Hey, everyone. It’s time for another Mystery Monday. Two weeks ago, I posted about the strange disappearance of the Sodder children. Today and for the next couple of weeks, I’ll continue the theme of missing persons.
Most everyone has heard the name Amelia Earhart, the famed aviation pioneer who became the first female to fly solo across the Atlantic. She wrote best-selling books about her experiences and set many other aviation records.
Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan in Darwin, Australia on June 28, 1937.
Amelia, along with her navigator Fred Noonan disappeared on July 2, 1937, in route to Howland Island from Papua, New Guinea. She was on the last leg of her attempt to fly around the world.
No one knows what happened to the couple, and there has been much speculation. Did they go down at sea? Most historians have held to this theory, but as with any unsolved disappearance, other possibilities have been proposed, including (as you might guess) conspiracy theories.
Some believe Earhart and Noonan made it to Gardner (Nikumaroro) Island. Navy planes from the USS Colorado searched the area a week after Earhart’s disappearance but did not see any signs of the aircraft or people. Other surveys were conducted in 1937 and 1939.
In 1988 The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery (TIGHAR) began an investigation. Since then, they have conducted ten research expeditions on the Nikumaroro. They believe Earhart landed the Lockheed Electra on an extensive reef flat near the wreckage of a larger freighter and ultimately perished.
In 2012 a photograph taken in 1937 was enhanced. According to analysts, “A blurry object sticking out of the water in the lower-left corner of the black-and-white photo is consistent with a strut and wheel of a Lockheed Electra landing gear.”
TIGHAR’s research has produced several artifacts including improvised tools, an aluminum panel, possibly from an Electra, an oddly cut piece of transparent Plexiglas the same thickness and curvature of an Electra window, and a size 9 Cat’s Paw heel dating from the 1930s, which resembles Earhart’s footwear in world flight photos. Skeletal remains found on the island are determined not to belong to Earhart.
Enter Robert Ballard. If you don’t know the name, Ballard is the one who led the expedition that found the wreckage of the Titanic in 1985. His crew recently finished an expedition on Nikumaroro including use of a remote-operated underwater vehicle to search for the plane.
While they found some “tantalizing clues” on the last day of the mission, there wasn’t evidence of a Lockheed Electra.
So the search continues. Do you believe the plane will ever be found and the mystery solved? Share your thoughts in the comments.
16 Responses
I learned about Amelia Earhart from one of Robin William’s movies. I can’t think of the name now, it was something like A night at the museum. I read up a bit about her story then. Very interesting to read this and understand how the mystery has never been resolved. A great post, Joan.
It’s one of those we may never know the answer to but very intriguing!
I like to believe they ended up stranded on a tropical island and didn’t want to be found. Another good mystery, Joan.
I would like to think she ended up on an island rather than going down at sea. There’s been lots of speculation to that effect.
A nice little bit of history. We all love Amelia! 🙂
Yes, her story is one of my favorite mysteries.
I believe many of the old mysteries will be solved by modern technology. I also kind of hope they aren’t. The world needs a bit of mystery in it. On a side note, one theory speculates they were eaten by coconut crabs. Look those up. They’re the size of a medium dog, and scary.
I agree, Craig. We need more mysteries. But you’re right, with today’s technology it’s easier than ever to discover the fate of people like Amelia. Had not heard the theory about coconut crabs.
I kind of agree with Craig. I kind of hope some mysteries are never solved, but I love speculating about them. Part of me wants to know what happened, but the other part is more enamored of the mystery.
Have you seen the photo of Earhart and Noonan on a dock? I think it might have been discredited now, but there was speculation she and Noonan were two of the people on the dock and had been captured by the Japanese. I certainly hope that wasn’t their fate!
I agree. I’d rather speculate. I haven’t seen that photo but did hear the rumor about the possibility of Japanese capture. I do hope that wasn’t the case.
Even if they find the plane and her remains, I don’t believe they will be permitted to release the findings. There is just something about the mystery involving the plane and the disappearance the that calls to people.
I agree. It’s more intriguing not to know.
Like Craig, I kind of like the idea of it remaining a mystery. Also, I’ve never heard of coconut crabs, but now I’m extremely curious.
I agree. It’s more exciting not to know. I had never heard of those crabs either. I wouldn’t want to encounter one!
[…] https://joanhall.blog/2019/09/09/amelia-earhart/ […]
[…] for Mystery Monday, I look at several sources for ideas. Those early posts, such as D. B. Cooper, Amelia Earhart, and the Marfa Lights are mysteries that have intrigued me for […]