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Modern Mysteries

Were Amelia Earhart's bones found in 1940 ?

By T.K. Randall
February 9, 2018 · Comment icon 5 comments

Were Earhart's remains discovered back in the 1940s ? Image Credit: Harris and Ewing
A forensic expert has cast doubt on a 1940s analysis of bones found on a remote island over 70 years ago.
When Amelia Earhart disappeared over the Pacific Ocean during an attempt to circumnavigate the globe in her Lockheed Model 10 Electra in 1937, the question of what happened to her would go on to become one of the most enduring mysteries of the modern age.

In recent years however, clues have been found suggesting that Earhart's plane may have gone down somewhere in the remote Pacific atoll of Nikumaroro and that the aviator and her navigator Fred Noonan may have even survived for several days on a small island while awaiting rescue.

Of particular note was the discovery of human bones on a remote island in the region in the 1940s. The remains, which included a skull and parts of a skeleton, had been taken to Fiji where they were inspected by doctor and anatomy teacher David Hoodless.

At the time, he determined that they had belonged to a stocky middle-aged male.
Unfortunately the bones themselves went missing shortly afterwards and have never been recovered, but this hasn't stopped forensic anthropologist Richard Jantz from reopening the case.

According to Jantz, the forensic methods used at the time were woefully inaccurate, meaning that certain measurements recorded by Hoodless were likely to be incorrect.

While it is impossible to know for sure without the bones themselves, Jantz has indicated that the discovery shouldn't be dismissed based solely on the original analysis from the 1940s.

It's possible that the mystery of Earhart's fate may have already been solved.

Source: 9news.com.au | Comments (5)




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Recent comments on this story
Comment icon #1 Posted by Skulduggery 7 years ago
I've always thought he Nikumaroro theory is better than the captured-by-Japanese-soldiers/spy theory. Don't know if it's true, but it does tie in with a handful of odd radio signals people had swore they heard. I've heard the mystery radio signals debated for ages, but I do think there's a possibility there was something to that, but it's difficult to determine. One of them, if I'm remembering correctly, mentioned being in the plane as it sunk into the water next to an island. I might not be remembering correctly, so go do your own research on that one and come back and correct me where I may ... [More]
Comment icon #2 Posted by Mudflap 7 years ago
There is a group that has been going to Nikumaroro island for quite a number of years and have found a'lot of evidence but nothing definite as of yet.                    They believe she landed on the beach with the plane intact and was able to start one engine to make the radio calls that people claim to have heard. After day six it is believed that the plane was washed off the beach and sunk in deep water.
Comment icon #3 Posted by Mudflap 7 years ago
I've followed the mystery of Amelia Earhart since I was a kid,it always intrigued me as to how this could of happened. And as I read more about it and found all the conflicting theories as to what happened this seems to be the most probable to me.
Comment icon #4 Posted by Jon the frog 7 years ago
People have settled on the island well before and just after Earhart crash and a big shipwreck happened there in 1929 with deaths... If evidence are found, they could be mixed up with anything left there.  Just way to grab money for futile search and pass a good time on beaches.
Comment icon #5 Posted by Mudflap 7 years ago
There have been lot's of theories as to what happened. From what I have seen on videos of there expeditions it's not a place to go and pass time on the beach. And far as grabbing money it's all run on donations...


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