It’s one of the biggest mysteries to date. What happened to “America’s Sweetheart”— Amelia Earhart?
Now, a newly discovered photograph from the National Archives could help crack this 80-year-old mystery.
Some believe Amelia Earhart is the woman crouching on the dock in the center of the photo. (Photo courtesy of National Archives)
“It’s a big deal,” said Travis Grossman. “If we find another piece to this story, it will certainly add to the mystique. It would add a lot more depth to her story.”
Grossman is the interim director at the Amelia Earhart Birthplace Museum in Atchison, Kansas, where the aviation pioneer was born and grew up. He told 41 Action News, Wednesday’s announcement of the picture could be true.
“Somebody saw those and stuck those away at some point in time,” he said. “If the government knew they had her to begin with it makes you wonder why they didn’t do anything or say anything, what were the politics of the era?”
THE PICTURE
The photograph was found in a long-forgotten about file in the National Archives by investigators with the History Channel.
It is marked Marshall Islands 1937, the same year Earhart disappeared during a round-the-world flight
The photograph features a woman sitting on the dock with short hair, wearing pants similar to what Earhart wore. It also features a Caucasian man on the left-hand side who appears to be her navigator, Fred Noonan.
Investigators also point to an object on the boat in the foreground, which they say is the exact same length as Earhart’s plane.
“I was kind of shocked honestly. It does look like her, to me,” said Katie Evans, the museum’s manager.
LAST ADVENTURE
Earhart was last heard from on July 2, 1937 as she attempted to become the first female pilot to circumnavigate the globe.
She was declared dead two years later after the U.S. concluded she crashed her plane somewhere over the Pacific Ocean.
However, some investigators believe the photograph proves Earhart survived the crash and landed on the Marshal Islands, which was controlled by the Japanese at the time.
It is believed that a spy took the photograph. However, no one has been able to confirm his or her identity or why it was stored away.
