Roger Miklos was an American treasure hunter, TV celebrity, and former police officer. His life was a blend of adventure, history, and the pursuit of the unknown, making him a fascinating figure in the realms of treasure hunting and maritime exploration.
His most notable supposed discovery was a sunken German U-boat he claimed to have found in 1981.
Personal Information
Born on January 6, 1941, in Summerland Key, Florida, Roger Miklos grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, and spent most of his life in California. Miklos passed away on February 19, 2018, in Iraan, Texas.
Miklos was married twice and had four children with his first wife. His family life, though private, was an integral part of his story, as he passed on his passion for treasure hunting to his son Darrell, who continues in his father’s footsteps.
Treasure Hunting Career
Before venturing into the world of treasure hunting, Miklos had a successful career in law enforcement, serving as a police officer in various locations, including Reno, Nevada, and Nassau in the Bahamas.
After retiring from law enforcement, he shifted his focus to treasure hunting, a field in which he would make significant contributions and gain fame.
How Roger Miklos Began His Treasure Hunting Career
Miklos began his treasure hunting career fueled by a passion for exploration and a desire to uncover the secrets of the past. His transition from law enforcement to treasure hunting was a natural progression of his adventurous spirit and his quest for historical artifacts.
Miklos’s entry into treasure hunting was significantly influenced by his acquaintances, including Kip Wagner, a fellow treasure hunter, and astronaut Gordon Cooper. These connections played a crucial role in Miklos’s treasure hunting endeavors, providing him with valuable insights, resources, and support.
Gordon Cooper, in particular, shared with Miklos a treasure map of shipwrecks observed from space during his Mercury 9 Faith 7 flight in 1963. This map became a cornerstone of Miklos’s treasure hunting activities, guiding him to numerous potential underwater sites.
Miklos’s treasure hunting career was marked by his dedication to research, intuition, and a deep respect for history. He combined these elements with his law enforcement skills to locate and recover sunken treasures.
Discovery of the Atocha
One of Roger Miklos’s most significant contributions to treasure hunting was his involvement in the recovery of artifacts from the Atocha, a treasure ship that sank off the Florida coast in 1622.
The ship was laden with a valuable cargo, and its discovery was one of the most notable treasure finds in history. Miklos’s role in this recovery helped cement his reputation as a skilled and successful treasure hunter.
Claimed Discovery of a Sunken German U-boat
Another remarkable discovery attributed to Miklos was a sunken German U-boat, which he claimed to have found in 1981 near the Turks and Caicos Islands. This U-boat was reportedly packed with Nazi treasures, including gold and art treasures smuggled out of Germany during World War II.
This discovery occurred while he was searching for the Pinta, one of the ships used by Columbus to travel to the New World. During this expedition, Miklos’s crew used a magnetometer, which detected a significant reading, prompting Miklos to dive into the ocean to investigate further.
Upon diving, Miklos believed he found a U-boat possibly containing Nazi treasures. Miklos was indeed secretive about the exact location of his find, fearing that other treasure hunters might locate and claim the treasures. This secrecy persisted until his death in 2018.
Following his death, treasure hunters like Mike Fletcher have attempted to locate the U-boat using Miklos’s notes, sketches, and cryptic clues.
However, without further evidence, the contents of the U-boat and even the existence of the U-boat as described by Miklos remain uncertain and not widely verified by other sources.
Television and Media
Miklos’s charisma and expertise brought him to television, where he was featured in the series “Cooper’s Treasure.” The show followed him and his son as they explored shipwrecks and searched for lost treasures.
His appearances on television helped popularize the field of treasure hunting and brought historical shipwrecks to the attention of a broader audience.