Study: Bones found on remote island likely belonged to Amelia Earhart

(Image credit: Getty Images)

published 7 March 2018

An anthropology professor says bones discovered on Nikumaroro Island in 1940 most likely belonged to Amelia Earhart, the aviator who disappeared in 1937 while flying over the South Pacific.

In his study, published in the journal Forensic Anthropology, Richard Jantz writes that when the bones were found, "there was suspicion" they could be Earhart's, but when they were examined in Fiji in 1941, it was determined they belonged to a man. "Forensic osteology was not yet a well-developed discipline," he said.

The bones have since gone missing, but using modern technology and Earhart's measurements, Jantz said he found Earhart is "more similar to the Nikumaroro bones than 99 [percent] of individuals in a large reference sample. In the case of the Nikumaroro bones, the only documented person to whom they may belong is Amelia Earhart." If those were Earhart's bones, Jantz said, it's likely she died on the island as a castaway.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Explore More

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.