Theories on Amelia's Disapperance
Amelia Earhart was an influential women who inspired many. Her disappearance was devastating, and thus along with the official search for her, there was a widespread search from the public. As such, there are a few theories as to what happened to her. The first theory is the "Crash and Sink" Theory. This theory states that the Electra ran out of fuel heading towards Howard Island and crashed into the Pacific Ocean, and is the official U.S. position on the disappearance. This theory is supported by radio logs in which Earhart stated she must be near the island but could not see it and was running low on fuel. A search was performed to find the remains of the Electra in the area where Earhart must have crashed, near Howland Island. The expedition did not find the plane and follow-up expeditions have yielded no results, as such the public does not believe Earhart could have crashed into the Pacific as the wreckage would have been found. This leads to other two reigning theories as to Earhart's Disappearance, the Gardner Island Hypothesis and the Marshall Islands Conspiracy. The Gardner Island Hypothesis considered that Earhart and her mechanic landed the Electra on Nikumaroro Island (otherwise known as Gardner Island) when they were unable to find Howland Island. The last transmission indicated that her trajectory could have easily landed her on Gardner Island, which led to a search of the island. In 1940, Gerald Gallagher a partial skeleton and a sextant near the remains of a campfire on the island. Upon examination, the bones were discovered to be from a woman Earhart's size and build. After future expeditions more discoveries were made: shoes, 1930-era bottles, a cosmetic jar, and a supposed 19 x 23 aluminum "Miami Patch". Although there have been items found which may be evidence of her disappearance there, Lockheed has determined the aluminum found was not a "Miami Patch" and the navy found no evidence of castaways flying over the island a week after the disappearance. The last theory is the Marshall Islands Conspiracy. This theory states that Earhart was a United States spy, and that she never intended to find Howland Island. She landed on the Marshall Islands to give the Unites States a chance to search Japanese owned islands, but were taken captive upon landing. A supposed image of Earhart and the mechanic on Marshall Island was found in the national archives. Once again this theory has been shut down by experts, as an impossible feat. A World Airways pilot states that it was impossible for Earhart to have made it to the Marshall Islands, that the plane simply did not have enough fuel to make it that far, especially considering her final transmissions mentions the low amounts of fuel remaining in the Electra.
All of these theories have both evidence backing up the theory and further evidence refuting the theory, but the fact of the matter is that until the remains of Earhart have been found and confirmed or the wreckage has been found people will continue to search for the missing aviatrix. The reasoning behind the media obsession in finding Amelia Earhart is two-fold. Earhart was an influential woman with many accomplishments which inspired the hearts of many people. As such, people want to understand what happened to her and put the woman to rest if possible. This cannot be the only reasoning behind this media phenomenon though, because it is not the only mystery of it's kind. Similar phenomenon exist surrounding the disappearances of the Bermuda triangle and the identity of the Zodiac Killer. People wish to solve these mysteries because as a species we are uncomfortable with that which we cannot explain. Mysteries are supposed to have a solution, nothing in the material world can be unexplained, and so people believe the answer is out there. It is not that the mystery is unsolvable, it is merely that no one has found the clues which will lead to the answer that has eluded everyone for decades.