Nikumaroro: Could bone fragment solve Amelia Earhart mystery?

[Stacey King]

A bone fragment found on the deserted island of Nikumaroro could belong to Amelia Earhart.
Kamil Zawadzki

Researchers say a tiny bone fragment found on the uninhabited Kiribati island of Nikumaroro is likely to belong to either a turtle or legendary pilot Amelia Earhart, according to Discovery News.

Earhart made history - and mystery - when she attempted to set a world record and fly around the world along the Earth’s equator in 1937. It is generally believed that Earhart and Fred Noonan, her navigator, likely crashed into the Pacific Ocean on July 2, 1937 when their twin-engined Lockheed “Electra” ran out of fuel.

The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery (TIGHAR) has been investigating Earhart’s case for 22 years, launching 10 expeditions that have pointed them to Nikumaroro as Earhart’s final resting place.

TIGHAR claims to have found multiple artifacts and evidence suggesting a castaway presence on Nikumaroro, which they say suggest the aviator managed to land safely but eventually succumbed, never having been found or rescued from the remote island.

Among these artifacts are multiple fire campsites, pieces of a pocket knife, pieces of rouge, a broken mirror from a woman’s compact, as well as pre-war American water bottles.