I have done a lot of research into this shipwreck and it is my opinion only … that as the General Grant remained visible in the cavern for nearly a year after it was abandoned , the General Grant was boarded by an unknown party and the gold removed. I am not alone in this thinking. The first expeditions to the General Grant also shared a similar view. The captain’s cabin is where valuables were stored , a search would have been straightforward. Gold jewellery found by more recent expeditions is believed to have come from the passengers drowned at the wreck site. It was also observed that the General Grant was sitting on the bottom with its deck visible bypassing shipping.
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