10. Other theories disagreed with the Gardner Island hypothesis and TIGHAR
The Smithsonian disagreed with the Gardner Island hypothesis and concurred with the US Navy’s 1937 finding; Earhart’s Electra crashed into the sea near Howland Island. Several other researchers and organizations disagreed with TIGHAR as well but did not agree with the Navy’s explanation of the famed aviatrix’s fate. Several claimed that anecdotal evidence proved that Earhart had been shot down by the Japanese, and held prisoner for a time before being executed for spying. A variant of the theory claims Earhart successfully landed in the Marshall Islands, where the Japanese took her into custody. A photograph found in the National Archives shows a man and woman on a dock, supposedly Earhart and Noonan, according to subscribers to this theory.
A more conspiracy-minded group posit Noonan and Earhart were in fact on an information-gathering trip for the US Navy, which explains the support of the Navy and Coast Guard during several legs of their journey. The conspiracists argue that after Earhart and Noonan were executed, President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered the entire operation covered up, and it has remained a closely guarded secret ever since. Another variant claims Earhart returned to the United States after rescue by US armed forces, where she opted to live under an assumed identity for the rest of her life. Variations of these and other hypothetical answers to the mystery of Earhart’s fate all leave one part of the mystery unanswered. Where are the remains of Earhart’s airplane?