Tommy Thompson, an engineer who found the legendary SS Central America wreckage, was released from jail after spending almost 10 years in custody. He has been detained since 2015 for violating civil law by not disclosing the location of the 500 gold coins he found in the wreck from the 1857 "Ship of Gold." A federal court has recently ruled that Thompson's detention has lost its ability to compel him to cooperate with law enforcement; therefore, they ruled that Thompson should be released.
The treasure, which is estimated to be worth in excess of 2.5 million dollars, still exists, and Thompson continues to claim that he does not know where he buried the gold coins. His release signals the end of one of the longest legal disputes surrounding maritime gold history in the world.
