Family follows 'trail of gold' off Fla.

KEY WEST, Fla. -- Hundreds of millions of dollars in silver bars, emeralds, and gold chains have been recovered from the Spanish galleon Nuestra Senora de Atocha, which sunk during a Florida Keys hurricane in 1622.

But the mother lode of treasure discovered by Mel Fisher two decades ago may not have finished yielding its fortunes, his heirs believe.

''It's still a trail of gold," said Mel Fisher's son Kim, 49, chief executive of Mel Fisher's Treasure, the Key West-based umbrella firm of the family's 30 related companies.

The 110-foot, 600-ton Atocha -- one of a fleet of ships laden with gold, silver, emeralds, and Catholic artifacts -- sank Sept. 5, 1622, near the Marquesas Atoll, about 35 miles southwest of Key West, off the southern tip of the Florida peninsula. In all, 260 passengers died, and five survived by clinging to the mizzenmast.

Mel Fisher, known for saying ''Today's the day" during his treasure hunts, searched for the Atocha with his family for 16 years, weathering daunting debts and ridicule.

In a life-changing moment 20 years ago, they found treasure from the Atocha worth $200 million to $400 million at the time, and Kim Fisher contends that loot worth a further $500 million still lies in the ocean.

In its long quest to find the Atocha, the family endured the death of the eldest son, Dirk, and his wife on July 20, 1975, when the salvage boat Northwind capsized during the night --10 years to the day before the treasure hoard was found. Dirk had located some of the Atocha's 11-foot, 3,600-pound bronze cannons just days before. Diver Rick Cage also died.

''It was devastating," Kim Fisher said. ''We almost threw in the towel. We decided Dirk would want us to continue. I think it actually made us try harder."

On July 20, 1985, a magnetometer capable of tracking cannons and cannon balls revealed a seabed target at a 55-foot depth.

Divers Andy Matroci and a colleague discovered 1,041 silver bars and hundreds of boxes, each with 3,000 coins. Other treasure included 127,000 silver coins, 700 emeralds, and likely contraband consisting of 2,500 lighter stones, heavy gold chains and jewelry, silver, and crucifixes.

Ninety percent of the original mother lode has been distributed to investors, crew, and the Fisher family. But Kim Fisher estimates there is another $500 million in undiscovered treasure.

Among the suspected riches would be 300 silver bars weighing 80 pounds each, 100,000 coins, eight to 10 bronze cannons, and treasure from the stern castle, an area of the ship where the riches of nobility, clergy, and first-class passengers were stored.

''There were 35 boxes that the church had on board. They always had good stuff," Kim said.

Much of the treasure was contraband. Historian Eugene Lyon of St. Augustine, who researched the Atocha for Mel Fisher during a trip to Spain, says he believes that most of the treasure's emeralds, for example, were smuggled.

''Smuggling was not just a cottage industry, but a national industry," added Jim Sinclair, 48, a marine archeologist.

Matroci, 50, recently found a 9-inch, 22-carat gold chain and more than 30 coins. ''We're finding treasure all the time," he said.