21. The mystery of Gardner Island
Gardner Island lies some 350 miles from Howland Island, to the southeast. Today it is generally known as Nikumaroro Island. For several days following Earhart and Noonan’s disappearance distress calls heard somewhere in the vicinity of the island drew the attention of the search teams. US Navy seaplanes overflew the island, but detected no activity. In 1940 a human skeleton was found on the island. British forensics experts examined the skeleton, and found it that of a male of European origin, though of a much shorter man than Noonan. In the 21st century, researchers decided the skeleton was possibly that of a female of European descent. One claimed they were likely Earhart’s but made the determination from reviewing the original British reports. The actual bones were not examined, they had by then been lost.
Other items found on Nikumaroro Island intrigued researchers, including a jar of freckle cream from the 1930s, of a brand favored by Amelia Earhart. Dogs trained to sniff out human remains explored the island in the early 21st century; they found nothing of interest. Subsequent research determined that many of the distress calls reported emanating from the area following Earhart’s disappearance were hoaxes, reported by amateur radio operators at the time. The US Navy search flights revealed nothing, though it is reasonable to assume if Noonan and Earhart were alive on the island and able to transmit messages they would attempt to contact or signal an aircraft flying overhead.
