A New "Ark Hunter" Joins Ron

Then, early in 1985, Ron received a call from a man who had been referred to him by Jim- Dave Fasold had been studying the subject of Noah's Ark and had concluded that it could not possibly have landed on the sheer peak of Mt. Ararat and survived. When he called Jim Irwin with his idea of searching for the Ark elsewhere in the Ararat region using the relatively new sub-surface interface radar, Jim suggested that Dave call Ron. And thus, because of Col. Irwin's referral, Dave Fasold entered the picture.

After Ron told Dave about the "boat-shaped object" and sent him some photos, Dave was so excited that he wanted to go to the site as soon as possible. Ron was thrilled at the prospect of having an associate with so much knowledge about ships and shipwrecks. A trip was arranged for March 20, 1985.

Back to Saudi Arabia

It was on this- Dave's first trip to Noah's Ark- that Samran el-Motairy arranged for Ron to re-enter Saudi Arabia, accompanied by Dave Fasold whom Providence had arranged to be there at that exact time.

Samran met Ron and Dave in Turkey and went to see Noah's Ark with them. Dave's MFG (a type of metal detector) confirmed the metal detector scans Ron had done in 1984. Convinced and excited about Noah's Ark, Samran made arrangements for Ron and Dave to go to Saudi. Samran now had first-hand knowledge that Ron Wyatt wasn't just a kook- he was doing valid archaeological research into subjects which the Muslim holy book, the Koran, spoke about.

On March 31, 1985, a contract was drawn up between Samran el-Motairy, Dave Fasold and Ron before they went to Saudi. It stated that Ron and Dave were to provide special equipment to locate commercial minerals for Samran and the percentages and specifics were spelled out. There had to be a contract because in order for any foreigner to enter the Kingdom, they must have a valid business arrangement with a Saudi resident.

All three signed and initialed the agreement and on March 31, left Ankara and flew to Tabuk, Saudi Arabia where Samran lives. The next morning, they headed for the site of Jebel el Lawz, with a driver and a laborer accompanying them. With Ron giving them directions to the area, they made some wrongs turns and decided to take a break. A Bedouin appeared and they asked him where Jebel el Lawz was. He answered, as Dave Fasold recalls, "Jebel Musa henna"- which means, "Moses' mountain is here"! Amazingly, the local tradition recognized this as the right place! They spent the next few hours exploring the entire area. When it was time to head back, Samran said he thought they should instead go to Hagl and spend the night because it was closer than driving all the way back to Tabuk. But Hagl was also the town in which Ron and the boys had been imprisoned. After the events of the last year- being imprisoned for 3 months, then being accused of stealing valuable artifacts from Turkey, Ron was a little nervous.

continue