big, solid, object. ♪♪ [ Bird chirps ] NARRATOR: The Gulf of Alaska
has become a popular destination for vacationers, fishermen,
and adventurers. But has it also attracted
a new kind of predator? Northern Alaskan mythology describes a killer mermaid
known as Qalupalik. A humanoid sea creature notorious for
kidnapping children and carrying them away
in a pouch. Is there a real animal that could have inspired
these legends? The manatee is credited
as the most likely suspect to generate mermaid legends
around the world. With five finger-like bones
in their forelimbs and tail-like vertebrae, their skeleton could easily
be interpreted as a mermaid. And their ability
to do tail stands and hold themselves upright
in the water makes live ones appear
very human-like from a distance. The extinct relative
of the manatee known as the Steller's sea cow used to inhabit
North Pacific waters, but these animals
were herbivores. They would not
have gone after people. The team is forced to search
for another answer, and there's a chance
they just found it. GRANT:
See that, Shelby? Oh. Big, huge thing
in there, yeah. Huh.
Whole bunch of stuff. GRANT: Hey, guys... What's up? ...there's something pretty big on this depth finder there. JAX:
Go check it out, Ken. Yeah. That's huge. KEN: Oh, I see it, that big
shape right there in the middle? GRANT: Yeah. Yeah. -Yeah.
-Yep. Can you tell
what that thing is? JAX:
Wow. Look at that. JEFF:
That's a humpback whale. Humpback whales --
they come in here all the time. Observing the humpback
was impressive, but disappointing
in terms of our investigation. Obviously,
this is not the animal behind the attacks on humans. The good news is we still have
a long night ahead of us to continue our search. NARRATOR:
The mystery of this animal is of particular interest
to Amir Ghara, who was with a friend
on a beach in 2007 when something tragic happened. I was out with my friend
at Clam Gulch, which is on the Kenai Peninsula, and we were digging
for razor clams. ♪ We were out there
for about a half-hour when my buddy decides
to head up the beach to see if he could find
a better spot. ♪♪ It was kind of a foggy day, so it wasn't long
before he was out of sight. But I was busy in my own area, so I wasn't really
paying attention to him. Then, suddenly,
I hear him yell really loud. [ Indistinct shouting
in distance ] It was kind of freakish,
because I couldn't see him, but it sounded horrifying. So I ran up the beach
to see what's going on. ♪♪ And I can't see him anywhere. All I see is his bucket. My first thought was that
he got too deep in the water and a riptide
got ahold of him. But as I'm scanning
the shoreline, I noticed these crazy prints
in the sand. They looked humanoid,
but larger, and the toes actually
appeared webbed. I once heard about
a mermaid legend in Alaska, and based on what I saw,
I'm ready to believe it. ♪♪ NARRATOR: As night falls, the team puts more chum
in the water, hoping that their quarry will partake
in some nocturnal feeding. -Think that's enough?
-That's good for now, right? Don't you think, Tommy? All right, guys,
it's gonna be a very long night. I'm thinking we stagger
some things here. I think if you take
the bow first, I'll take the stern,
you take a nap, and we'll just rotate. That way, we don't get
too tired or complacent. There should always
be two of us out here
at one time, so yeah. -Yeah. Okay.
-All right. NARRATOR: Ken agrees to take
the first sleep break, while Jax and Tommy
man their lookout positions. They'll have spotlights ready in case they hear any sounds
in the water. ♪♪ How's it looking? JAX: It's all quiet. Feels like the wind's
picking back up. This is probably the toughest
surveillance I've ever done. We're trying to find an unknown
animal in the ocean at night. We've set up
everything we can -- chum, spotlights, sonar. I'm even taking thermal imagines
of the water to see if there's
any warm bodies. But spotting this creature
is gonna be a tall order. [ Thuds ] ♪♪ Ken, bring the spotlight! What happened? ♪ ♪ [ Thuds ] ♪ Ken, bring the spotlight! What happened? KEN: You heard a thud? Yeah, no.
As soon as he turned over, I hear this --
I had the camera down like that. Yeah. Jax, did you see it? No, no. I just heard it. I was so close. The noise just sounded like
it was right next to us. Come on, come on, man. But you were rolling though,
right? Yeah. I was rolling, and I saw
something, like, white. So we can rewind it
and see what you got? You want to do that?
You want me out of the way? KEN: Yeah, No, let --
let's see it, man. I want to see it. MAN: All right. Well, here we go.
