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- 1
- 00:00:05,233 --> 00:00:08,133
- GATES: Amelia Earhart
- is on one of the final legs
- 2
- 00:00:08,133 --> 00:00:10,467
- of her historic flight
- around the world
- 3
- 00:00:10,467 --> 00:00:12,733
- when something
- goes terribly wrong.
- 4
- 00:00:12,733 --> 00:00:15,533
- [Airplane engine roars]
- 5
- 00:00:15,533 --> 00:00:17,767
- She is never seen again.
- 6
- 00:00:23,267 --> 00:00:27,033
- Today, more than 75 years
- after her disappearance,
- 7
- 00:00:27,033 --> 00:00:30,233
- new leads send me across
- the world in search of answers.
- 8
- 00:00:31,200 --> 00:00:33,000
- JACK: If you want to get
- more information,
- 9
- 00:00:33,000 --> 00:00:33,900
- head down to Rabaul.
- 10
- 00:00:33,900 --> 00:00:34,767
- Get to Rabaul.
- Yeah.
- 11
- 00:00:34,767 --> 00:00:36,033
- [Ground rumbling]
- 12
- 00:00:36,033 --> 00:00:37,533
- Earthquake. Whoa.
- [Children screaming]
- 13
- 00:00:37,533 --> 00:00:39,200
- Holy [bleep]
- 14
- 00:00:40,133 --> 00:00:44,333
- We heard that your tribe has
- found wreckage in the jungles.
- 15
- 00:00:44,333 --> 00:00:45,467
- Look at this.
- Rob, come here.
- 16
- 00:00:45,467 --> 00:00:47,033
- September 1940 --
- 17
- 00:00:47,033 --> 00:00:50,900
- a man named Gerald Gallagher
- found a partial skeleton.
- 18
- 00:00:50,900 --> 00:00:52,333
- This might be
- Amelia Earhart.
- 19
- 00:00:52,333 --> 00:00:54,767
- Did they go through
- the underside of this house
- 20
- 00:00:54,767 --> 00:00:56,333
- with a fine-tooth comb?
- 21
- 00:00:56,333 --> 00:00:58,233
- Nope, no further
- investigation.
- 22
- 00:00:58,233 --> 00:01:00,367
- We've heard reports
- of some aircraft wreckage.
- 23
- 00:01:00,367 --> 00:01:02,167
- They think it may be
- Earhart's plane.
- 24
- 00:01:02,167 --> 00:01:03,867
- And the only way to know
- is to go out
- 25
- 00:01:03,867 --> 00:01:05,367
- and see what we can find.
- 26
- 00:01:05,367 --> 00:01:07,100
- Oh! Rod,
- I got a plane!
- 27
- 00:01:07,100 --> 00:01:09,067
- Rod, I got a plane,
- for sure! Come here!
- 28
- 00:01:09,067 --> 00:01:11,167
- Look at that.
- That's a [bleep] plane.
- 29
- 00:01:11,167 --> 00:01:14,633
- It all leads to a series
- of amazing discoveries.
- 30
- 00:01:18,233 --> 00:01:19,933
- It's an airplane engine,
- yeah?
- 31
- 00:01:19,933 --> 00:01:21,500
- Oh, definitely an
- airplane engine, yeah.
- 32
- 00:01:21,500 --> 00:01:23,033
- Unbelievable.
- 33
- 00:01:23,033 --> 00:01:25,267
- [Radio beeps]
- 34
- 00:01:25,267 --> 00:01:27,833
- Definitely an airplane.
- Look at that.
- 35
- 00:01:27,833 --> 00:01:31,767
- This does not look like
- coral to me.
- 36
- 00:01:32,900 --> 00:01:36,300
- I got a bone down here.
- 37
- 00:01:37,700 --> 00:01:39,200
- [Birds squawking]
- 38
- 00:01:39,200 --> 00:01:42,300
- My name is Josh Gates.
- 39
- 00:01:42,300 --> 00:01:47,567
- With a degree in archaeology
- and a passion for exploration,
- 40
- 00:01:47,567 --> 00:01:51,167
- I have a tendency to end up
- in some very strange situations.
- 41
- 00:01:51,167 --> 00:01:54,667
- There has got to be a better way
- to make a living.
- 42
- 00:01:54,667 --> 00:01:57,867
- My travels have taken me
- to the ends of the Earth
- 43
- 00:01:57,867 --> 00:02:00,700
- as I investigate
- the greatest legends in history.
- 44
- 00:02:00,700 --> 00:02:02,067
- We're good to fly.
- Let's go.
- 45
- 00:02:02,067 --> 00:02:03,933
- This is...
- 46
- 00:02:12,567 --> 00:02:15,033
- Every year,
- thousands of people go missing,
- 47
- 00:02:15,033 --> 00:02:16,400
- never to be seen again.
- 48
- 00:02:16,400 --> 00:02:19,567
- But there is one cold case
- that looms above all the rest --
- 49
- 00:02:19,567 --> 00:02:22,067
- Amelia Earhart.
- 50
- 00:02:22,067 --> 00:02:24,600
- Just the name
- evokes a sense of wonder.
- 51
- 00:02:24,600 --> 00:02:26,867
- Her disappearance
- during her attempt
- 52
- 00:02:26,867 --> 00:02:29,100
- to circumnavigate the globe
- in 1937
- 53
- 00:02:29,100 --> 00:02:32,867
- is perhaps the most iconic
- unsolved mystery in the world.
- 54
- 00:02:32,867 --> 00:02:35,567
- Now, with breakthroughs
- in technology
- 55
- 00:02:35,567 --> 00:02:37,300
- and the discovery
- of new evidence,
- 56
- 00:02:37,300 --> 00:02:41,100
- we may be close to solving
- the puzzle once and for all.
- 57
- 00:02:41,100 --> 00:02:42,233
- [Crowd cheering]
- 58
- 00:02:42,233 --> 00:02:43,900
- 1937 --
- 59
- 00:02:43,900 --> 00:02:45,800
- Amelia Earhart is arguably
- 60
- 00:02:45,800 --> 00:02:47,433
- the most famous woman
- in America,
- 61
- 00:02:47,433 --> 00:02:51,200
- a pioneer in the field
- of aviation and a living legend.
- 62
- 00:02:52,233 --> 00:02:55,767
- On July 2nd, Earhart
- and her navigator, Fred Noonan,
- 63
- 00:02:55,767 --> 00:02:56,967
- are set to make history
- 64
- 00:02:56,967 --> 00:02:58,800
- as they begin
- one of the last legs
- 65
- 00:02:58,800 --> 00:03:01,500
- of their daring
- trans-world flight.
