Does Crime Pay?

One day, there will be an account for every person and all that has been done. So, this saga is not over. 

In 1998, the Arctic Discoverer ship was used  by lead treasurer-hunter Tommy Thompson to find the sunken ship S. S. Central America. The Discoverer had originally been named The Cameron, a Canadian ship in 1958. Then went on to take the name, the Arctic Ranger and when sold again in 1988 became the Arctic Discoverer which would be used to explore, and find with success,  the sunken S. S. Central America.

The S. S Central America was launched with great fanfare and success in October of 1852  but met its fate  with most of the crew and passengers on board, on September 12, 1857.  In  category 2 storm off of the coast of the Carolinas the ship took on water and while the inverted distress flag was hailed, no one came until the following day. Only about one hundred passengers were transferred to life boats onto other ships. The storm of over 100 mile an hour winds eventually sent  the S. S. Central America to the bottom of the ocean with most of the remaining passengers and what has been valued as over $8,000,000 in gold and artefacts. The remaining passengers who survived hung on to pieces left in the water from the ship going down.They were rescued by a Norwegian sailing vessel and as far out as 8 days later the last 3 were rescued. The total loss of life from the tragedy was 425 people including the Caption of the ship.

The California gold rush was in full swing during this time with its peak about 1852. The S. S. Central America was carrying literally tons of freshly minted gold including heavy gold bars and hundreds of ingots and coins.  All went to the oceans bottom.

One hundred and thirty one years later, Thomas Gregory Thompson ( Tommy)  and his crew would discover the sunken ship which was by then called, “ The Ship of Gold”.  Thompson, a “former scientist turned American treasure-hunter “ would lead a team using the Arctic Discoverer ship to find the S. S. Central in September of 1998.

The story goes that in 2000 Thompson had investors who financed the ship’s exploration.  When Thompson sold the recovered gold found at the bottom of the ocean for some $52 million investors claim they never received their return on that investment. They accused Thompson of hiding the money and not being willing to account for the 500 gold coins. It was said by many that he had offshore bank accounts.

In 2013 a district court in Ohio issued an arrest for Thompson for his failure to appear in court. Thompson would be a fugitive until he and a girl friend were found in a Florida hotel and arrested in 2015. By 2018, Thompson agreed to return the missing 500 gold coins from the wreck but said he did not have access to them. He also agreed to answer question about the location of the coins but never did. With the on-going law suit, the investors were awarded over $19 million. In December of 2015 Thompson was jailed and remained there until March 4, 2026 when a judge released him because he “no longer is convinced that further incarceration is likely to coerce compliance”. Thompson served more than 10 years.

At this writing, the Arctic Discoverer  is docked on a pier in the St. Johns River near Jacksonville.  It is clinging at a shipyard in Green Cove Springs.   To look at it  heavily leaning, it has  obviously taken on water on one side in the St. Johns River. This ship’s crew found the most valuable shipwreck  in history now is” bedraggled and forlorn” on the banks of the St. Johns River near Jacksonville.  

This story lives on. There is a reconning for all of us  one day as God is in the details, so stay tuned for the rest of the story.

See you tomorrow,

Sources:  Google AI, Wikipedia, Clay Clerk, Vishi Garig, Ship of Gold, Central America (ship, 1852) at Wiki Commons, Photo-Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper, 1857, Capt. Joule Haanstra,  Mariners Museum, Vaughan Publishing, Nannette V. Ramey.