Crew arrives at Nikumaroro to begin search for Amelia Earhart's plane
After 87 years, the world's most famous missing plane might finally be found, and the crew heading to Nikumaroro has their work cut out for them. The island is a coral atoll with a treacherous reef, and the waters have swallowed more than a few secrets. I've covered my share of disappearance stories, but this one has always felt different, because everyone has a theory and nobody has a plane.
The official story says Earhart ran out of fuel and ditched in the ocean, but the folks who believe she landed on Nikumaroro's reef have been pushing for decades to get a proper search. Now they've got one, and I'd love to be on that boat when the sonar picks up something solid. If they find the Electra, it will settle a lot of arguments, but I suspect it will open up just as many new ones.
There are plenty of rumors about radio distress calls that were supposedly ignored, and some of the more colorful theories involve Earhart being taken by the Japanese or even encountering something not of this world. I'm not saying I believe the alien stuff, but I've seen enough in this job to know that the truth often has more layers than the official report suggests. Here's hoping they bring back something more than coral.