- 66
- 00:03:01,500 --> 00:03:04,367
- They take off from an airfield
- in Lae, Papua New Guinea,
- 67
- 00:03:04,367 --> 00:03:07,267
- bound for remote Howland Island
- in the Pacific.
- 68
- 00:03:07,267 --> 00:03:10,000
- Along the way, Earhart,
- her navigator,
- 69
- 00:03:10,000 --> 00:03:12,800
- and the famed Lockheed Electra
- vanish.
- 70
- 00:03:12,800 --> 00:03:14,767
- [Airplane engine roars]
- 71
- 00:03:17,200 --> 00:03:20,767
- In the last 75 years, there
- have been countless dead ends,
- 72
- 00:03:20,767 --> 00:03:23,500
- false leads,
- and wild conspiracy theories,
- 73
- 00:03:23,500 --> 00:03:24,600
- but no answers.
- 74
- 00:03:24,600 --> 00:03:27,100
- Well, all that
- may be about to change,
- 75
- 00:03:27,100 --> 00:03:30,933
- because recent developments in
- two different parts of the world
- 76
- 00:03:30,933 --> 00:03:33,700
- may finally crack the case.
- 77
- 00:03:33,700 --> 00:03:35,267
- Theory one --
- 78
- 00:03:35,267 --> 00:03:37,100
- a team of experts
- recently identified
- 79
- 00:03:37,100 --> 00:03:39,000
- a piece of aluminum debris
- 80
- 00:03:39,000 --> 00:03:40,800
- on the Pacific atoll
- of Nikumaroro,
- 81
- 00:03:40,800 --> 00:03:42,167
- just south of Howland,
- 82
- 00:03:42,167 --> 00:03:45,633
- which they believe may
- be a part of Earhart's Electra.
- 83
- 00:03:45,633 --> 00:03:48,867
- Human bones were also discovered
- on this same deserted island
- 84
- 00:03:48,867 --> 00:03:52,667
- in 1940, only to be shipped
- to Fiji and lost.
- 85
- 00:03:53,967 --> 00:03:57,100
- Could these be the bones
- of Amelia Earhart?
- 86
- 00:03:57,100 --> 00:03:59,967
- A new search
- is currently under way in Fiji
- 87
- 00:03:59,967 --> 00:04:02,600
- to locate the remains
- and identify them.
- 88
- 00:04:02,600 --> 00:04:03,967
- Theory two --
- 89
- 00:04:03,967 --> 00:04:06,333
- Earhart circled back toward
- Papua New Guinea
- 90
- 00:04:06,333 --> 00:04:09,700
- and crashed on or around the
- island nation she took off from.
- 91
- 00:04:09,700 --> 00:04:11,833
- It's a long-standing hypothesis
- 92
- 00:04:11,833 --> 00:04:13,633
- that's never been
- fully explored.
- 93
- 00:04:13,633 --> 00:04:16,367
- But now one local tribe
- claims to have found wreckage
- 94
- 00:04:16,367 --> 00:04:17,433
- deep in the jungle,
- 95
- 00:04:17,433 --> 00:04:20,033
- and there are new reports
- that there's also
- 96
- 00:04:20,033 --> 00:04:21,733
- an underwater wreck
- just offshore.
- 97
- 00:04:21,733 --> 00:04:24,633
- Either could be Amelia's plane.
- 98
- 00:04:24,633 --> 00:04:27,100
- I have been fascinated
- with Amelia Earhart
- 99
- 00:04:27,100 --> 00:04:28,233
- for my entire life,
- 100
- 00:04:28,233 --> 00:04:30,600
- and I'm eager to know
- if these new leads
- 101
- 00:04:30,600 --> 00:04:32,600
- may bring us closer
- to the truth,
- 102
- 00:04:32,600 --> 00:04:35,500
- or whether the world
- is looking in the wrong place.
- 103
- 00:04:35,500 --> 00:04:39,000
- The only way to find out
- is to join the search.
- 104
- 00:04:44,667 --> 00:04:47,133
- There is new evidence
- that Amelia Earhart's plane
- 105
- 00:04:47,133 --> 00:04:49,800
- may have crashed in the nation
- she last took off from,
- 106
- 00:04:49,800 --> 00:04:52,500
- so I'm here to investigate.
- 107
- 00:04:54,233 --> 00:04:58,067
- Wheels down, Papua New Guinea --
- or "PNG," as the locals call it.
- 108
- 00:05:01,733 --> 00:05:03,167
- Inside the terminal,
- 109
- 00:05:03,167 --> 00:05:05,033
- the local baggage claim
- is less of a belt
- 110
- 00:05:05,033 --> 00:05:06,767
- and more of a deli counter.
- 111
- 00:05:06,767 --> 00:05:08,767
- Order up!
- 112
- 00:05:08,767 --> 00:05:11,900
- This is an interesting system,
- but it works.
- 113
- 00:05:11,900 --> 00:05:14,067
- Thank God my umbrella
- made it.
- 114
- 00:05:14,067 --> 00:05:16,700
- Oh, sorry.
- 115
- 00:05:16,700 --> 00:05:17,767
- What are the odds?
- 116
- 00:05:17,767 --> 00:05:19,700
- Two guys with
- the same umbrella.
- 117
- 00:05:19,700 --> 00:05:21,167
- Mine must still be coming.
- 118
- 00:05:21,167 --> 00:05:23,967
- While I wait, it's clear that
- some of my other equipment
- 119
- 00:05:23,967 --> 00:05:26,100
- may not have made it here,
- either.
- 120
- 00:05:26,100 --> 00:05:30,000
- I'm missing 799 and 872.
- 121
- 00:05:31,200 --> 00:05:33,133
- At least it's not warm
- in here.
- 122
- 00:05:33,133 --> 00:05:35,467
- That would really
- make this frustrating.
- 123
- 00:05:35,467 --> 00:05:38,233
- Perhaps the customer-service
- reps know where my bag is.
- 124
- 00:05:38,233 --> 00:05:40,833
- Looking good.
- 125
- 00:05:40,833 --> 00:05:42,667
- Perhaps not.
- 126
- 00:05:42,667 --> 00:05:46,367
- Eventually, I'm resigned to
- never seeing my extra underwear,
- 127
- 00:05:46,367 --> 00:05:49,467
- sensible evening shoes, and
- whatever else was in case 799.
- 128
- 00:05:49,467 --> 00:05:51,700
- Well, time to hit the streets.
