Bones Found Belong to Amelia Earhart, Claims Latest Study

A new study by American forensic experts sheds new light on the decades-old mystery of the disappearance of the famous American aviator Amelia Earhart. She vanished over the Pacific Ocean in 1937 during an attempt to fly around the world. She was the first female pilot to fly solo across the Atlantic.

Three years after her disappearance, bones were discovered on Nikumaroro Island that were claimed to belong to a man. However, according to the latest scientific study by anthropology professor Richard Jantz from the University of Tennessee, these bones belong to Amelia Earhart despite earlier disputes.

They were discovered by a British expedition exploring the island in search of settlements, the study states, adding that one of the expedition members ordered an investigation of the entire area after a human skull was found. Other bones were then discovered, along with an object resembling a woman’s shoe, and later a box for storing navigational instruments used in flying.

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The bones were sent for analysis in Fiji. Jantz compared them using a computer program that determines sex and skeletal measurements, which is used by forensic anthropologists worldwide, with Earhart’s bones and concluded that the measurements match.

“With 99 percent certainty, we can assert that the three bones from Nikumaroro Island compared to the measurements of Amelia Earhart belong to the American aviator,” said the scientist.

Jantz used data on the height, weight, body shape, and proportions of Amelia Earhart based on photographs and information from her pilot and automobile driving licenses.

“There is little chance that the bones of another person have so many similarities to Earhart’s bones,” Jantz said.

The results of the study were published in the journal Forensic Anthropology.