Treasure Hunter Freed After Refusing to Reveal Shipwreck Gold

Tommy Thompson, 73, spent ten years in prison for refusing to reveal the location of 500 gold coins. He was released recently, but the coins remain missing.

In 1988, Thompson discovered treasure from the SS Central America, a ship that sank in 1857 off South Carolina. The ship carried 30,000 pounds of gold and sank 7,000 feet deep, killing 425 people. Thompson and his crew recovered thousands of gold bars and coins worth millions of dollars.

Investors had given Thompson $12.7 million to find the shipwreck. They expected returns on their investment. However, Thompson claimed the money went to legal fees and bank loans. The investors sued him in 2005 for not sharing the profits.

Thompson disappeared in 2012 but was arrested in Florida in 2015. He was jailed for contempt of court because he refused to tell where the missing coins were. Last year, a judge ended his sentence, believing Thompson would never answer.