Aviator Disappeared Over 80 Years Ago… And Evidence May Now Be Coming to Light

US President Donald Trump recently vowed to declassify all files related to legendary aviator Amelia Earhart, who disappeared in 1937 during her attempt to circumnavigate the globe. This development was requested by Kimberlyn King-Hinds, Representative for the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, in July.

The announcement came, as usual, in a Truth Social post, where Trump called Earhart an “aviation pioneer” and promised to release any and all information that the government might still have.

"Amelia made it almost three-quarters of the way around the world before she suddenly, and without notice, vanished—never to be seen again," he wrote. "Her disappearance, almost 90 years ago, has captivated millions. I am ordering my Administration to declassify and release all government records related to Amelia Earhart, her final trip, and everything else about her."

The push for disclosure began in July when Kimberlyn King-Hinds, the congressional delegate representing the Northern Mariana Islands, formally asked the administration to release any outstanding Earhart files. She argued the records could finally provide some clarity on what happened during Earhart’s last flight and give her constituents, who live near some of the possible crash sites, a more definitive answer.

Earhart disappeared with her navigator, Fred Noonan, on July 2, 1937, while flying her Lockheed 10-E Electra in the Pacific. Most believe the aircraft simply ran out of fuel near Howland Island and went down, but despite some promising evidence being found, investigators have yet to find wreckage confirming a crash. The US Navy and Coast Guard spent the modern equivalent of around $88 million for a massive search effort at the time, but turned up nothing. The aviator was declared legally dead in 1939.

That explanation has been unfulfilling for most, causing a flood of less likely theories to surface. Some suggest she was captured by Japanese troops in the Pacific and died in captivity. Others claim she and Noonan survived a crash landing but were stranded on a remote island. More imaginative theories even frame the flight as a covert US spy mission.

Each new “discovery” of questionable photos or sonar images that turn out to be rocks pulls attention back to the case. So, while declassifying a few boxes of files may not be the answer, it may at least give conspiracy theorists and historians some much-needed inspiration.

FMI: https://king-hinds.house.gov