news

New evidence suggests Amelia Earhart's bones have been found, solving the 81-year mystery of her disappearance.

It’s been one of the most enduring mysteries of the last two centuries, but a scientist at the University of Tennessee thinks he might have finally discovered what happened to Amelia Earhart after she jetted off on her fateful journey around the world back in 1937.

Earhart, along with navigator Fred Noonan, was attempting a solo journey when she mysteriously disappeared during a flight from Papua New Guinea to Howland Island in the Pacific.

Bones were later found on the Pacific island of Nikumaroro in 1940, but after analysing them in 1941, Dr David Hoodless, a medical doctor, determined they most likely belonged to a short, stocky man of European heritage, who stood at around 167 centimetres.

Amelia Earhart
A scientist believes Amelia Earhart's remains have already been found. Image: Getty Images.
ADVERTISEMENT

By comparison, Earhart was female, slender and stood at around 176 centimetres.

But according to Richard Jantz, an emeritus anthropology professor, the bones could belong to Earhart after all, given they wouldn't have had the proper technology to analyse them correctly back in 1941.

"When Hoodless conducted his analysis, forensic osteology was not yet a well-developed discipline," he told the New York Post.

"Evaluating his methods with reference to modern data and methods suggests that they were inadequate to his task; this is particularly the case with his sexing method. Therefore his sex assessment of the Nikumaroro bones cannot be assumed to be correct."

Amelia Earhart
The disappearance of Amelia Earhart has been one of the most enduring mysteries of the last two centuries. Image: Getty Images.
ADVERTISEMENT

Furthermore, Jantz believes the width of the subpubic angle - which is between the two pelvic bones - is more in line with a female, given women have wider pelvises than men. He said this was something they didn't understand back in 1941.

Jantz found the bones matched Earhart more closely than any of the other people he had analysed.

LISTEN: The Woman With A One Way Ticket to Mars. Post continues below.

"This analysis reveals that Earhart is more similar to the Nikumaroro bones than 99 percent of individuals in a large reference sample," he added.

"This strongly supports the conclusion that the Nikumaroro bones belonged to Amelia Earhart."

At Mamamia, everyday is International Women's Day.

Through Dress for Success’ Empower Hour campaign, it takes just a few minutes to change a woman's life forever. Donate an hour of your pay this International Women’s Day and set a woman on her path to success by visiting empowerhour.org.au

ADVERTISEMENT

Mamamia has also partnered with Room to Read, where you can keep a girl in school for just $1 a day. Educating women and girls is widely understood to be the most powerful and effective way to address global poverty.

You can help make the world a better place for women and girls by donating at www.roomtoread.org/mamamia

ADVERTISEMENT

Shout out to all dads! Here at Mamamia, we are always looking for ways to make Mamamia even better. Dads, we need you to help us do that by filling out this quick 15-minute survey for us. Click the button below for your say.

 

MMSurvey