This deserted island find may hold the key to Amelia Earhart’s disappearance

There is hope one of aviation’s longest-standing mysteries could soon be solved when a new expedition goes in search of Amelia Earhart and her Lockheed Electra 10E airplane in November 2025.

How Amelia Earhart disappeared

Earhart had already broken a host of flying records, including being the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean, when she started her attempt to become the first female pilot to circumnavigate the world on June 1, 1937, leaving from Miami.

However, a little over a month later, on July 2, Earhart, her navigator Fred Noonan and their aircraft disappeared after taking off from Lae in New Guinea, never to be seen again. Official and unofficial searches proved unsuccessful, and Earhart was officially declared dead on January 5, 1939.

Research trip to investigate new findings on uninhabited island

On July 2, the 88th anniversary of her disappearance, the Purdue Research Foundation and Archaeological Legacy Institute (ALI) announced a joint research trip, the aim of which is to finally solve the mystery of what happened to Earhart and Noonan, and find what remains of the Electra.

Researchers will visit the island of Nikumaroro, about halfway between Australia and Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean, in November 2025, to investigate the Taraia Object, a visual anomaly seen in satellite and other imagery in the island’s lagoon, which some believe is what remains of Earhart’s plane.

The Nikumaroro hypothesis is one of the leading theories surrounding the disappearance, claiming Earhart and Noonan landed on the uninhabited island instead of crashing into the sea.

Freckle concealer among key evidence in Earhart case

On top of that, everyday objects have now been found close to the site which could help crack the case: a woman’s shoe, a compact case, a medicine vial and a bottle of freckle concealer which are believed to have belonged to Earhart. “It’s well documented Amelia had freckles and disliked having them,” the researcher who discovered the concealer told NBC.

“What we have here is maybe the greatest opportunity ever to finally close the case,” said Richard Pettigrew, ALI’s executive director, in a press release. “With such a great amount of very strong evidence, we feel we have no choice but to move forward and hopefully return with proof. I look forward to collaborating with Purdue Research Foundation in writing the final chapter in Amelia Earhart’s remarkable life story.”

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