Astronaut's space treasure map sparks hunt for sunken ships
Adventurer Darrell Miklos talks search for lost riches on new Discovery series 'Cooper's Treasure'
Darrell Miklos looked closer to hitting pay dirt on Tuesday night's episode of "Cooper's Treasure."
The adventurer, who has been using late astronaut Gordon Cooper's alleged "treasure maps from space" to hunt for ship wrecks, smelled success off the coast of Turks and Caicos.
Miklos found a bronze spike underwater on the Discovery Channel show, which he was sure came from an old Spanish shipwreck.
But with only a week long expedition planned, Miklos knew he had to move on to another target.
As viewers know, Miklos, who befriended the late Gordon "Gordo" Cooper, one of NASA's seven original Mercury astronauts, said that Cooper had observed what he believed were shipwrecks from low Earth orbit.
Miklos was using Cooper's chart to guide his boat to possible wreck sites.
The explorer said he talked to Cooper often because he'd been like a surrogate father.
Looking determined, Miklos told the cameras, "It can be frustrating but it will happen."
On day two of his search, a storm caused Miklos and his boat crew to divert to another target area.
Along with his fellow treasure hunter, Eric Schmitt, Miklos hoped to find history. Two of Christopher Columbus' ships had sunk when the famous explorer wasn't at the helm. Instead, Columbus' mate Pinzon had gone on his own voyage in which two ships were lost.
On day three, the weather was clear and Miklos' boat headed to a spot where two ships might have anchored.
But the water was too choppy for a magnometer and the day was a dud.
Miklos was anxious on day four as they approached an unusual target near a ledge.
He dived down 206 feet and had a hard time swimming back up, admitting, "It was a close call," as he had been running out of air.
Miklos said he always spoke to astronaut Cooper when times were bad, saying, "I have to find something. For Gordon, failure wasn't an option and it's not for me either."
Things improved on day five for the treasure hunter, as they found an ancient barrel hoop. Miklos noted that the Spaniards had stored their ship items in barrels, and while wood disintegrates, the hoops were made of stronger material.
Miklos thought the hoop would lead them to more ship debris, saying, "This is huge."
He and Schmitt next discovered a grappling hook in the sea bottom; the Spaniards often used the hooks to try to recover riches after their boats sank.
"I've got history in my sight," Miklos enthused.
Miklos decided to call his dad Roger and tell him he was near success, but once again, was disappointed with his response.
Down and out Roger wasn't interested in Miklos' update and snapped, "I've been trying to stay alive…I have to look out for me….I don’t' want to talk."
Miklos was outraged but pressed on with his work and found a larger grappling hook he believed could be directly related to the Columbus fleet.
At the episode's end, Miklos and Schmitt dived down to another target and found an item set in sand underwater which turned out to be a grappling anchor. Then, they found boat rigging.
But the best was yet to come—they found an enormous anchor stuck on the sea floor!
Did it come from the Columbus period wreck? Stay tuned!
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