Let's check it out. Yeah, okay. TOMMY: I've been on these waters
most of my life, and a bump like that is
oftentimes just a floating log. We call them a deadhead. We need to check the footage
and see if that's all it is. You know
what a deadhead is? They bob up and down,
they bob up and down, and they -- I've hit them
before on my boat. "Thud." I don't think
that's what it was, but I can't say conclusively
it wasn't. Mm-hmm. Well, I mean, I was right there
with the spotlight, and we didn't
see it again. So whatever it was,
it went back down. -All right.
-Okay? -Yeah.
-Right there. MAN: Go ahead.
Look at that right there. Right there. Huh. I mean, it's obviously
something, but... Wow. That's weird. Pretty dark. I can't tell. MAN: Is it a fin? Yeah. I think -- yeah. I think it looks like it. That looks like a fin. But you can't really
say conclusively, though. The shape on the video definitely looks like
an aquatic creature, but there's so little of it
visible and it's so dark that identifying it
could be a real challenge. It looks like a fish to me
of some sort. [ Sighs ] Obviously, it's smaller
than a whale, so, I mean [sighs] I guess it could be
something like a seal, but it just --
it just doesn't -- no. It doesn't have the appearance
of fins at all. The fin's not right. And Tommy's seen
lots of seals. Lots of seals, sea otters. They flip in the water
when they're up, and then they flip
to go back down, especially sea otters. It's not doing that,
that's for sure. I mean, it's frustrating, 'cause it's not
definitive enough, but, I mean, we can't rule out
the possibility that that is what
we came here looking for. That could be
the Qalupalik. ♪♪ The really weird thing is
that we didn't get it on sonar, whatever it was, according to Jeff. I mean, but that should have
shown up on sonar. That's a big footprint
right there. The fact that this creature
didn't show up on sonar means that it's probably
swimming near the surface. So if we stay diligent
and keep our spotlights ready, we may just have another
opportunity to see it. I think we need to keep
the watch going. Yeah, yeah.
I'll take the next watch. Sounds good to me. All right. NARRATOR: The team remains
on alert the rest of the night, but they don't have
any other sightings. JAX: Sun's come up now. Why don't we sink
a camera down there, see if we can see any kind of
damage against the hull? And who knows what we might see
at this point? Sounds like a good idea. Cool. All right. You ready? Yeah. JAX: Whatever hit us last night
hit us pretty hard. There should be evidence left
at the point of impact. This is based on
a rule of forensics called the
Locard's exchange principle. NARRATOR: Dr. Edmond Locard was a French pioneer
of early forensics, so well-regarded
he became known as the Sherlock Holmes of France. He established the idea that whenever a suspect
makes contact with any item, there is an exchange
of material. This trace evidence can be used
to identify the individual. In the case of a creature
ramming a boat, there might be more than just
trace evidence left behind. TOMMY: Okay, going down. JAX: Aw, man,
that's a good picture. How's it look? Good picture. Yeah. We're not
seeing nothing yet. I think that's a good depth
right there, Tommy, if we just move
to the right. Go a little deeper
right there. Hey, look at that. What is that? That's an obvious mark,
man. I can't tell what it is. What the hell is that? We got to ask the captain. Those might have
already been there. What you got? JAX: What do you think? What is that? Those three marks, yeah.
See that? Was that there before? No. You hit some debris
before there? Not like that. No? If we hit anything,
that would be underneath. Wow. That's --
That's bizarre. ♪♪ What the hell is that?
We got to ask the captain. Those might have
already been there. What you got? Those three marks. Was that there before? No. Wow. That's --
That's bizarre. When I look at it,
it looks like a scrape. I mean, are we looking
at some debris? A mark like that,
something hit it from above and maybe possibly
trying to pull itself up. To me, that looks like
claw marks. I mean, we have to consider
the real possibility that these are the marks
of the Qalupalik. I think it's time
to step up the game. I think we start
chumming again. We use some of my blood. Let's do it. I'll get the blood. ♪♪ Guys,
we got to be careful, man. This thing
could be dangerous. JEFF: Tie that line off
on the stern corner. KEN: We're good. JAX:
Ready to start chumming? Let's do it. This is it.
This is the last of our chum. Let's get it all out. TOMMY: We good?
