December 15, 2020, 3:23 PM ET Ex-Treasure Hunter Still Stuck In Jail After Five Years For Refusing To Give Up Location Of Gold Loot
Former treasure hunter Tommy Thompson has been held in contempt of court for five years for refusing to give up the location of 500 missing gold coins he found in 1988 after discovering a historic shipwreck. This undated file photo provided by the Delaware County Sheriff s Office in Delaware, Ohio, shows Tommy Thompson. Photo: AP
A former deep-sea treasure hunter is about to mark his fifth year in jail for refusing to disclose the whereabouts of 500 missing coins made from gold found in an historic shipwreck.
Discoveries: Explorer stuck in jail refuses to disclose historic $5M historic coins
9news.com.au - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from 9news.com.au Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Treasure hunter stuck in jail for 5 years because he still won t disclose whereabouts of 500 gold coins
cbsnews.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from cbsnews.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Dec 15, 2020
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) A former deep-sea treasure hunter is about to mark his fifth year in jail for refusing to disclose the whereabouts of 500 missing coins made from gold found in an historic shipwreck.
Research scientist Tommy Thompson isn’t incarcerated for breaking the law. Instead, he’s being held in contempt of court for an unusually long stretch well past the normal maximum limit of an 18-month internment in cases of witnesses refusing to cooperate.
But nothing is usual about Thompson’s case, which dates to his discovery of the S.S. Central America, known as the Ship of Gold, in 1988. The gold rush-era ship sank in a hurricane off South Carolina in 1857 with thousands of pounds of gold aboard, contributing to an economic panic.