SAIPAN JAPANESE ABDUCTION THEORY: Located in the Southwest portion of the Pacific Ocean, the island of Saipan is a little more than 2,000 miles Northwest of Howland Island, Amelia's intended destination. Could Amelia have veered off course by 2,000 miles? This theory states that Amelia crash landed near Saipan, which was occupied by the Japanese in 1937, and was picked up by the hostile Japanese navy, who had been amassing forces in preparation for World War II in the surrounding islands. Darker theories along the same lines say she was shot down by Japanese fighters. However she got to the island, the theory is supported by strange tales told by locals of a white, female pilot who was kept prisoner on the island in 1937 and eventually was taken away. One Saipan native who was still living in the 1990’s says she watched Amelia and Fred get executed. Was Amelia captured by Japanese soldiers?

GARDNER ISLAND SURVIVAL THEORY: If Amelia’s plane had veered just slightly off course, she and her navigator Fred Noonan may have guided their plane to land on Gardner Island, another small spot of land in the vast Pacific. The Gardner Island theory assumes that Amelia couldn’t find Howland Island and instead decided to land on a nearby, more visible stretch of land. Amelia and Fred ditched their plane, floated to the island, possibly lived for many years and probably died there. Many years ago, a female skeleton was found on Gardner Island that had roughly the same proportions as Amelia Earhart™. However, the bones were discovered missing when modern scientists tried to test them to determine conclusively. Nonetheless, with the knowledge that they could not land on their intended destination, it is possible that Amelia and Fred landed on or nearby Gardner Island and lived there for many years.

US SPY THEORY: Some theories say Amelia was a spy for America. She was very close friends with First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and made frequent visits to the White House. The US Spy Theory suggests Amelia was on a mission from the US Government to fly over Japanese occupied islands and photograph Japanese military installations. These photographs, in turn, would be used in current political struggles as well as potential future military engagements. Obviously, if this was her mission, something went wrong. Or maybe not. One US Army soldier claims to have seen Amelia's plane on a South Pacific island during World War II, just four years after Amelia had disappeared. He claims the Army destroyed her plane, however. On the same island, another soldier claims he found a bag filled with documents that were owned by Amelia, like her passport. He turned the documents over to his commanding officer, then the documents, like Amelia, were never seen again. Was Amelia on a mission as a spy from the US government? Did she fulfill her duty then receive a new identity and anonymity from the witness protection program?

LOST AT SEA THEORY: Based on the lack of concrete evidence to support other theories, the most likely outcome is that Amelia Earhart™ and Fred Noonan simply crash-landed somewhere in the sea. The Pacific Ocean is the largest ocean in the world, with many hundreds and thousands of miles separating tiny dots of dry land. The waters of the Pacific are so deep that finding the Electra would be like searching for the proverbial needle in a haystack. In all probability, Amelia’s plane hit the water, she and Fred were incapacitated by the impact, and they drowned when the plane sunk beneath the waves. While the plane certainly could have floated for quite awhile (estimates put it at around eight hours), it is equally likely that a violent landing could have punctured the plane causing it to take on water rapidly. There are a lot of factors that could have lengthened or shortened their survival odds. In the end, they both likely succumbed to exhaustion and starvation, and were lost at sea, like so many other, less famous, but equally unfortunate adventurers.