Treasure Hunter Emerges from Prison, Unwilling to Reveal Shipwreck Gold

Treasure hunter Tommy Thompson has been freed from jail after serving more than a decade behind bars for refusing to disclose the whereabouts of 500 missing gold coins from a shipwreck he discovered in the 1980s. The coins were part of a haul that had been en route to the East Coast to create a reserve for banks, but the ship sank 7,000 feet to the bottom of the ocean, taking with it 425 passengers and crew.

Thompson, who led the expedition that located the SS Central America shipwreck off the coast of South Carolina, had been in jail since 2015 for contempt of court for failing to account for the treasure. Despite intense legal pressure, he steadfastly refused to reveal the location of the missing coins, which are estimated to be worth millions of dollars.

The SS Central America, also known as the "Ship of Gold," sank in a hurricane in 1857, taking with it a haul of gold bars and coins valued at the time at around $2 million. Thompson located the wreckage in 1988 using sophisticated deep-sea exploration technology, sparking a legal battle over ownership of the treasure.

While Thompson initially worked with investors to recover the treasure, he later became embroiled in lawsuits and financial disputes. He was accused of failing to pay his investors their share of the treasure and was eventually arrested in 2015 for contempt of court for refusing to disclose the location of the missing coins.

Despite his release from prison, Thompson remains bound by a court order to account for the missing treasure. The case has become a complex legal saga, with the treasure hunter's refusal to cooperate only adding to the mystery and intrigue surrounding the lost gold of the SS Central America.