Since 1937, the disappearance of Amelia Earhart's Lockheed 10-E Electra over the Pacific has baffled researchers.
Now, recent developments reported by The Wall Street Journal suggest that this long-standing mystery might be closer to a resolution, thanks to the efforts of Tony Romeo, a Charleston, South Carolina-based commercial real estate investor and former U.S. Air Force intelligence officer who funded his search by selling his commercial properties.
According to the Journal, Romeo returned from an expedition in December with a sonar image that he believes is Earhart's plane.
Romeo's expedition, which began in September from Tarawa, Kiribati, used advanced underwater drones to scan a vast area of the ocean floor. Approximately 30 days in, the drone captured a blurry sonar image of an airplane-sized object matching Earhart's model.
Romeo shared with the Journal, "This is maybe the most exciting thing I'll ever do in my life."
Dorothy Cochrane, a curator at the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum, finds the location and shape of the object promising. "The location where Romeo said he captured the image is about right," Cochrane noted.
Romeo's findings, if validated, could provide closure to one of the 20th century's most captivating mysteries.
Earhart's missing plane, Cochrane said, "was one of the great mysteries of the 20th century and still now into the 21st century. We're all hopeful that the mystery will be solved."
Nick Koutsobinas ✉
Nick Koutsobinas, a Newsmax writer, has years of news reporting experience. A graduate from Missouri State University’s philosophy program, he focuses on exposing corruption and censorship.
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