Most of us have had the exciting opportunity to tour the world via Google Earth since its release in 2005. The ability to clearly see your backyard, famous landmarks, other countries, and vacation hot spots is mind blowing nonetheless. New features are constantly being added to enhance this mapping software. But can you make a living using this powerful technology? Well sure you can, if you are Nathan Smith of Los Angeles. Nathan may never have to work another day in his life.......that is if he wins a court battle in Texas.
Nathan Smith was able to locate what he believes to be the buried wreckage of a large Spanish ship from 1822 just south of a the small Texas town of Refugio. (Talk about having a lot of time on your hands)
Smith believes the ship is buried under the soils of the Aransas Pass and that this area of Texas still has navigable underground waterways. After locating the "shoe-print" like shape in Google Earth and consulting with history experts, Smith drove to Texas armed with only a metal detector to find the land was owned by a deceased Texan rancher.
Both parties hired lawyers and are now locked in a court battle to decide who will have access to the potential "treasure". Under U.S. law, the first person to find abandoned treasure is the rightful owner. Also, if the area is found to have an underground waterway the ranch owner would not have legal ownership of the waterway itself. I am not sure where they will draw the line on this one.
Experts say the ship has the potential to be worth $3 billion dollars........
If you need to reach me I'll be nosing around Google Earth the rest of the day.
I searched for the area in southern Texas but could not find anything on the web with specific latitude or longitude coordinates.
Here is what I believe to be the area in question:
Look dead center of the screen in the light green swampy area.
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