Parts of a skeleton body found on Nikumaroro Island, in the Pacific Ocean, could have belonged to Amelia Earhart. This new evidence shows that she might not have died in a plane crash in 1937.
The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery (TIGHAR) launched a project in 1988 to investigate the mysteries involved with Earhart’s disappearance. Richard Gillaspie, the executive director of the project, has established that a record of bones measurements taken by a British doctor in the year 1941 matches with measurements of Earhart´s build.
This finding doesn’t prove anything exactly. Nonetheless, it could bring new relevant information to discover the real cause of dead of the pilot.
“The match does not, of course, prove that the castaway was Amelia Earhart, but it is a significant new data point that tips the scales further in that direction,” said Gillaspie.
According to this new investigation, a whole new chapter in Earhart´s life is being uncovered. Gillaspie stated in an interview with CNN that she survived on an inhabited island for quite a considerable time. In this island there is not drinkable water, so she must have gathered water from tree leaves and rain.
“She spent days –maybe months– heroically struggling to survive as a castaway. (…) There are historical documents that prove official airlines received radio calls for help in 1937. (…) But she lived and died in that island for a while,” he said.
Gillespie has told CNN that this effort on uncovering the truth is oriented to honor the memory of this American history icon who, he believes, tried to survive “heroically and alone,” despite terrible circumstances.
Denials of the discoveries
The current director of the Forensic Sciences Institute at N.C. State University, Ann Ross, has established that the methodology used by TIGHAR cannot be trustworthy. She, who is not part of the group of investigators, has said that is quite unsure of the veracity of the published study. This because of the irregular language they used, that according to her, lacks reliability.
In relation with this declarations, in 1998 British authorities stated that the bones were unequivocally from a male body. That same year, the TIGHAR sent the original files to a group of forensic anthropologists. This group, integrated by Karen Burns and Richard Jantz, explain why this skeleton could belong to Amelia Earhart.
“The morphology of the recovered bones, insofar as we can tell by applying contemporary forensic methods to measurements taken at the time, appears consistent with a female of Earhart’s height and ethnic origin,” they said in their study.
Source: CNN