- 129
- 00:05:54,100 --> 00:05:55,733
- There are international capitals
- in the world
- 130
- 00:05:55,733 --> 00:05:58,667
- with worse reputations,
- but not many.
- 131
- 00:05:58,667 --> 00:06:01,367
- This is Port Moresby,
- capital of Papua New Guinea,
- 132
- 00:06:01,367 --> 00:06:03,700
- also the largest city
- in the South Pacific.
- 133
- 00:06:03,700 --> 00:06:05,300
- Has kind of a rough reputation.
- 134
- 00:06:05,300 --> 00:06:07,633
- Can be a little dangerous,
- a little gritty.
- 135
- 00:06:07,633 --> 00:06:09,967
- But if you can look past
- its imperfections,
- 136
- 00:06:09,967 --> 00:06:12,433
- it's actually
- a pretty cool spot.
- 137
- 00:06:13,400 --> 00:06:15,067
- I like to think of Port Moresby
- 138
- 00:06:15,067 --> 00:06:17,567
- as the Mos Eisley spaceport
- from "Star Wars."
- 139
- 00:06:17,567 --> 00:06:20,300
- On one hand, the cantina bar
- has a good happy hour.
- 140
- 00:06:20,300 --> 00:06:23,200
- On the other hand, Han Solo
- might shoot you in the face.
- 141
- 00:06:23,200 --> 00:06:25,767
- In other words,
- it pays to watch your back,
- 142
- 00:06:25,767 --> 00:06:28,600
- which is exactly what these guys
- are here to do.
- 143
- 00:06:30,267 --> 00:06:31,900
- Hey, Josh.
- 144
- 00:06:31,900 --> 00:06:32,833
- Are you Dean?
- I am.
- 145
- 00:06:32,833 --> 00:06:34,033
- Nice to meet you.
- Good to meet you.
- 146
- 00:06:34,033 --> 00:06:35,700
- Yeah, good
- to meet you, too.
- Hi. I'm Jack.
- 147
- 00:06:35,700 --> 00:06:37,400
- Hey, Jack. How are you?
- Nice to meet you.
- 148
- 00:06:37,400 --> 00:06:38,567
- Good, thank you.
- Yourself?
- 149
- 00:06:38,567 --> 00:06:40,067
- I'm good.
- How are things here in PNG?
- 150
- 00:06:40,067 --> 00:06:40,733
- Good, thanks.
- 151
- 00:06:40,733 --> 00:06:42,233
- Looking safe and secure?
- 152
- 00:06:42,233 --> 00:06:43,733
- As safe as PNG can be.
- 153
- 00:06:43,733 --> 00:06:45,333
- Yeah? How safe is that?
- 154
- 00:06:47,433 --> 00:06:49,133
- In case it's not safe.
- Yes.
- 155
- 00:06:49,133 --> 00:06:50,133
- Great, perfect.
- 156
- 00:06:51,000 --> 00:06:52,400
- So, why the muscle?
- 157
- 00:06:52,400 --> 00:06:54,233
- Well, with rampant
- political corruption
- 158
- 00:06:54,233 --> 00:06:55,900
- and gang-controlled
- neighborhoods,
- 159
- 00:06:55,900 --> 00:06:58,433
- the capital can get
- a little interesting.
- 160
- 00:06:58,433 --> 00:06:59,833
- But I like interesting,
- 161
- 00:06:59,833 --> 00:07:01,700
- and Port Moresby is the gateway
- 162
- 00:07:01,700 --> 00:07:04,067
- to one of the wildest nations
- on Earth.
- 163
- 00:07:04,067 --> 00:07:06,800
- It's made up of 1,000 different
- ethnic tribes,
- 164
- 00:07:06,800 --> 00:07:10,233
- speaking more than
- 800 languages.
- 165
- 00:07:10,233 --> 00:07:13,067
- Even the National
- Parliament House is diverse --
- 166
- 00:07:13,067 --> 00:07:14,700
- a modern government building
- 167
- 00:07:14,700 --> 00:07:17,233
- fused with an ancient tribal
- spirit house.
- 168
- 00:07:17,233 --> 00:07:19,267
- The people here,
- generally speaking,
- 169
- 00:07:19,267 --> 00:07:20,933
- are fiercely independent.
- 170
- 00:07:20,933 --> 00:07:23,400
- Locals are more apt
- to identify with their clan
- 171
- 00:07:23,400 --> 00:07:25,200
- than with
- their fellow countrymen.
- 172
- 00:07:25,200 --> 00:07:27,733
- Case in point --
- the Asaro Mudmen.
- 173
- 00:07:30,000 --> 00:07:32,333
- Legend has it that this tribe
- 174
- 00:07:32,333 --> 00:07:34,067
- was once on the cusp
- of defeat in battle
- 175
- 00:07:34,067 --> 00:07:35,900
- and retreated into
- the nearby river.
- 176
- 00:07:35,900 --> 00:07:39,133
- When they emerged,
- caked in dried white mud,
- 177
- 00:07:39,133 --> 00:07:42,833
- their enemies believed they were
- evil spirits and fled in terror.
- 178
- 00:07:42,833 --> 00:07:44,933
- I can't say I blame them.
- 179
- 00:07:48,933 --> 00:07:52,767
- Hi.
- 180
- 00:07:52,767 --> 00:07:54,933
- Not very talkative.
- 181
- 00:07:58,133 --> 00:07:59,567
- [Conversing in native language]
- 182
- 00:07:59,567 --> 00:08:00,333
- Oh, it's heavy.
- 183
- 00:08:01,533 --> 00:08:03,133
- Those are real teeth?
- 184
- 00:08:04,133 --> 00:08:06,200
- I'm not gonna ask
- where those came from.
- 185
- 00:08:06,200 --> 00:08:07,867
- Today, thousands of years later,
- 186
- 00:08:07,867 --> 00:08:11,000
- they still pay homage
- to that legendary battle,
- 187
- 00:08:11,000 --> 00:08:13,600
- and the tradition continues
- with me.
- 188
- 00:08:13,600 --> 00:08:14,733
- It's okay?
- 189
- 00:08:14,733 --> 00:08:15,467
- Yeah?
- 190
- 00:08:15,467 --> 00:08:16,867
- MAN: Yeah.
- 191
- 00:08:18,000 --> 00:08:19,233
- What do you think?
- 192
- 00:08:21,467 --> 00:08:23,800
- [Laughs]
- 193
- 00:08:25,833 --> 00:08:28,033
- I think I'm
- an honorary Mudman now.
