LOST GOLD SHIP

AIRED: Season 2, Episode 9
THE DETECTIVE: Elyse Luray
THE PLACE: South East Alaska

THE CASE:

Environmentalist Gabriel Scott was working in the Copper River Delta near Cordova, Alaska, when he came across the wreckage of an old ship.

According to locals, these are the remains of the SS Portland, the famous steamship that carried 68 miners and nearly two tons of gold from the Klondike River to Seattle harbor and began the great Klondike Gold Rush of 1897.

Could the stories be true? To find out, History Detective Elyse Luray joins a team of experts in Alaska to investigate the wreck.

Mixing maritime history and forensic science, the team reveals the dramatic story of the SS Portland and confirms whether Scott has found the remains of this legendary ship.

More Leads

National Park Service Administrative History of the Klondike Gold Rush
Learn more about this strange moment in Alaskan history.

The Alaska State Library's guide to primary source material about the Gold Rush