According to AmeliaEarhart.com, the pair encountered overcast skies and rain showers, despite weather forecasts that predicted clear weather. The U.S. Coast Guard cutter Itasca was following Earhart and Noonan's flight path. Communications between the pilot and Itasca were broken up by static. At one point the Itasca received a message from Earhart, "We must be on you, but we cannot see you. Fuel is running low. Been unable to reach you by radio. We are flying at 1,000 feet." Her last transmission to the Itasca was "We are running north and south." That was received by the ship at 8:45 a.m. July 3.
No official sign of Earhart’s and Noonan’s fate has been found.
There have been claims of airplane wreckage and even remains that could match the famed pilots, but they have not been confirmed to be linked to Earhart or Noonan.
Now, the History channel is claiming it has a photo, discovered in storage of the National Archives, that show both Earhart and Noonan on a dock in the Marshall Islands.
WATCH: “This could rewrite history.” Investigators uncover new photo that they believe shows Amelia Earhart alive in Japanese custody pic.twitter.com/QmH1NX3uzJ
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) July 5, 2017
The photo shows, what some say, is a Caucasian man and woman, on the dock and captured by the Japanese, "The Today Show" reported. The photo dates to 1937. Using facial recognition, an expert in the field says that it is likely that Noonan is standing on the left of the photo and that Earhart is sitting, with her back to the camera, looking at a ship. The expert compared Noonan's nose, teeth and hairline to make the determination on the man in the image. He used Earhart's torso measurements to compare her with the supposed woman.
The Japanese ship, the Koshu, was photographed towing something that appears to be a plane that has the same measurements as Earhart's. "The Today Show" reported that locals at the time said that they saw the plane crash and that the Koshu picked up both the flyers and the plane.
History will air "Amelia Earhart: The Lost Evidence" Sunday, July 9 at 9 p.m.
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