- 194
- 00:08:29,067 --> 00:08:31,500
- This vast melting pot
- of Papua New Guinea
- 195
- 00:08:31,500 --> 00:08:33,133
- played center stage
- as one of the last stops
- 196
- 00:08:33,133 --> 00:08:35,433
- on Earhart's
- 'round-the-world flight.
- 197
- 00:08:35,433 --> 00:08:38,100
- But I'm not just here
- for nostalgia purposes.
- 198
- 00:08:38,100 --> 00:08:40,300
- There are those who believe
- that Earhart
- 199
- 00:08:40,300 --> 00:08:41,900
- didn't just take off from PNG,
- 200
- 00:08:41,900 --> 00:08:44,100
- but that she may have
- circled back here.
- 201
- 00:08:44,100 --> 00:08:47,400
- Newly discovered wreckage
- in the jungles and in the ocean
- 202
- 00:08:47,400 --> 00:08:49,467
- are waiting to be examined.
- 203
- 00:08:49,467 --> 00:08:50,533
- So from the capital,
- 204
- 00:08:50,533 --> 00:08:52,367
- I'm boarding a flight
- to investigate
- 205
- 00:08:52,367 --> 00:08:55,433
- the last documented sighting
- of Earhart's Electra.
- 206
- 00:08:55,433 --> 00:08:58,567
- It's a 45-minute trip
- from Port Moresby to Lae,
- 207
- 00:08:58,567 --> 00:09:00,733
- where Earhart began
- one of the final legs
- 208
- 00:09:00,733 --> 00:09:03,967
- of her fateful journey.
- 209
- 00:09:03,967 --> 00:09:06,200
- Lae is a bustling
- industrial port
- 210
- 00:09:06,200 --> 00:09:08,567
- that links the coastal waters
- of PNG
- 211
- 00:09:08,567 --> 00:09:10,700
- to the wild highlands
- of the interior.
- 212
- 00:09:10,700 --> 00:09:12,567
- I'm here to meet
- with a local tribe
- 213
- 00:09:12,567 --> 00:09:14,867
- who has information
- on a recently found wreck.
- 214
- 00:09:14,867 --> 00:09:17,667
- But first I have
- an important stop to make.
- 215
- 00:09:17,667 --> 00:09:19,100
- In the middle of town,
- 216
- 00:09:19,100 --> 00:09:22,200
- this narrow field of grass
- is today an empty lot,
- 217
- 00:09:22,200 --> 00:09:24,300
- a place to stack
- shipping containers.
- 218
- 00:09:24,300 --> 00:09:26,733
- Its true significance
- has been overgrown
- 219
- 00:09:26,733 --> 00:09:28,933
- by the dense wilderness
- of history.
- 220
- 00:09:28,933 --> 00:09:30,567
- Doesn't look like much today,
- 221
- 00:09:30,567 --> 00:09:32,600
- but this is
- the old Lae airfield.
- 222
- 00:09:32,600 --> 00:09:34,167
- This is the very last place
- 223
- 00:09:34,167 --> 00:09:36,100
- that anybody saw Amelia Earhart
- alive.
- 224
- 00:09:37,133 --> 00:09:42,100
- On May 21, 1937, Amelia Earhart
- departs Oakland, California,
- 225
- 00:09:42,100 --> 00:09:45,300
- in an audacious attempt
- to be the first woman in history
- 226
- 00:09:45,300 --> 00:09:47,067
- to circumnavigate the globe.
- 227
- 00:09:47,067 --> 00:09:48,933
- Over 21 days and 25,000 miles,
- 228
- 00:09:48,933 --> 00:09:51,467
- Earhart and her navigator,
- Fred Noonan,
- 229
- 00:09:51,467 --> 00:09:54,133
- make stops along the top
- of South America
- 230
- 00:09:54,133 --> 00:09:57,533
- before crossing central Africa,
- the Middle East, India,
- 231
- 00:09:57,533 --> 00:09:59,000
- and southeast Asia.
- 232
- 00:09:59,000 --> 00:10:01,900
- Finally, she lands
- in Papua New Guinea.
- 233
- 00:10:03,033 --> 00:10:08,133
- It was here, on July 2, 1937,
- in this very spot,
- 234
- 00:10:08,133 --> 00:10:10,033
- that a fuel-heavy
- Lockheed Electra plane
- 235
- 00:10:10,033 --> 00:10:12,667
- gained momentum
- and took off into the blue
- 236
- 00:10:12,667 --> 00:10:16,200
- for the very last time.
- 237
- 00:10:16,200 --> 00:10:18,133
- Whole world was watching,
- 238
- 00:10:18,133 --> 00:10:21,800
- and that shiny Lockheed Electra
- would have come right down here,
- 239
- 00:10:21,800 --> 00:10:24,833
- taken off right over the
- Pacific, never to be seen again.
- 240
- 00:10:27,067 --> 00:10:28,167
- I don't know.
- 241
- 00:10:28,167 --> 00:10:29,700
- For me,
- as someone who loves Earhart,
- 242
- 00:10:29,700 --> 00:10:32,300
- who really has been obsessed
- with her for a long time,
- 243
- 00:10:32,300 --> 00:10:36,600
- to be here in this spot
- is kind of...
- 244
- 00:10:36,600 --> 00:10:38,367
- I don't know, emotional.
- 245
- 00:10:38,367 --> 00:10:40,400
- It's kind of a powerful place.
- 246
- 00:10:41,600 --> 00:10:44,167
- With only 7,000 miles
- left to go,
- 247
- 00:10:44,167 --> 00:10:46,067
- it's easy to imagine
- the excitement
- 248
- 00:10:46,067 --> 00:10:48,567
- she must have felt
- at being in the home stretch.
- 249
- 00:10:48,567 --> 00:10:51,433
- But she still had to face
- her most difficult challenge --
- 250
- 00:10:51,433 --> 00:10:54,000
- crossing the immense
- Pacific Ocean.
- 251
- 00:10:54,000 --> 00:10:57,000
- Amelia's next stop
- is Howland Island,
- 252
- 00:10:57,000 --> 00:11:00,933
- about 2,500 miles
- and 18 long hours away.
- 253
- 00:11:00,933 --> 00:11:04,367
- Howland is merely a speck
- in the vast South Pacific Ocean.
- 254
- 00:11:04,367 --> 00:11:06,700
- But the plane must land
- and refuel
- 255
- 00:11:06,700 --> 00:11:10,300
- for the final onward flights
- to Honolulu and Oakland.
