Amelia Earhart mystery enters critical phase as explorers zero in on mysterious object

The crew searching for Amelia Earhart’s missing plane has arrived on a remote Pacific island — and they’re getting ready to investigate new clues that could shed light on her disappearance.

Purdue University in Indiana announced Monday that the 17-person Taraia Object expedition team arrived at Nikumaroro Island after a five-day journey across the Pacific Ocean.

The aptly named team is investigating a mysterious anomaly spotted in satellite imagery that some researchers believe could be Earhart’s lost Lockheed Electra.

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The expedition centers on the Nikumaroro Hypothesis, a theory that Earhart’s plane crashed near the remote Pacific island.

The team arrived shortly after sunset, so fieldwork was postponed until morning.

A 17-person expedition team from Purdue — two members are shown at left — arrived on remote Nikumaroro Island in the Pacific Ocean to investigate clues that could help solve the disappearance of famed aviator Amelia Earhart, shown at right.  (Purdue University; Bettmann via Getty Images)

The vessel moved to the island’s eastern side for calmer waters overnight as the crew prepared to go ashore at daybreak.

On the first day ashore, the team is focusing on “transporting equipment, clearing vegetation and establishing staging operations at the beach and on the south side of the lagoon,” Purdue said in its statement.

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“Upon reaching shore, the team will divide into two teams, with one taking smaller transport boats through the Tatiman Passage, a natural opening on the island’s western side, to access the lagoon and place buoys along the way to guide a return trip to the Marin Mainiku at the conclusion of work,” the university added.

The second team will cut a trail through the island’s jungle, connecting the landing site to the southern side of the lagoon.

Researchers who are hunting for Amelia Earhart’s missing plane reached Nikumaroro Island after a five-day journey across the Pacific Ocean, Purdue University announced. (Purdue University; Bettmann via Getty Images)

“Staging areas will be established on both ends of the jungle trail to support the first day’s work, before the focus moves to the Taraia Peninsula on Wednesday” — meaning Oct. 14, the statement also noted. 

The team is operating 16 hours ahead of Eastern Daylight Time, with Wednesday’s activities on the island beginning Tuesday afternoon in the U.S.

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Earhart disappeared on July 2, 1937, while attempting to become the first female pilot to circumnavigate the globe by air.

Earhart and her navigator, Fred Noonan, vanished during one of the final stretches of their trip after departing Lae, New Guinea, for Howland Island.

Expedition members arrived at Nikumaroro Island shortly after sunset, postponing their initial fieldwork until morning as they prepared to investigate the Taraia Object. (Google Maps)

Earhart, one of the world’s most famous people at the time, was only 39 years old.

In a statement, expedition leader Rick Pettigrew called the prospect of examining the object gratifying.

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“It is incredibly rewarding to be this close to completing our inspection of the Taraia Object and potentially solving, at long last, the outstanding mystery of the disappearance of Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan more than 89 years ago,” he said.

Earhart disappeared on July 2, 1937. She was attempting to become the first female pilot to circumnavigate the globe by air.

Purdue has a longstanding connection to Earhart, who served as a career counselor and adviser to women students at the university in the 1930s. The Purdue Research Foundation also helped finance her Lockheed Electra, which she used during her ill-fated final flight.

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The university became involved in the latest search after Pettigrew approached the Purdue Research Foundation in February 2025.

Earhart and Noonan vanished after departing Lae, New Guinea, for Howland Island, a planned stop during their ill-fated 1937 aviation journey. (Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

Purdue spokesperson Trevor Peters previously told Fox News Digital that, if the Taraia Object is Earhart’s airplane, the team hopes to conduct a full-scale archaeological excavation next year with the proper permissions.

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“The eventual curation of the wreckage has been the subject of discussions with [the Republic of] Kiribati, and although nothing has been finalized, ALI [the Archaeological Legacy Institute] and the Purdue Research Foundation share a dream of returning the plane to Purdue to be displayed, consistent with Amelia’s original wishes,” he added.