The day is July 2, 1937, and the world’s first woman to fly across the Pacific solo, Amelia Earhart, goes missing as she attempts to circumnavigate the globe at the equator. Earhart was preparing to land for refueling and for more supplies at the Howland Islands, where the Coast Guard along with the ship Itasca were deployed to aid her in landing. Earhart radioed the ship to inform them that she was low on fuel; but the Itasca could not pinpoint her location nor could she pinpoint theirs, despite the Itasca pumping miles of black smoke into the air. She radioed “one-half hour fuel and no landfall” and later tried to give information on her position.1 Soon after, contact was lost, and Earhart presumably tried to land the Lockheed on the water.2 After this, no news of Earhart emerged, and she was officially declared missing, along with her copilot, Fred Noonan. What happened to Amelia Earhart?
Theories suggest that Earhart crash landed near Nikumaroro, an island near her original destination, Howland Island. It is said that Itasca, the nearby ship sent out by the Coast Guard, was able to pick up her transmissions, which is why it is believed that she was near the Howland Islands. In 1940, the colonial administrator of Howland Islands, Gerald Gallagher, discovered thirteen bones in what seemed to be the remnants of a campfire. The bones were shipped to Fiji to be examined by Physician D.W. Hoodless, who examined the bones and determined that they belonged to a stocky, short man of European descent, which would seem to rule out Earhart and Noonan. After deciding this conclusion, Hoodless discarded the bones, completely eliminating the chance for further examination. However, the International Group for Historical Aircraft Recovery (TIGHAR) took Hoodless’s original measurements and found that the bones could have possibly belonged to a tall woman of European descent.3 Earhart was known to be around 5’7 to 5’8. To entertain the bone evidence, TIGHAR Director Ric Gillespie states that the lack of bones could be caused by the island’s coconut crab population. Coconut crabs are known to grow up to three feet long, and can break open coconuts with their claws. The crabs could have possibly carried the remains of bone and flesh to their burrows for feeding.
Along with these bones, a shoe sole was found with writing on it, stating, “Cats Paw Rubber Company USA.” The sole was from the same type of shoe that Earhart was pictured wearing in Indonesia shortly before her disappearance. However, the sole belonged to a size-nine shoe, which would have been too big for Earhart’s feet, disproving the possibility of it being hers. But along with the sole, a sextant, an instrument used to find latitude and longitude, was discovered with the bones and campfire.4 This instrument could have belonged to Earhart, as it was very common for pilots to navigate through longitude and latitude using a sextant. It made sense that Earhart and Noonan could have used the instrument to determine their location after landing. To further this theory, across the island are findings of campfires, along with remains of fish, clams, birds, and turtles. Based on the way the clams were opened and the way the fish were eaten without their heads, it is more plausibly the activity of non-pacific islanders.
A less likely theory suggests that Earhart and Noonan were given orders that if they could not find the Howland Islands, to crash land near the Marshall Islands, which at the time were controlled by Japanese forces. The purpose of this could be so that the US army could move towards the area, claiming that they were “searching for Earhart.” Another claim is that Earhart and Noonan were captured by the Japanese Army and eventually killed.5 Evidence exists that shows that at the time, locals claimed seeing the plane crash on the island. Also, in 1944, an Army Sergeant named Thomas E. Devine claimed that he came across a group of US Marines guarding a hanger containing Earhart’s Electra, on the formerly settled Japanese Island Saipan.
Furthermore, a photo found in the national archives suggests that the photo contains Earhart and Noonan after landing on the Marshall Islands. However, the photo was subsequently found in a Japanese textbook published in 1935.6 Furthermore, experts claim that at the time, Earhart would not have had enough fuel to make it to the Marshall Islands, considering that in her last radio transmission, she claimed to have only seventy-four gallons remaining.
In conclusion, despite theories ranging from survival on islands to alien interference, most enthusiasts speculate Earhart crashed into the ocean, burned up in the crash, and sank to the bottom of the ocean. However, the world will never know what happened to Amelia Earhart unless the aircraft or a body is discovered. For now, the case of Amelia Earhart remains a mystery.
