A new study published in Forensic Anthropology by Richard Jantz claims that the Amelia Earhart mystery has finally been solved. The study says that a set of human remains found on Nikumaroro Island are likely the bones of the pioneering aviator. If true, this discovery would put an end to the decades-long question of what happened to Earhart. But not all biological anthropologists are convinced by the evidence identifying this mystery skeleton as Earhart. During her famous attempt to circumnavigate the globe, Earhart and her navigator Fred Noonan disappeared in 1937. Despite extensive searches, their plane was never recovered. One of the most persistent theories about what happened to them is that they ended up stranded and eventually died on an uninhabited atoll. Back in 1940, skeletal remains, along with part of a shoe, a Benedictine bottle and a sextant box were found. Dr. D. W. Hoodless of the Central Medical School in Fiji examined the thirteen bones in 1940 and said that they belonged to a “short, stocky European male or even a half-caste,” according to The Guardian. But then the bones and artifacts vanished. Despite attempts to find them, they remain missing. Hoodless’ notes and measurements are all that remain. Jantz used these notes and measurements. But other researchers are unsure if Hoodless took accurate, precise measurements of the bones back in 1941, and also, are unsure if it is possible to compare those measures to estimates of bone length from photographs and clothing of Earhart.
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