Specially-Trained Dogs Find Possible Burial Site On Nikumaroro

As the controversy over a photograph that some purport shows Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan alive and in the hands of the Japanese after their plane went down in the Pacific continues, TIGHAR, a group that has been looking for Earhart's remains for years, says her grave may have been found on the island of Nikumaroro.

National Geographic, which worked with The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery (TIGHAR) on the most recent expedition to Nikumaroro recently posted a story about the use of specially-trained forensic dogs trained to locate human remains on the island, and all four "alerted" on the same spot near a tree, indicating they had detected the scent of human remains.

But the mystery may not be solved with this find. Fred Hiebert, National Geographic's archaeologist-in-residence, said that it is very unlikely that any DNA would have survived in such a tropical environment that would allow for a positive identification.

A documentary that was telecast on The History Channel this past weekend presents what it says is photographic evidence that Earhart and Noonan survived the crash and were captured by the Japanese, who imprisoned them as spies. The documentary holds that both may have died in Japanese captivity.

Excavation at the site began on July 2, the 80th anniversary of Earhart's disappearance. While the team did not uncover any bones, they did collect soil samples from the site which have been sent to a lab in Germany that it is hoped can extract any DNA that may be in them, but researchers admit it's a long shot.

(Image from file)

FMI: tighar.org, Original Story