![Amelia Earhart disappeared in 1937. [image source: Underwood & Underwood (active 1880 – c. 1950)/Wikimedia Commons]](https://staticr1.blastingcdn.com/media/photogallery/2018/3/8/660x290/b_502x220x82/amelia-earhart-disappeared-in-1937-image-wikimedia-commons_1874489.jpg "Amelia Earhart disappeared in 1937. [image source: Underwood & Underwood (active 1880 – c. 1950)/Wikimedia Commons]")
It was back in 1940 when an English expedition on an island in the South Pacific region discovered human remains. All that was left were bones, but there was an immediate suspicion that they belonged to the famous pilot, Amelia Earhart, who vanished on a flight in 1937. At the time, forensic science was nowhere near as accurate or advanced as it is now. It was concluded, back then, that they were not Earhart's. Recent studies have shown otherwise.
People.com reported that the University of Tennessee has done multiple studies on the 1940 findings and said that they are likely those of the famous pilot.
Professor Richard Jantz said that they have "definitive evidence" that the bones are Earhart's. Based on the examination of other people in a large reference sample, Jantz said that the overall chances of the bones belonging to Earhart were 99 percent.
Uncovering the mystery
It was 1937 when Earhart flew her final flight, in the South Pacific. After departing on July 2 of that year, she mysteriously disappeared. Numerous efforts were undertaken to try and find her and her plane, but nothing was ever found, conclusively. Theories had surfaced over the years as to what happened to her. Some even claimed they found photos of her plane and Earhart herself, including one of her as a captive in Japan.
None of those photos were proven to be her.
The resurfacing of these remains and the modern studies into them seem to have facilitated a breakthrough. The discovery of the bones was made by the British, on the Island of Nikumaroro, in 1940, and initial tests revealed they belonged to a man. However, recent studies, with more modern technology, were able to take the mysterious bones and compare the measurements and shapes to Earhart's body, it was found that they matched.
There have been other studies done, on Nikumaroro, that have shown that the remote island was indeed the crash site of Earhart's plane. Mirror.co.uk reported, last summer, that forensic studies with dogs suggested Earhart spent her final days on the island her airplane crashed near to.
Will the entire story be solved
If these bones are indeed Earhart's, a lot can be revealed about what happened to her in 1937.
However, there are still plenty of questions. Where exactly did her plane crash? What caused the engine failure? Was it bad weather? Did Earhart live as a castaway on Nikumaroro? For how long? These questions and more can hopefully be answered as time goes on. The verification of her remains will probably warrant many more searches on the island to try to uncover clues.
