It is perhaps the craziest treasure hunt of all time:
Because instead of looking for gold or jewelry boxes, they are looking for the tusks and bones of prehistoric mammoths.
After all, the location is world-famous: New York’s East River along Manhattan.
▶︎ A real one hunting fever has broken out, the excitement is almost reminiscent of the “gold rush” centuries ago in the western United States. Mountains of bones are said to be found on the rocky river bottom.
Gigantic: a mammoth skeleton in the American Museum of Natural History. Many of these giant tusks are said to lie in New York’s East River
At least that’s what the gold mine operator and mammoth enthusiast John Reeves says. In a recent podcast, he quoted the statements of a former employee of the American Museum of Natural History, who claimed the astonishing: In 1940, tons of mammoth tusks and bones were shipped from a site in Alaska to New York. However, the museum had no storage capacity and therefore dumped the shipment into the East River.
Such rumors had been circulating for a long time – but Reeves let the cat out of the bag: Bone Cargo would be found around 65th Street! “I’m probably starting a bone hunt here right now,” he said.
Since then, boats have been cruising the river on the Upper East Side, and divers have been sinking into the water. Because the estimated value of the alleged remains of the animal species that died out 4000 years ago also has enormous attraction: up to one billion dollars.
Commercial diver Don Gann on his way to his place of work: New York’s East River
BILD was now on the road with the mammoth hunters!
Don Gann (35) is a professional diver, as are his two helpers, Legend Santiago (38) and Stephen Cortes (31). Gann has already made a name for himself as the star of a “Discovery” show about diving cesspools in sewers. Specifically: “Dirty Water Don”.
Don Gann (35, left) and his two helpers Legend Santiago (38, right) and Stephen Cortes (31, center)
From a port in Jersey City, Sunday morning is still almost dark. The barge is full of special equipment that allows diving even in the most adverse conditions: A device heats water to up to 50 C, which is pumped into the diving suit. Another generator produces air to breathe.
▶︎ Radio, flashlight and GoPro video camera are mounted on the diving helmet. The boat and equipment is worth $14,000, he calculates.
High-tech treasure hunt: A radio, flashlight and GoPro video camera are mounted on the diving helmet
After a rapid ride with a view of the spectacular New York skyline, it goes to the supposed underwater bone cemetery. While Don gets ready for the dive, weekend traffic rumbles along the “FDR Drive” freeway, and walkers with dogs and joggers pass on a sidewalk. Some, confused, whip out their smartphones to capture the dive crew. Other residents are already familiar with the spook and call out in a friendly manner: “Have you had any luck today?”
Gann sinks into the five-degree cold floods, buddy Cortes passes the twisted lifeline of oxygen and hot water hoses, as well as communication cables, Santiago monitors the radio. A few air bubbles indicate where the professional diver is currently scanning the bottom. Heavy breathing sounds come from the radio.
The lifeline: oxygen, hot water hoses and the communication cables
“The conditions down there couldn’t be more difficult,” Gann had explained before the first dive: “The current is strong, it’s constantly changing, it’s difficult to hold your position, visibility is usually little more than a foot! ‘ The bones, if actually there, would be difficult to locate – overgrown and covered with mud and debris.
The diver: “It’s like looking for a needle in a haystack!”
In the middle of the river, the water would be 25 meters deep, and the current often comes from several directions. It would be like a “whirlpool”. A lot could go wrong, he said: cutting off the oxygen supply quickly leads to unconsciousness, without heat supply hypothermia occurs.
The professional diver boldly climbs into the five-degree cold water
Because of the extremely difficult circumstances and conditions, Gann and his crew remain the only professional mammoth treasure hunters in the East River. They are already worried about hobbyists trying their luck on their own, driven by the social media hype.
“We saw a YouTuber who showed up with light gear after just a few minutes because his hands were blue from the cold,” says Santiago. Gann fears: “Someone could die here!”
In total, they have counted 14 “expeditions” circling the East River so far. Some even searched the ground with submersible drones.
BILD reporter Herbert Bauernebel in the treasure hunter nutshell
And there are charlatans: a seeker just posted photos with an alleged mammoth tusk that he had actually bought earlier in Florida, as Santiago shakes his head.
The diver pulled these three possible mammoth tusks out of the ground
︎ In the meantime, Gann has returned to the boat twice with possible finds: one piece fits descriptions by experts of what bones can look like after more than 80 years on the river bottom. “Like a rib,” Santiago then inspects a second find. With the third hit, however, it quickly became clear that it was a false alarm: a metallic sound can be heard when tapping with a wrench.
The trio snap photos and email them to experts. They will be examined in more detail later. Gann seems satisfied for the time being: “We’ve never found so much in one day…”
The trio and their possible sweetheart
BILD and the diving crew have to experience for themselves how dangerous the search can be: When changing position, the engine suddenly gets stuck idling, the boat has no drive and is unable to manoeuvre, a pawn in the tide. The barge drifts towards a floating construction platform. Try to sling an anchor against the railing on the shore, fail. At the last moment, the shift lever jumps over and the boat has drive again.
The American Museum of Natural History has dismissed recent bone sinking claims as mammoth nonsense. Hardly anyone has been deterred: “We are only at the beginning of our search,” says Gann: “We will not give up so easily – and if it ultimately fails, we have at least given everything.”
