A new theory is Earhart was taken prisoner by the Japanese.
An upcoming History Channel report on the mystery surrounding Amelia Earhart’s 1937 disappearance suggests a rediscovered photo shows Earhart and her damaged plane after what some thought was her fatal crash.
The new theory being floated is that Earhart had her navigator, Fred Noonan, were taken prisoner by the Japanese.
Earhart disappeared 80 years ago this week during her attempt to circumnavigate the globe. It’s long been believed her plane — a Lockheed Model 10-E Electra funded by Purdue University — went down near Howland Island in the central Pacific Ocean. No trace of Earhart, Noonan or her plane was found.
But a photo that had been sitting in the National Archives may show Earhart and Noonan on a dock in the Marshall Islands, northwest of Howland Island.
Japanese officials have denied that the famous American female pilot was ever in their custody.
History’s investigative special, «Amelia Earhart: The Lost Evidence, » will air Sunday, July 9.
It features reports by retired federal agent Les Kinney, who said the photograph was found among thousands of National Archives documents he sifted through in his hunt for more information about Earhart’s disappearance. The photograph was stamped by the Office of Naval Intelligence and was marked «Marshall Islands, Jaluit Atoll, Jaluit Island, Jaluit Harbor.»
«In the photo, a ship can be seen towing a barge with an airplane on the back; on a nearby dock are several people, according to a preview story on the History.com site.
«Kinney … believes the plane on the barge is the Electra, and that two of the people on the dock are Earhart and Noonan.»
«As part of the program’s investigation, Doug Carner, a digital forensic analyst, examined the photo and determined it was authentic and had not been manipulated, while Kent Gibson, another forensic analyst who specializes in facial recognition, said it was «very likely» the individuals in it are Earhart and Noonan. Both analysts identified the ship in the photo as the Japanese military vessel Koshu Maru, which is thought to be the ship that took Earhart and Noonan away after their crash landing.»
In the photo, a ship can be seen towing a barge with an airplane on the back; on a nearby dock are several people. https: //t.co/EiZzbzhHp4