- 256
- 00:11:10,300 --> 00:11:13,267
- Earhart transmits one of
- her last radio messages
- 257
- 00:11:13,267 --> 00:11:15,733
- to the United States
- Coast Guard ship Itasca,
- 258
- 00:11:15,733 --> 00:11:18,633
- which is stationed offshore
- to help guide her to the island.
- 259
- 00:11:25,500 --> 00:11:28,333
- The Itasca receives
- the transmission,
- 260
- 00:11:28,333 --> 00:11:31,533
- but Amelia apparently can't hear
- the Coast Guard's response.
- 261
- 00:11:31,533 --> 00:11:33,867
- Her radio is likely damaged.
- 262
- 00:11:33,867 --> 00:11:36,733
- Soon after, Earhart,
- her navigator, Fred Noonan,
- 263
- 00:11:36,733 --> 00:11:38,933
- and the Electra disappear.
- 264
- 00:11:38,933 --> 00:11:40,467
- [Airplane engine roars]
- 265
- 00:11:44,167 --> 00:11:48,067
- The only evidence here in Lae
- of that historic flight is this,
- 266
- 00:11:48,067 --> 00:11:51,733
- a weathered and, by the looks
- of it, mostly forgotten memorial
- 267
- 00:11:51,733 --> 00:11:53,700
- to a woman
- whose daring adventure
- 268
- 00:11:53,700 --> 00:11:56,367
- still soars in our imaginations.
- 269
- 00:12:00,300 --> 00:12:02,400
- Having made the pilgrimage here,
- 270
- 00:12:02,400 --> 00:12:05,467
- I feel even more inspired
- to search for answers.
- 271
- 00:12:06,833 --> 00:12:09,600
- To find them, I've arranged
- a meeting with a tribal chief
- 272
- 00:12:09,600 --> 00:12:12,900
- to discuss the news reports
- of a recently found wreck
- 273
- 00:12:12,900 --> 00:12:15,133
- in the jungles to the north.
- 274
- 00:12:15,133 --> 00:12:16,900
- At the end of a long dirt road,
- 275
- 00:12:16,900 --> 00:12:19,000
- I'm walked to a makeshift wall
- 276
- 00:12:19,000 --> 00:12:21,933
- of what looks like
- jungle fronds.
- 277
- 00:12:23,300 --> 00:12:27,200
- [People singing,
- drums banging]
- 278
- 00:12:28,400 --> 00:12:31,900
- 13-year-old boy, you find
- human bones under your house?
- 279
- 00:12:31,900 --> 00:12:33,167
- It freaked me out.
- 280
- 00:12:33,167 --> 00:12:35,700
- It never, ever came back
- into my life
- 281
- 00:12:35,700 --> 00:12:38,767
- until I read this thing
- about Amelia Earhart.
- 282
- 00:12:38,767 --> 00:12:40,967
- Was the rest of that
- crawl space under the house
- 283
- 00:12:40,967 --> 00:12:42,400
- thoroughly explored?
- 284
- 00:12:42,400 --> 00:12:43,267
- No, not at all.
- 285
- 00:12:43,267 --> 00:12:44,333
- Really?
- Never.
- 286
- 00:12:44,333 --> 00:12:45,967
- I got a bone down here.
- 287
- 00:12:45,967 --> 00:12:48,067
- My goodness.
- 288
- 00:12:48,067 --> 00:12:50,267
- There's more down here.
- There's more down here.
- 289
- 00:12:50,267 --> 00:12:52,167
- It's everywhere I look.
- 290
- 00:12:52,167 --> 00:12:54,200
- I mean, I'm putting a skeleton
- together down here.
- 291
- 00:13:00,400 --> 00:13:02,933
- GATES: I'm in Papua New Guinea,
- in the South Pacific,
- 292
- 00:13:02,933 --> 00:13:06,367
- following new leads in
- the search for Amelia Earhart.
- 293
- 00:13:06,367 --> 00:13:08,133
- I've come to a local village
- to meet with a chief
- 294
- 00:13:08,133 --> 00:13:09,900
- who has information
- about a wreck
- 295
- 00:13:09,900 --> 00:13:12,267
- that's recently been found
- in the jungles.
- 296
- 00:13:12,267 --> 00:13:16,133
- He leads me to what appears
- to be a wall of palm fronds.
- 297
- 00:13:16,133 --> 00:13:18,433
- [People singing,
- drums banging]
- 298
- 00:13:30,500 --> 00:13:34,400
- This is the craziest welcome
- I've ever seen.
- 299
- 00:13:34,400 --> 00:13:36,400
- And I assume
- it's a welcome.
- 300
- 00:13:36,400 --> 00:13:39,033
- I...could be murdered
- in the next 10 minutes.
- 301
- 00:13:39,033 --> 00:13:39,933
- I don't know.
- 302
- 00:13:41,700 --> 00:13:43,733
- This is not
- a tourist attraction.
- 303
- 00:13:45,200 --> 00:13:48,300
- This is not a theme park.
- This is the real deal.
- 304
- 00:13:48,300 --> 00:13:50,533
- It's called a sing-sing,
- 305
- 00:13:50,533 --> 00:13:54,333
- a ritual in which villages come
- together through song and dance.
- 306
- 00:13:54,333 --> 00:13:56,600
- Reasonably certain
- 307
- 00:13:56,600 --> 00:13:58,867
- that I'm not gonna end up
- as a human pincushion,
- 308
- 00:13:58,867 --> 00:14:01,067
- I relax and enjoy the welcome.
- 309
- 00:14:01,067 --> 00:14:03,533
- Like many other tribes
- in Papua New Guinea,
- 310
- 00:14:03,533 --> 00:14:06,600
- its people are caught between
- the past and the present.
- 311
- 00:14:06,600 --> 00:14:09,400
- It seems only fitting
- that I meet them halfway.
- 312
- 00:14:12,033 --> 00:14:14,167
- Good look for me, right?
- 313
- 00:14:14,167 --> 00:14:17,800
- [People singing]
- 314
- 00:14:24,300 --> 00:14:25,767
- [Singing, drumming stops]
- 315
- 00:14:25,767 --> 00:14:27,367
- [Laughter]
- Thank you! Good night!
- 316
- 00:14:29,033 --> 00:14:30,300
- Thank you, Lae!
- 317
- 00:14:30,300 --> 00:14:32,167
- We'll be here all week!
- 318
- 00:14:32,167 --> 00:14:34,733
- Okay, I may not be Ringo Starr,
- 319
- 00:14:34,733 --> 00:14:35,967
- but my drumming is good enough
- 320
- 00:14:35,967 --> 00:14:37,800
- that my crew and I
- have been invited
- 321
- 00:14:37,800 --> 00:14:40,067
- to don the tribe's colors
- and join the clan.
