06-03-2025
Mysteries of the Deep: An independent researcher's effort to uncover Lake Tahoe's unknowns
LAKE TAHOE — One independent researcher is working to uncover the secrets hidden at the bottom of Lake Tahoe. Instead of a submarine, he's using a custom-built rover.
The mysteries of the deep stem from a garage 50 miles away in Pollock Pines.
NATS – "The big thing behind this camera is that we can upgrade it in the future."
Chase Petley wears a lot of hats — engineer, explorer and visionary, to name a few. Today, he's focused on one mission: preparing this rover for its first dive.
The goal is to find out what's at the bottom of Lake Tahoe.
"You can't wait for someone to give you the answers to the questions," he said.
About 15 years ago, when those questions had no answers, he set out to find them. Why? He did it out of pure curiosity. What began as a simple hobby soon became a passion.
From dropping a wooden box with a camera inside to now building this rover, Petley's come a long way since asking that first question.
Now he has pictures and videos from the bottom of the lake with new discoveries.
"We were told there wasn't going to be much life at the bottom of Lake Tahoe, but it's hard to actually go down there and get a camera shot without something alive in the video — shrimp, fish, large fish," he said.
Lake Tahoe is about 1,600 feet, but Petley said that a massive crevasse between two fault lines suggests the lake could be much deeper.
Also, there's a mystery behind a giant rock that is in the middle of the lake – and is about 400 feet high – but is too deep for anyone to know about.
Petley said the discoveries below are endless, but his journey wouldn't get widespread support without exposure.
"My part in this whole journey is the media, so I'm documenting everything he does," said documentary filmmaker Michael Cheeseman of Erwin Street Entertainment.
Cheeseman is far from his Los Angeles studio but this story is worth the trip. Once he heard about Petley's story, he wanted to help share it.
"As soon as we started filming, we were like now we can really start seeing what he's doing and evolve that story," Cheeseman said.
Now they are a team, one building the rover and the other making sure the world sees what it finds.
Their Instagram page, Mysteries of the Deep, has reeled in more than 55,000 followers. It's clear they're not the only ones interested.
"You can't wait for someone else to give you the answers to the questions so hopefully we can inspire that in other people," Petley said.
That is a sentiment he said is equally important as the discoveries they find.
"I think it's important that we get people out there exploring and showing us the little bit of our planet that hasn't been explored yet," he said.
