Rick Lagina’s receipt of long-hidden 1760s ship logs pointing to a $4 million cache of San Aurelio shipwreck gold secretly moved to Oak Island has stunned his team and ignited a surge of excitement, speculation, and renewed determination in the treasure hunt.

Oak Island’s decades-long mystery erupted with new intensity on Tuesday afternoon when long-time treasure hunter Rick Lagina revealed what he described as “credible, document-supported evidence” that a cache of shipwreck gold—valued at more than $4 million—may be buried somewhere beneath the island’s northern shoreline.

The revelation, delivered during a recorded strategy meeting for the upcoming Quicktime Discovery episode, instantly sent shockwaves across the excavation team and the historian community who have followed the Oak Island saga for years.

The unexpected announcement took place around 2:45 p. m., inside the island’s temporary research headquarters near Smith’s Cove.

According to witnesses, Lagina entered the room carrying a weathered leather-bound folder he claimed to have received the previous evening from a confidential source with ties to a Nova Scotia maritime archive.

“I think it’s time we look at something that’s been overlooked for far too long,” he said, sliding the folder across the table toward his brother Marty Lagina and researcher Charles Barkhouse.

Inside were photocopies of ship logs believed to date back to the early 1760s, referencing a merchant vessel known as The San Aurelio, a Portuguese-owned brigantine rumored to have carried gold bars salvaged from Caribbean privateer raids.

The documents described the ship’s final days before it reportedly sank during a violent autumn storm near the coast of Nova Scotia—far closer to Oak Island than previously recorded in public shipping registries.

“What’s written here doesn’t match the official maritime records,” Rick noted, flipping through the brittle pages.

“Someone corrected the coordinates, someone hid the true last-known position, and someone deliberately removed this ship from later salvage attempts.”

Marty, visibly stunned, leaned back and muttered, “If this is real… why wouldn’t anyone want people looking for it?”

Rick paused before replying, “Maybe because someone already moved it.”

This statement immediately heightened tension in the room.

Barkhouse, known for his encyclopedic knowledge of regional archives, studied the photocopies closely.

“These markings look like inventory notations,” he observed.

“See these hashes? They usually indicate transferred cargo.

If the San Aurelio didn’t go down with its treasure, that gold was unloaded before the storm hit—or during it.”

That was when Rick dropped the most startling detail.

He produced a final document: a crude hand-drawn map, showing what appeared to be an inlet formation strikingly similar to the topography of Oak Island’s northeast coast.

In the margins, scribbled in Portuguese, were the words *“Tesouro Movido Antes da Queda”—*Treasure moved before the fall.

Cameraman Joseph Keller, who was present during the recording, later stated, “You could feel the entire room freeze.

Nobody breathed for a full five seconds.”

Rick then stated, “This may be the strongest piece of evidence in decades suggesting valuable cargo—gold bars—was intentionally hidden here.

And the value based on estimated weight? Roughly four million dollars, conservatively.”

Following the announcement, the Quicktime Discovery team initiated immediate analysis.

Marine historian Dr. Lenora Whitmore, brought in via livestream from Boston, confirmed that the San Aurelio had long been suspected to have disappeared under questionable circumstances.

“The Portuguese crown at that time was in financial crisis,” she explained.

“Losing that much gold would have been catastrophic.

It makes sense that if they recovered it—or if privateers recovered it—they would hide it until safe transport was possible.”

Several Oak Island researchers suggested that the hidden chambers, shafts, or tunnels already uncovered on the island could logically serve as temporary storage depots.

“The engineering found here is consistent with secretive drops,” Barkhouse added.

“These people knew how to conceal assets.”

Public reaction was immediate and explosive.

Within hours of the news leaking from the production set, online forums erupted with speculation.

Some users claimed the documents finally validated long-standing theories tying Oak Island to lost European treasure fleets.

Others argued the estimate of $4 million might actually be far too low, considering historical conversion rates and inflation.

By early evening, the Oak Island Interpretive Centre saw a surge of visitors hoping to learn more about the alleged shipwreck treasure.

Staff reported that several people asked whether new excavation zones would be opened immediately.

As for Rick Lagina, he ended the day with measured optimism, stating, “We’ve chased legends, rumors, and half-truths for years.

But this… this feels different.

This feels grounded.

If this treasure exists—and I believe it does—we now have the first real breadcrumb leading us toward it.”

Investigations into the validity of the documents are set to begin this week, with field teams already preparing for targeted surveys along the island’s northern coast.

Whether the San Aurelio’s gold truly lies beneath Oak Island remains to be seen, but one thing is certain: Rick Lagina’s revelation has reignited the hunt with more force than anything in recent memory.