WASHINGTON — In July, an expedition will head to a remote island in a renewed effort to solve the mysterious disappearance of Kansas native and pioneering aviator Amelia Earhart and her navigator Fred Noonan, who disappeared over the Pacific Ocean and entered legend 75 years ago. The privately-funded expedition was triggered by a recently-uncovered photo taken three months after Earhart went missing.
Rick Gillespie, the executive director and founder of TIGHAR — The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery, said a recently-uncovered photo of the atoll of Nikumaroro, in the sparsely-populated Phoenix Islands, offers new evidence and a possibility that Earhart’s fate could be discovered. He said State Department photo analysts ten to agree with his group’s interpretation of the photo and that there could be the basis for the expedition.. Gillespie said his forensic specialist first noticed the photo. “It’s just a blob to me — but Jeff worked on it, worked on it – – he said ‘I think this might be a Lockheed Electra landing gear’.” An event this morning announcing the trip included Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who said Earhart’s quest to be the first to fly around the world – and the renewed search for her – are both worthy and inspiring. “Her legacy resonates today for anyone, girls and boys, who dreams of the stars,” Clinton said. Nikumaroro was known formerly as Gardner Island and is in the Pacific island Republic of Kiribati, which includes the Gilbert Islands, which has the atoll of Tarawa, bloody site of the U.S.’s first amphibious landing against a Japanese-held island during World War II. TIGHAR has conducted archeological expeditions to the island before and Gillespie said his group has found tantalizing clues and early-day reports that could suggest Earhart crashed near the island.
Tuesday, March 20, 3 p.m.