- 322
- 00:14:40,067 --> 00:14:41,200
- It's a genuine honor,
- 323
- 00:14:41,200 --> 00:14:42,533
- though something tells me
- 324
- 00:14:42,533 --> 00:14:44,533
- that they use more
- than food coloring
- 325
- 00:14:44,533 --> 00:14:46,000
- in the strong-smelling paint.
- 326
- 00:14:46,000 --> 00:14:48,533
- Saliva?
- Is there saliva?
- 327
- 00:14:48,533 --> 00:14:49,300
- Yeah.
- 328
- 00:14:49,300 --> 00:14:51,233
- Great.
- 329
- 00:14:54,467 --> 00:14:56,067
- What do these
- markings mean?
- 330
- 00:14:56,067 --> 00:14:58,233
- [Speaking
- native language]
- 331
- 00:14:58,233 --> 00:14:59,933
- Brave warrior?
- Yeah.
- 332
- 00:14:59,933 --> 00:15:01,233
- Yeah, right.
- 333
- 00:15:01,233 --> 00:15:03,300
- Village idiot, probably.
- 334
- 00:15:03,300 --> 00:15:04,333
- Is that it?
- 335
- 00:15:04,333 --> 00:15:05,300
- MAN: Yeah.
- 336
- 00:15:05,300 --> 00:15:06,300
- Okay, how do I look?
- 337
- 00:15:06,300 --> 00:15:08,167
- [Crowd cheers]
- 338
- 00:15:08,167 --> 00:15:12,100
- I am joining the tribe.
- 339
- 00:15:14,500 --> 00:15:16,233
- Once the sing-sing winds down,
- 340
- 00:15:16,233 --> 00:15:18,933
- I'm granted an audience with
- the village elder, named Iru,
- 341
- 00:15:18,933 --> 00:15:22,000
- while my security guard
- serves as translator.
- 342
- 00:15:22,000 --> 00:15:24,933
- So, how many people live
- here in the village?
- 343
- 00:15:24,933 --> 00:15:26,967
- [Speaking
- native language]
- 344
- 00:15:26,967 --> 00:15:28,100
- More than 2,500.
- 345
- 00:15:28,100 --> 00:15:29,533
- More than 2,500? Wow.
- 346
- 00:15:29,533 --> 00:15:31,567
- 2,500, because
- it's a very big village.
- 347
- 00:15:31,567 --> 00:15:32,700
- Yeah.
- 348
- 00:15:32,700 --> 00:15:35,000
- GATES: I'm not the first
- Westerner to come here.
- 349
- 00:15:35,000 --> 00:15:37,000
- These are the direct descendents
- of the tribes
- 350
- 00:15:37,000 --> 00:15:38,933
- that Earhart met in 1937.
- 351
- 00:15:38,933 --> 00:15:40,333
- Through oral tradition,
- 352
- 00:15:40,333 --> 00:15:43,267
- they have preserved
- the memory of her time in PNG.
- 353
- 00:15:43,267 --> 00:15:46,300
- So, listen, you know, we're very
- interested in Amelia Earhart,
- 354
- 00:15:46,300 --> 00:15:48,300
- and I've been told that
- you have some knowledge,
- 355
- 00:15:48,300 --> 00:15:49,233
- some stories about her.
- 356
- 00:15:49,233 --> 00:15:50,167
- What can you tell me?
- 357
- 00:15:50,167 --> 00:15:52,833
- [Speaking
- native language]
- 358
- 00:15:52,833 --> 00:15:55,033
- INTERPRETER:
- According to our elders,
- 359
- 00:15:55,033 --> 00:15:56,267
- when she landed here,
- 360
- 00:15:56,267 --> 00:15:58,433
- it was very exciting
- for our village
- 361
- 00:15:58,433 --> 00:15:59,933
- and for Papua New Guinea.
- 362
- 00:15:59,933 --> 00:16:02,633
- At that time,
- airplanes were very uncommon.
- 363
- 00:16:02,633 --> 00:16:04,767
- Most people
- had never seen a plane.
- 364
- 00:16:04,767 --> 00:16:06,867
- Some had never seen
- a white woman.
- 365
- 00:16:06,867 --> 00:16:09,100
- It was a big event
- when she took off.
- 366
- 00:16:09,100 --> 00:16:12,800
- But other tribes say
- that she circled back here,
- 367
- 00:16:12,800 --> 00:16:16,067
- that the plane crashed
- not far form their village.
- 368
- 00:16:16,067 --> 00:16:18,400
- GATES: Those tribes
- weren't the only ones
- 369
- 00:16:18,400 --> 00:16:20,367
- who thought
- she'd crashed in PNG.
- 370
- 00:16:20,367 --> 00:16:21,767
- In 1945,
- 371
- 00:16:21,767 --> 00:16:24,933
- an Australian corporal was
- on patrol in the same jungles
- 372
- 00:16:24,933 --> 00:16:27,900
- and stumbled upon something
- that has baffled experts --
- 373
- 00:16:27,900 --> 00:16:30,567
- a rusted and badly damaged
- airplane engine.
- 374
- 00:16:32,167 --> 00:16:34,600
- Though he didn't know
- his exact position,
- 375
- 00:16:34,600 --> 00:16:37,400
- he did jot down a partial serial
- number on a weathered map.
- 376
- 00:16:37,400 --> 00:16:42,100
- Intriguingly, S3H1 is the same
- model series as the Electra,
- 377
- 00:16:42,100 --> 00:16:44,900
- and 1055 matches
- the construction number
- 378
- 00:16:44,900 --> 00:16:46,133
- of her plane.
- 379
- 00:16:46,133 --> 00:16:48,733
- And has anybody since then
- been able to find the wreck?
- 380
- 00:16:48,733 --> 00:16:50,500
- [Speaking native language]
- 381
- 00:16:50,500 --> 00:16:52,567
- INTERPRETER:
- Just a few weeks ago,
- 382
- 00:16:52,567 --> 00:16:55,733
- we heard from the village
- that the Baining tribe in Rabaul
- 383
- 00:16:55,733 --> 00:16:56,933
- found the wreckage.
- 384
- 00:16:56,933 --> 00:17:01,300
- They think it might be
- a plane -- her plane.
- 385
- 00:17:01,300 --> 00:17:04,000
- GATES: Due to the largely
- impenetrable jungles,
- 386
- 00:17:04,000 --> 00:17:07,033
- the plane spotted in 1945
- has never been relocated.
