Mobile UPI  |   About UPI  |   UPI en Español  |   UPI Arabic  |   UPIU  |   My Account
Search:
Go

Texas wants in on treasure hunt

|
|
 
  
Published: March. 26, 2009 at 1:50 PM

AUSTIN, Texas, March 26 (UPI) -- A Texas commission says the state should be involved in a legal fight for the possession of a potential treasure trove spotted through Google Earth.

The Texas Historical Commission said it plans on seeking entry into a lawsuit filed by treasure hunter Nathan Smith over a possible $3 billion in treasure lost in South Texas, the Houston Chronicle said Thursday.

Commission marine archaeologist Steve Hoyt said the group's request to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is based on the Antiquities Code of Texas stance that Texas owns any historical shipwrecks on submerged lands.

Smith filed his lawsuit in 2007 in an attempt to gain ownership of a possible shipwreck in Refugio County, Texas, he spotted using Google Earth.

Smith suspects the buried wreckage may be a sailing vessel that got lost in a South Texas creek in 1822 during a hurricane, the Chronicle said.

The owners of the land targeted by Smith have opposed his legal motion, claiming the possible wreckage and its cargo are on their lands and therefore their property.

Topics: Nathan Smith
Recommended Stories
© 2009 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI's prior written consent.

Order reprints
  
Join the conversation
Most Popular Collections
The making of the Oscars Cheerleaders of 2012 The Chicago Auto Show
The Tibetan Moniam Festival in China The Most Desirable Women of 2012 The best kisses
Additional Odd News Stories
Your Daily Horoscope
The almanac
1 of 30
Valentine's Day Ramallah, West Bank
View Caption
fark
The government didn't regulate banks, and the economy fell. If the government decides to regulate...
If you are interacting with a police officer, it is best not to speak with your mouth full...of...
Remember how it took cops two days to show up and file a report after somebody broke into your house...
Electric cars prolong a destructive, car-centric lifestyle. And help you pick up socially conscious...
Man celebrates Valentine's Day in Bangkok by lobbing a bomb at a taxi that won't stop for him
How to make a million off of your restaurant in the first year. Step 1: buy an old bank. Step 2:...