Posted on 07/05/2017 1:25:49 PM PDT by Main Street
A newly discovered photograph suggests legendary aviator Amelia Earhart, who vanished 80 years ago on a round-the-world flight, survived a crash-landing in the Marshall Islands.
The photo, found in a long-forgotten file in the National Archives, shows a woman who resembles Earhart and a man who appears to be her navigator, Fred Noonan, on a dock. The discovery is featured in a new History channel special, "Amelia Earhart: The Lost Evidence," that airs Sunday.
Independent analysts told History the photo appears legitimate and undoctored. Shawn Henry, former executive assistant director for the FBI and an NBC News analyst, has studied the photo and feels confident it shows the famed pilot and her navigator. [Amelia Earhart mystery may have new clue in never-before-seen photo] Amelia Earhart mystery may have new clue in never-before-seen photo 6:25
"When you pull out, and when you see the analysis that's been done, I think it leaves no doubt to the viewers that that's Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan," Henry told NBC News.
Earhart was last heard from on July 2, 1937, as she attempted to become the first woman pilot to circumnavigate the globe. She was declared dead two years later after the U.S. concluded she had crashed somewhere in the Pacific Ocean, and her remains were never found. Amelia Earhart Amelia Earhart sits in her Electra plane cabin at the airport in Burbank, California, on May 20, 1937. Albert Bresnik / Paragon Agency via AP
But investigators believe they have found evidence Earhart and Noonan were blown off course but survived the ordeal. The investigative team behind the History special believes the photo may have been taken by someone who was spying for the U.S. on Japanese military activity in the Pacific.
Les Kinney, a retired government investigator who has spent 15 years looking for Earhart clues, said the photo "clearly indicates that Earhart was captured by the Japanese."
Japanese authorities told NBC News they have no record of Earhart being in their custody.
Related: The Search Is Still On for Amelia Earhart 80 Years After She Disappeared
The photo, marked "Jaluit Atoll" and believed to have been taken in 1937, shows a short-haired woman — potentially Earhart — on a dock with her back to the camera. (She's wearing pants, something for which Earhart was known.) She sits near a standing man who looks like Noonan — down to the hairline.
"The hairline is the most distinctive characteristic," said Ken Gibson, a facial recognition expert who studied the image. "It's a very sharp receding hairline. The nose is very prominent."
Gibson added: "It's my feeling that this is very convincing evidence that this is probably Noonan." A newly discovered photo shows a woman who resembles Amelia Earhart and a man who appears to be her navigator, Fred Noonan. National Archives
The photo shows a Japanese ship, Koshu, towing a barge with something that appears to be 38-feet-long — the same length as Earhart's plane.
For decades, locals have claimed they saw Earhart's plane crash before she and Noonan were taken away. Native schoolkids insisted they saw Earhart in captivity. The story was even documented in postage stamps issued in the 1980s.
"We believe that the Koshu took her to Saipan [in the Mariana Islands], and that she died there under the custody of the Japanese," said Gary Tarpinian, the executive producer of the History special.
"We don't know how she died," Tarpinian said. "We don't know when."
It is not clear if the U.S. government knew who was in the photo. If it was taken by a spy, the U.S. may not have wanted to compromise that person by revealing the image.
Those people could be anybody.
Fine, I can understand them keeping it quiet DURING THE WAR and for some time thereafter. But this occurred 80 friggin’ years ago, we are not at war with Japan, there is nothing strategic that could be revealed, and the maintenance of secrecy over such history makes no sense.
I’ve always found it hilarious that this so-called feminist icon is mostly famous for getting lost and crashing.
Dunno about the others but I am sure that person in the long dress is Judge Crater.
Stolen social security numbers. If the truth ever comes out, even we’ll be shocked by what is learned.
She’s dead, Jim...
I agree, which is why this is a fascinating story. Hope they find out what really happened. Can you imagine a file found, and bodies/plane returned to US? Wow. What a story.
The absence of Japanese guards in the photo is suspect.
If they were prisoners, their would be guards and no civilians would have been allowed so near them. The Japanese would have had no problem throwing both of them in a 3 x 3 foot cage and keeping them there until they figured what their next actions would be.
I don’t know if this is legit or not and it doesn’t much matter any more but why not disclose that they knew about this for 80 years? Probably because if you start talking about stuff like this whatever shred of credibility the government may have left is gone because they’ve just outed themselves as confirmed liars. They won’t do that.
looks like a bigfoot to me ,, ?
Is George Washington in that picture?
Is it just me, or do a lot of Baraq’s childhood photos look loke his head was cut and pasted onto some other kid’s body?
Photo taken prior to the Japs taking them into custody?
She’s aged well!!
“.....or for the History Channel, Fake History”.
That’s for sure. The History Channel is terrible in most cases.
One promo for an upcoming piece on Stalin has the narrator talking about Stalin killing Soviet generals. Someone remarks that “In a Democracy you just don’t do that, (kill the generals) but he did it anyway”. As if the USSR under Stalin was a democracy.
Sounds a lot like a Hollywood movie that was made during WW2: Flight for Freedom. Rosiland Russell played a pioneering woman aviator who disappeared while on a secret flight for the government.
I hate to sound all tin-foil-y (better ping the boss!) but SO MUCH of Obama’s stuff looks fake, Photo-shopped, etc.
“Daddy” only seen with him at the airport. Weird photos with Grandma and Grandpa, Grandma conveniently drops dead 2 days before the 2008 election, Obama’s constant lying (she lived through 2 world wars - she was 86).
Maybe she was 86’d.
But, back to the foil, I say 40 years ago, this would have been easily uncovered and discredited. The mere fact that it was allowed to continue, for TWO elections, is disturbing on several levels.
I’m surprised that Obama wasn’t at Malta - with Brian Williams.
That’s probably coming.
It would be interesting if we could read the
sign the man is holding, looks Japanese though.
The woman standing on the dock appears islamic.
Another claim in the story is that the Japanese ship on the right is towing their airplane on a barge. So, not likely prior to capture.
Also note the eery similarity to the ship in the photo and the Mariana's issued stamp showing the supposed aircraft recovery (lower right).
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.