In this 1991, file photo, Tommy Thompson stands at the helm of the Arctic Explorer. Photo / Doral Chenoweth III/The Columbus Dispatch, AP, File
A former deep-sea treasure hunter is preparing to mark his sixth year in jail for refusing to disclose the whereabouts of 500 missing coins made from gold found in a historic shipwreck.
Research scientist Tommy Thompson has been held in contempt of court since December 15, 2015, for that refusal.
He is also incurring a daily fine of US$1,000 (NZ$1,500).
Thompson's case 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.
Despite an investors lawsuit and a federal court order, Thompson, 69, still won't cooperate with authorities trying to find those coins, according to court records, federal prosecutors and the judge who found Thompson in contempt.
Thompson says he's already said everything he knows about the coins.
