What Happened to Amelia Earhart?

What Happened to Amelia Earhart? This is the question that has haunted researchers for decades. On July 2nd, 1937, the world’s greatest female pioneer and aviator, along with navigator Fred Noonan, disappeared on an attempt at her first solo flight around the world. Richard Gillespie, Aviation Archaeologist and Historic Preservationist, has dedicated a large portion of his life into investigating the Earhart disappearance. He has led over eight archaeological expeditions in search for evidence to support his theory. He seemed to believe that Amelia became a castaway; she missed her re-fuel checkpoint in the middle of the Pacific, and had to perform an emergency landing on Nikumaroro Island, just southeast of Howland Island, where she would have eventually died of thirst or starvation. This was his perspective of the events surrounding Amelia’s disappearance, and the opinion of a large population of people around the world at the time. This view can be found in his book titled “Finding Amelia: The True Story of the Earhart Disappearance”. Joe Gervais’, an Aviation Specialist and Author, holds a perspective that contrasts that of Richard Gillespie. Gervais’ stated that Earhart did not die on July 2nd, 1937, as everyone had believed. He believed that Earhart survived her flight, but wanted to return to a simpler, non-public life. He stated that Earhart took the identity of one of her closest friends, Irene Craigmile, and even had a surgeon perform minor surgery to alter her looks. He also stated that he had the evidence of over 70 witnesses that supposedly saw Earhart alive after she went ‘missing’, before she had her procedure performed, and that he himself met with ‘Irene’ in 1965. His views can also be found in his book “Amelia Earhart Lives: A Trip Through Intrigue to Find America’s First Lady of Mystery”, which he co-wrote with Author Joe Klaas.

Amelia Mary Earhart was born 24th of July, 1897 in Atchison, Kansas, USA. She first learned to fly in 1921 at the age of 20. She was classified as the most spirited and determined female flyer of her time, and was the first woman to receive the U.S Distinguished Flying Cross, after her first solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean in 1928. On July 2nd, 1937, Earhart set out with the goal of becoming the first female aviator to fly solo around the world. The following statements have been derived from events and evidence from that day, July 2nd. Earhart began her trip from Lae, Papua New Guinea, with navigator Fred Noonan, undergoing some of the worst weather conditions that they would have to experience throughout the trip. They reached Nauru, Papua New Guinea, eleven hours later, and began to head towards Howland Island. During this time, the last transmission was received, and they were never heard from again.

Richard Gillespie is an Aviation Archaeologist and Historic Preservationist, who began his research on the Earhart case in 1988. He is also the co-founder