The U. S. National Archives released documents related to Amelia Earhart’s disappearance in 1937 after President Donald Trump’s order to declassify such records. This release included 4,624 pages, such as log books from U. S. military vessels that participated in the search for Earhart and her navigator, Fred Noonan, who were last seen departing from Papua New Guinea in a Lockheed Electra airplane on July 2, 1937, en route to Howland Island. They lost radio contact after Earhart reported low fuel. Despite a massive naval search, their fate remains unknown and is one of the most enduring mysteries.
The Trump administration’s interest in Earhart coincided with criticism for not releasing files related to Jeffrey Epstein. The new documents included U. S. Navy and Coast Guard reports, various memos, newspaper clippings, letters, and telegrams, including one from someone who believed they could contact Earhart via mental telepathy and another claiming she was buried in Spain. The National Archives plans to continue digitizing and releasing more records.
Researchers suggest Earhart and Noonan may have died as castaways on Nikumaroro Atoll in the Kiribati islands, where evidence like a jar of anti-freckle cream, pieces of clothing, human bones, and a potential part of their aircraft has been found. In March, Trump also ordered the release of 80,000 records related to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
With information from Reuters
