Geologist Says He Was First to Spot Treasure

A Columbia University researcher Tuesday testified in federal court that his team located the gold-laden steamer Central America in 1984, four years before an Ohio team announced the discovery.

William Ryan, a geologist for the New York university, said his team recorded a sonar reading in the Atlantic Ocean, showing an image corresponding to the dimensions of the 270-foot ship.

Ryan testified in U.S. District Court that his team heard a “loud reverberation” as it went over an area of the Atlantic on March 5, 1984.

The Central America went down in a hurricane 160 miles off South Carolina in 1857. Its treasure, believed to be worth up to $1 billion, is the focus of a legal battle involving Ryan’s group; the Columbus-America Discovery Group of Columbus, Ohio, and several insurance companies.

Columbus-America hoisted up more than a ton of gold last summer, and up to 2 tons are believed to still be on the ocean bottom. At issue is who has rights to the gold.

A pair of treasure hunters paid $300,000 up front to Columbia University in an effort to locate the Central America, Ryan said. Ryan contends his team’s sonar work in 1984 was crucial to discovery of the treasure.

Ryan said he had a signed agreement with Thomas Thompson, president of Columbus-America, which precluded him from giving the data to other parties. The information was not to be photographed, copied or traced, Ryan said.