Discovery Channel’s new sequence, Mystery at Blind Frog Ranch, just aired its third episode Friday evening. The reality series follows a father and son as they hunt for treasure on their 160-acre ranch. Though the focus is searching for gold, this is more than just a treasure hunt.
Who Are The Ollingers?
Duane Ollinger is the star of Mystery at Blind Frog Ranch. After spending over 30 years within the Texas oil industry, he decides to use his vast experience drilling for oil to seek for treasures rumored to be in Utah’s Uinta Basin. He bought a 160-acre plot of land in 2018 and introduced his son, Chad, in to help him.
Chad Ollinger is the son of Duane Ollinger. After hearing what his father was planning, Chad decides to sell his dwelling and crop-dusting business. He purchased a school bus and move his spouse and four children to live on the land.
Duane and Chad are digging hard for gold. With hard digging comes big equipment and Duane has invested a big sum of cash into this endeavor. With so much equipment, Duane determined to herald his longtime good friend, Charlie.
Charlie Snider, or «Charlie Boy», spends 20 years is as sheriff’s deputy and is head of security for the ranch.
Duane additionally contacted Eric Drummond. Eric is a geologist with over 40 years of experience. He is well known in the oil industry and an professional at «finding things.» Eric offers the group a scientific view of the place to look for the gold.
Digging For Gold
The first thing Duane did after purchasing the ranch was to take satellite scans of the area. The scans showed nearly two miles of caves and caverns running underneath the property. The following step was to attempt to access the caverns. The Ollingers start drilling where they imagine may very well be an access point into the cavern. They punched right into a void crammed with water. Dozens of frogs have been inside the void and appeared to have been underground for an extended time. Duane describes being able to the touch the nose of the frogs before they’d hop away as in the event that they were unaware of his presence. Duane decided proper then to call it «Blind Frog Ranch.»
Shortly after drilling the access gap, the world started to flood until it was underwater. The Ollinger’s would now should discover a way to remove the sediment now filling their access hole. Eric urged testing the sediment for gold. The group pumped out the sediment and have been glad to find raw gold and even a Spanish gold coin. These finds were evidence that more gold have to be within the almost two miles of caverns.
Even after pumping a lot of the sediment out of the unique access gap, the opening was still underwater. Duane decides to try to dig another gap in an try and find a dry access point. He digs a 30-foot vertical hole costing $6000 only to find that it is still flooded on the bottom.
Is it Too Harmful…or not?
Deciding it is simply too dangerous to permit Chad to drop into the 30 foot hole, Duane digs out the original hole. The water becomes clearer and Chad is finally able to dive into the cavern.
Chad Ollinger dives into the cavern alongside with camera operator, Ryan Walsh. After searching within the huge cavern, Chad locates what appears to be a big manmade box. The box is made of enormous logs held together with rope. This find provides more credit to the concept of treasure being in the caverns. Though Chad was able to make this big find, they still haven’t any way to get anything out. A new access level must be found.
Eric decides to use UV dye to show the water green. They may then search the property for areas the place the water could be coming out. Eric, Chad, and Charlie search the property where they locate a small cluster of cedar timber 1/4 of a mile Northwest of the unique dig site. They discover the green water, which glows brightly when under UV light, in what appears to be a natural spring. Duane spends $5000 digging over 35 feet, but the group is unable to punch into the cavern.
Episode three ends with Charlie finding strange worms swimming at the unique dig site. The worms appear translucent and glow under UV light indicating there may be an entire ecosystem living inside the cavern system.