- 387
- 00:17:07,033 --> 00:17:09,500
- But now it sounds like
- this remote tribe
- 388
- 00:17:09,500 --> 00:17:13,033
- may have finally stumbled across
- the mysterious wreck.
- 389
- 00:17:13,033 --> 00:17:16,300
- So why wasn't anyone
- searching here earlier?
- 390
- 00:17:16,300 --> 00:17:19,033
- Within hours
- of Earhart's disappearance,
- 391
- 00:17:19,033 --> 00:17:20,633
- the U.S. launched
- 392
- 00:17:20,633 --> 00:17:22,900
- one of the most extensive
- manhunts in history,
- 393
- 00:17:22,900 --> 00:17:24,633
- but based on fuel calculations,
- 394
- 00:17:24,633 --> 00:17:27,600
- only searched a four-hour flight
- radius from Howland,
- 395
- 00:17:27,600 --> 00:17:30,600
- which included the nearby
- Gilbert and Phoenix islands.
- 396
- 00:17:30,600 --> 00:17:34,133
- But some experts believe
- those calculations are wrong.
- 397
- 00:17:34,133 --> 00:17:36,567
- To keep the plane
- as light as possible,
- 398
- 00:17:36,567 --> 00:17:39,533
- Earhart left key navigational
- instruments behind.
- 399
- 00:17:39,533 --> 00:17:42,433
- Though she should have had only
- four hours of fuel remaining
- 400
- 00:17:42,433 --> 00:17:44,833
- when she reached Howland,
- if she was off course,
- 401
- 00:17:44,833 --> 00:17:46,333
- and if she flew conservatively,
- 402
- 00:17:46,333 --> 00:17:49,000
- researchers have argued
- that the Electra
- 403
- 00:17:49,000 --> 00:17:52,733
- could have limped back to PNG,
- only to crash before landing.
- 404
- 00:17:52,733 --> 00:17:55,767
- JACK: He says that if you want
- to get more information,
- 405
- 00:17:55,767 --> 00:17:57,133
- head down to Rabaul,
- 406
- 00:17:57,133 --> 00:17:58,800
- and then check the people
- up in the tribes out there.
- 407
- 00:17:58,800 --> 00:18:00,267
- Go for the search.
- 408
- 00:18:00,267 --> 00:18:01,433
- Get to Rabaul?
- 409
- 00:18:01,433 --> 00:18:02,667
- Yeah.
- Okay.
- 410
- 00:18:02,667 --> 00:18:04,233
- And...
- 411
- 00:18:04,233 --> 00:18:06,033
- and the tribe in Rabaul,
- they're friendly?
- 412
- 00:18:06,033 --> 00:18:07,500
- They can be aggressive,
- but you'll be okay.
- 413
- 00:18:07,500 --> 00:18:09,067
- I'll be okay?
- 414
- 00:18:09,067 --> 00:18:10,200
- You'll be okay.
- 415
- 00:18:10,200 --> 00:18:11,467
- Thank you very much.
- 416
- 00:18:11,467 --> 00:18:12,967
- Your village is incredible.
- 417
- 00:18:12,967 --> 00:18:14,567
- [Children screaming]
- 418
- 00:18:14,567 --> 00:18:16,033
- Whoa. Earthquake.
- 419
- 00:18:16,033 --> 00:18:17,600
- [Ground rumbling]
- 420
- 00:18:17,600 --> 00:18:18,667
- Whoa. Whoa!
- 421
- 00:18:18,667 --> 00:18:20,733
- Whoa! Watch out.
- 422
- 00:18:21,467 --> 00:18:23,600
- Whoa! Holy [bleep]
- 423
- 00:18:28,567 --> 00:18:30,767
- GATES:
- I'm in Papua New Guinea,
- 424
- 00:18:30,767 --> 00:18:33,833
- investigating the theory
- that famed pilot Amelia Earhart
- 425
- 00:18:33,833 --> 00:18:35,433
- could have crash-landed here.
- 426
- 00:18:35,433 --> 00:18:37,733
- One of the villagers
- has new information
- 427
- 00:18:37,733 --> 00:18:40,633
- that a fellow tribe to the north
- has found a wreck in the jungle
- 428
- 00:18:40,633 --> 00:18:42,400
- that could be
- her missing aircraft.
- 429
- 00:18:42,400 --> 00:18:45,300
- JACK: He says that if you want
- to get more information,
- 430
- 00:18:45,300 --> 00:18:46,667
- head down to Rabaul,
- 431
- 00:18:46,667 --> 00:18:48,333
- and then check the people
- up in the tribes out there.
- 432
- 00:18:48,333 --> 00:18:49,533
- Go for the search.
- 433
- 00:18:49,533 --> 00:18:50,367
- Get to Rabaul?
- 434
- 00:18:50,367 --> 00:18:51,067
- Yeah.
- 435
- 00:18:51,067 --> 00:18:52,700
- [Children screaming]
- 436
- 00:18:52,700 --> 00:18:55,433
- Whoa. Earthquake.
- Whoa.
- 437
- 00:18:55,433 --> 00:18:56,800
- [Ground rumbling]
- 438
- 00:18:56,800 --> 00:18:57,633
- Whoa!
- 439
- 00:18:57,633 --> 00:19:00,867
- Watch out.
- Whoa! Whoa!
- 440
- 00:19:00,867 --> 00:19:03,167
- Holy [bleep]
- 441
- 00:19:03,167 --> 00:19:06,233
- Whoa! Holy [bleep]
- 442
- 00:19:06,233 --> 00:19:11,233
- [Rumbling stops]
- 443
- 00:19:11,233 --> 00:19:12,367
- That was insane.
- 444
- 00:19:12,367 --> 00:19:14,633
- It happens a lot.
- It happens a lot here.
- 445
- 00:19:14,633 --> 00:19:16,067
- That happens a lot here?
- 446
- 00:19:16,067 --> 00:19:16,867
- Yeah, yeah.
- 447
- 00:19:18,733 --> 00:19:20,267
- I mean, that was like
- 448
- 00:19:20,267 --> 00:19:23,033
- the whole planet just
- went went like this.
- 449
- 00:19:23,033 --> 00:19:24,233
- [Laughter]
- 450
- 00:19:24,233 --> 00:19:26,967
- Massive earthquake during
- an interview -- check.
- 451
- 00:19:26,967 --> 00:19:28,967
- I made it through unscathed,
- 452
- 00:19:28,967 --> 00:19:31,067
- and so did the rest
- of the village --
- 453
- 00:19:31,067 --> 00:19:32,500
- even the pigs.
