TARAWA, KIRIBATI—An anomaly spotted in satellite imagery near the Taraia Peninsula on the South Pacific island of Nikumaroro cannot be confirmed as the wreckage of Amelia Earhart’s Lockheed Electra 10-E, according to a statement released by Purdue University. In 1937, Earhart and her navigator Fred Noonan attempted to fly around the world. They were headed from Papua New Guinea to Howland Island, some 400 miles from the island of Nikumaroro, when they disappeared. Discovered in 2020, the anomaly is now thought to have been a collection of large trees that has since broken up, and much of it has washed away. The reflective surface seen in the imagery is thought to have been produced by a concretized coral sand. “Amelia Earhart’s spirit of courage and curiosity drove every step of the search,” said Rick Pettigrew of the Archaeological Legacy Institute. “We accomplished our goal to determine what the Taraia Object was,” he added. The search for Earhart will continue, promised Steve Schultz of Purdue University. To read about an aircraft carrier that sank to the bottom of the South Pacific in 1942, go to “Understanding Hornet’s Fate.”
