Amelia Earhart was one of America’s greatest female pilots and an icon of courage. On July 2, 1937, while attempting a round-the-world flight with navigator Fred Noonan, she took off from Lae, Papua New Guinea, with more than 7,000 miles to go. But no one heard from her again.

Last transmission: Earhart reported that her plane was running low on fuel and her position was inaccurate. That moment was the last time she was heard from.

Large search effort: The U.S. government and many other countries joined in the search, but no trace of the plane or confirmation was ever found. She was officially declared dead in 1939.

Theories surrounding:

Crashes at sea due to running out of fuel — the most accepted theory.

Possibly captured by the Japanese — but no concrete evidence is available.

Possibly landed on Nikumaroro Island, with some artifacts found by archaeologists and explorers in 2024 bolstering this theory thanks to sonar scans. However, no final conclusions have been reached.