You guys ready for the blood? Let's see how this goes. Our last shot at this. KEN: We're definitely
gonna draw something in. It's all gone, guys. NARRATOR:
The blood trail spreads along
the length of the line like an underwater dinner bell that should draw any predators
toward the net. Hey, Jax,
how about go up on top? Yeah, bird's-eye view
might work, huh? Right on, yeah. KEN: Perfect. You got that side,
Tommy? Yeah. ♪ JAX: Hey, Tommy? Yeah? I can still see the blood out by the orange ball
out there. ♪♪ [ Thud ] Hey, guys,
there's something in the net. Feel the tension on it,
Tommy. It's heavy. Something's
in the net. Oh, my God! Oh [bleep]
Jax, get down here, brother. I'm coming. This thing is big. Holy [bleep]
We got to get this thing in. Open the door there. Oh [bleep] Got it? TOMMY:
[ Groaning ] JEFF:
What do you guys got going on? KEN: We got something. We got something heavy
in here. Watch your hands. Ow! -Keep pulling.
-Slow down. JAX: I don't know.
We're almost dug in. There's nothing in it.
-Wait. Wait. -There's nothing.
-There's nothing in it. JAX: It's gone, guys.
It's gone. The lead's gone. JEFF:
No, something hit that. -Hey, hey, right here.
-Whoa. -Look at that.
-What the? -Holy cow.
-That's huge. TOMMY:
Look how big that hole is. You can fit two men
through that. And that's frayed there. Sure is. What could do that,
and this large? I don't know, Grant.
What do you think --
a salmon shark? Had to have been
something big. Well, a salmon shark would have
the teeth to do that. Something just eviscerated
this entire net. This didn't get torn
as we were pulling in. It's not -- It's actually
missing a section of net. It's like something cut it.
Look. Yeah, when we started
yanking that sucker in, it was really heavy
first few pulls, and then
it just got light. JEFF: That's crazy, man. That is absolutely crazy. I've never seen
anything like this. Did you guys
get anything on sonar? Were you marking? GRANT:
I didn't see anything. -I didn't see anything.
-Look at the size of this. -Look at the size of this!
-Whoa! It's big. That's crazy. Plus, it's right
in the middle, right? Holy moly. NARRATOR:
The team secures the evidence and gets back to their hunt, but the rest of the day goes by
without any more leads. As they make their long trek
back to port, they consider the various
evidence they found in this strange
and mysterious case. Hey, guys, this has been
a pretty bizarre set of circumstances
when you think about it. Extremely. I mean, it started off with the disappearance
of the fisherman, you know, and the account of
a green, webbed hand... Yeah. coming up on
the side of a boat. And then
we pull up a salmon that's got a freaking bite
right on the middle of it. Not just a bite,
but the bruising and, you know,
how it was grasped. All the missing scales
in there. And the hull gets hit. What tops it all off
is the net. The legend of the Qalupalik
described this kind of knapsack that this creatures supposedly
carries on its back and that it uses it
to actually place small children
that it's abducted. And at first, I thought, "Well, you know, maybe
someone could misinterpret a bunch of seaweed kind of
gathered around on its body." So now, after this event
with the net, ho's to say that if
this creature did exist that maybe it used things
like fishing nets, woven them together
to form this garment? And that could
basically explain that aspect
of the Qalupalik legend. Well, I'm not far off
from you with that. I mean, we're talking about
5% of the world's waters have been explored. So there's lots of creatures, and they're constantly
finding things. [ Sighs ] Man, a mermaid? Yeah. That's a stretch for me. Yeah,
but krakens and leviathans were considered to be legends
for a couple thousand years, but in the 1800s,
a giant squid was discovered, proving there's a real basis
to these legends. So who knows
what could be down there? There are always things
to be discovered. And, you know, admittedly,
I am disappointed that we didn't get
definitive proof
of the Qalupalik, but if these things
do exist and they're starting
to make their homes in
more populated areas and, in fact, starting to prey
on adult humans, then it's just
a matter of time before they are proven
to be real. Who's to say
that something like that couldn't exist out there? ♪♪ NARRATOR:
For now, the mystery of what creature
is behind these incidents remains unresolved. But there's no doubt there are far more life-forms
under the ocean's surface than we know, and worldwide legends suggest mermaids
could be among them. Is it possible
that climate change and the shifting ecosystem have driven a mermaid-like beast
from Arctic waters in search of
more plentiful prey? And could that prey include the missing fisherman,
among others? If the legends are true... ♪♪ ...this vicious Qalupalik
may be one more reason... JAX: What the? NARRATOR:
...people continue to go... Missing in Alaska.