- Women In World History: A Biographical Encyclopedia, 2002, s.v. “Amelia Earhart,” by Doris L. Rich. ↵
- Candace Flemming, Amelia Lost: The Life and Disappearance of Amelia Earhart (New York: Schwartz & Wade Books, 2011), 30-36. ↵
- Kristina Killgrove, “The Mysterious Disappearance Of Amelia Earhart’s Skeleton,” Forbes Science Journal 02, no.1 (November 2016): 1-3. ↵
- TIGHAR Project Amelia, “The Sextant Box Mystery,” Earhart Project Research Bulletin 2, no.12 (January 1999): 1-2. ↵
- Johnny Dodd, “Does This Photo Prove Amelia Earhart Survived Her Flight,” Journal Of Human Interest 14, no. 4 (July 2017): 1-2. ↵
- Two Leaf Yakosubi Store, The life line of the sea My figure of the South Sea: South Sea archipelago photo book (Two Leaf Yakko Cloth Store, 1935), 34-35. ↵
83 comments
Jesica Rivera
I have always been very familiar with the story of Amelia Earhart and her disappearance, however this is the first time I have read about the theories surrounding the case. To throw away such a valuable piece of evidence, such as the bones, seems like a very incompetent thing to do. I am sure that with today’s technology this case could have been solved, but for now we will always wonder what truly happened to her. Over all, this was a very informative article that intrigued me from the start.
Belene Cuellar
I am quite familiar with the whole Amelia Earhart conspiracy theories. I actually saw the movie that was based on her life story, the movie ends with Amelia looking at her copilot with worry as the screen goes black. Such a tragic ending for a extraordinary woman who had her whole life ahead of her. I like how the author went into detail for each theory and left nothing unanswered. I do hope one day we finally answer the ongoing question of Amelia’s whereabouts.
Ezequiel De La Fuente
I liked this article because it focused more on the “living flesh” and different theories of what could have actually happened to her. Everywhere you hear of theories such as aliens capturing her and that is was due to the mystery of the Bermuda Triangle. I had no idea that she was accompanied by a co-pilot though! It seems that her disappearance is greatly exaggerated when compared to his.
Clarissa Bustamante
I didn’t really know that Amelia Earhart had gone missing. I did know that she was a fun and risky when it came to flying and how much she enjoyed it. It was great how this article really brought up the several theories there was as what had happened to Amelia Earhart. But hopefully we can find out what really happened to Amelia Earhart instead of going based off of theories that we suspect may be true to her disappearance.
Josemaria Soriano
Undoubtedly, the case of Amelia Earhart is a shocking and mysterious case. I was pleased to read this article because this story is very useful to be used as a literary resource. On the article: I had previously seen the history of this great aviator, and really her achievement was impressive. People like her are icons that are not only protagonists in what they do, but are also symbols for female pride, are reasons for women’s empowerment, people like Amelia inspire women to reach the sky and beyond. For the great majority of people, it would seem useless to spend money and energy, to risk life in a task that has no real utility. But what Amelia did was not just crossing the ocean, but also crossing the wall that divided the men of women, to break with the sexist idea of male superiority, and to give fuel not only to her plane, but to all women who were sick of being under men and wanted to be free and independent. A laudable woman worthy of a movie, the one I saw and fascinated me. I still have the hope that she did not die, and that she survived on a pacific island, that only God knows.
Valeria Hernandez
Christian Garcia creates an interesting article that capture my attention, I was not familiar with the story of Amelia Earhart. Garcia is able to explain the multiple theories regarding the disappearance of Earhart. The most interesting part of the article I would say are the pictures Garcia picked. They are a great addition to the story because they create imagery for the reader.
Ryann Cervantes
It almost seems to me like there are too many theories that are possible or held up by good pieces of evidence. I believe that with a great story such as that of the first woman to try to circle the globe, there fits a better ending than her simply crashing in the ocean. Maybe it’s just the conspiracy theorist In me but I think most likely she made it to an island. Sadly this is one of the many of the unanswerable mysteries of our world that will have us questioning just what exactly was the answer.
Alejandra Mendez
At a young age, I was taught about the very famous female pilot. I don’t think I was as informed about Amelia Earhart as I thought I was however. I somewhat knew about her going missing while flying, but I never knew that she was never found. When reading this article and reading the evidence found, I kept thinking that it was for sure her remains, but as soon as I thought that, I was disproven by more facts about her which would steer her away from the evidence. I understand why it is a mystery. This was a very well written article.
Andrew Rodriguez
This was a very interesting article. With very good research involved in the article. The way is written kept me intrigue through out the most of the article. Her story has much conspiracy around it, with why she went missing. I think that the one of which so that military can go into a place to say that they are searching for her was a very interesting one. She will always be remember for her great risk to do this as the first women, her actions shall not be forgotten. Overall very well written article.
Mariah Cavanaugh
Your article was fantastic! There is nothing like a good unsolved mystery to draw your readers in. You included quite a bit of evidence when referencing the different theories as to what happened to her. The only one you didn’t dive deeply into was the aliens. Obviously we know that is not the case but it would be fun to read about.