Treasure hunter freed from prison after refusing to turn over shipwreck gold

BBC News - WorldCenterEN 2 min read 100% complete March 14, 2026 at 06:51 PM

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Treasure hunter Tommy Thompson was recently released from prison after a decade of incarceration for refusing to disclose the location of 500 missing gold coins from the 1857 shipwreck of the SS Central America. Thompson discovered the "Ship of Gold" off the coast of South Carolina in 1988, recovering millions in gold bars and coins. Investors who funded the expedition sued Thompson in 2005, alleging they never received promised returns from the treasure, valued at potentially $400 million. Thompson went missing in 2012 and was arrested in 2015, held in contempt for withholding information about the missing coins. Despite the indefinite nature of civil contempt sentences, a judge released Thompson, concluding he would likely never reveal the coins' location.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

CBS News 30% San Francisco 30% Columbus, Ohio 30% Boca Raton, Florida 30% Battelle Memorial Institute 40% New York City 40% South Carolina 40% SS Central America (Ship of Gold) ×380% Tommy Thompson ×890%

Keywords

tommy thompson 100% shipwreck gold 90% treasure hunter 90% ss central america 80% gold coins 70% sunken treasure 70% criminal contempt 60% investor fraud 60% deep-sea treasure 50% financial panic of 1857 50%

Sentiment Analysis

Neutral

Score: -0.10

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BBC News - World

Political Lean

Center (0.00)

Far LeftCenterFar Right

Classification Confidence

90%

This article was automatically classified using rule-based analysis. The political bias score ranges from -1 (far left) to +1 (far right).

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tommy thompson shipwreck gold treasure hunter ss central america gold coins sunken treasure criminal contempt investor fraud deep-sea treasure financial panic of 1857

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