- 454
- 00:19:32,500 --> 00:19:36,000
- Life goes on, and so does
- my search for Earhart.
- 455
- 00:19:40,867 --> 00:19:43,300
- With a substantial lead
- in the jungles to the northeast,
- 456
- 00:19:43,300 --> 00:19:46,600
- I'm carrying on
- with my investigation.
- 457
- 00:19:46,600 --> 00:19:48,033
- From Lae,
- 458
- 00:19:48,033 --> 00:19:50,700
- I'm traveling about 400 miles
- to the island of New Britain
- 459
- 00:19:50,700 --> 00:19:54,333
- and touching down
- in the former capital of Rabaul.
- 460
- 00:19:54,333 --> 00:19:58,333
- The island, like much of PNG,
- looks to be a paradise on Earth,
- 461
- 00:19:58,333 --> 00:19:59,567
- and it is.
- 462
- 00:19:59,567 --> 00:20:01,700
- But it also has a dark history.
- 463
- 00:20:01,700 --> 00:20:03,167
- Just beneath the jungle canopy,
- 464
- 00:20:03,167 --> 00:20:07,233
- long-silenced anti-aircraft guns
- still point to the skies,
- 465
- 00:20:07,233 --> 00:20:11,100
- a reminder that this paradise
- was once a war zone.
- 466
- 00:20:11,100 --> 00:20:14,100
- PNG's strategic location
- just north of Australia
- 467
- 00:20:14,100 --> 00:20:16,333
- made it prime real estate
- for the Japanese
- 468
- 00:20:16,333 --> 00:20:17,600
- during World War II.
- 469
- 00:20:17,600 --> 00:20:20,100
- If you look closely
- along the side of the road,
- 470
- 00:20:20,100 --> 00:20:22,667
- you can still catch site
- of foreboding tunnels
- 471
- 00:20:22,667 --> 00:20:24,233
- that bore into the mountains.
- 472
- 00:20:24,233 --> 00:20:26,700
- Inside is another world.
- 473
- 00:20:26,700 --> 00:20:29,933
- This is actually remains of an
- underground Japanese hospital.
- 474
- 00:20:29,933 --> 00:20:33,833
- All told, there are more than
- 500 miles of tunnels
- 475
- 00:20:33,833 --> 00:20:35,333
- underneath Rabaul,
- 476
- 00:20:35,333 --> 00:20:38,000
- and a lot of them are filled
- with bats and creepy-crawlies.
- 477
- 00:20:38,000 --> 00:20:40,500
- After capturing Rabaul in 1942,
- 478
- 00:20:40,500 --> 00:20:44,067
- the Japanese Empire immediately
- set their army to work
- 479
- 00:20:44,067 --> 00:20:46,933
- digging miles and miles
- of serpentine tunnels
- 480
- 00:20:46,933 --> 00:20:49,533
- to shelter their forces
- from Allied attacks.
- 481
- 00:20:49,533 --> 00:20:54,467
- By 1943, Rabaul was home
- to over 100,000 Japanese troops.
- 482
- 00:20:55,533 --> 00:20:58,100
- Ghosts of the past
- are everywhere...
- 483
- 00:20:59,833 --> 00:21:03,500
- ...tanks, weapons, bombs.
- 484
- 00:21:03,500 --> 00:21:06,067
- One tunnel even contains
- the decomposing remains
- 485
- 00:21:06,067 --> 00:21:08,833
- of massive Japanese
- landing barges.
- 486
- 00:21:08,833 --> 00:21:12,133
- I have to wonder -- with all
- these abandoned relics of war,
- 487
- 00:21:12,133 --> 00:21:14,567
- there must have been hundreds
- of downed planes here,
- 488
- 00:21:14,567 --> 00:21:17,800
- which makes the hunt for
- Earhart's Electra a nightmare.
- 489
- 00:21:19,367 --> 00:21:23,133
- Nearby, I descend into
- one of the most historic bunkers
- 490
- 00:21:23,133 --> 00:21:24,333
- in the world.
- 491
- 00:21:24,333 --> 00:21:27,733
- This fortification
- was the base of operations
- 492
- 00:21:27,733 --> 00:21:31,167
- for the commander in chief
- of the Imperial Japanese Navy.
- 493
- 00:21:31,167 --> 00:21:34,100
- This is Admiral Yamamoto's
- bunker from World War II.
- 494
- 00:21:34,100 --> 00:21:36,067
- He's the guy who orchestrated
- 495
- 00:21:36,067 --> 00:21:37,967
- the attack on Pearl Harbor
- at Midway,
- 496
- 00:21:37,967 --> 00:21:41,333
- and this was the Japanese base
- of naval operations
- 497
- 00:21:41,333 --> 00:21:42,533
- in World War II.
- 498
- 00:21:42,533 --> 00:21:45,267
- You can still see writing
- on the walls.
- 499
- 00:21:45,267 --> 00:21:47,500
- It's all perfectly preserved
- under all this concrete --
- 500
- 00:21:47,500 --> 00:21:50,800
- absolutely astounding piece
- of World War II history.
- 501
- 00:21:50,800 --> 00:21:52,533
- From this austere war room,
- 502
- 00:21:52,533 --> 00:21:54,133
- Admiral Yamamoto's forces
- 503
- 00:21:54,133 --> 00:21:57,033
- coordinated the theater of war
- in the Pacific
- 504
- 00:21:57,033 --> 00:22:01,433
- until his plane was shot down
- leaving Rabaul in 1943.
- 505
- 00:22:01,433 --> 00:22:03,333
- Back above ground,
- 506
- 00:22:03,333 --> 00:22:05,900
- I make my way to a nearby market
- to meet with
- 507
- 00:22:05,900 --> 00:22:08,900
- a World War II aviation expert
- and PNG historian
- 508
- 00:22:08,900 --> 00:22:11,567
- who can shed more light
- on the rumors of a wreck
- 509
- 00:22:11,567 --> 00:22:13,700
- in the jungles of Rabaul.
- 510
- 00:22:17,567 --> 00:22:19,367
- While I wait for him to arrive,
- 511
- 00:22:19,367 --> 00:22:22,200
- I have time to sample
- PNG's favorite addiction.
- 512
- 00:22:22,200 --> 00:22:24,467
- You may notice
- that nearly everyone here
- 513
- 00:22:24,467 --> 00:22:26,067
- has a red-stained mouth.
- 514
- 00:22:26,067 --> 00:22:27,600
- That's because of this.
- 515
- 00:22:27,600 --> 00:22:30,733
- Buai is a seemingly random
- recipe of betel nut,
- 516
- 00:22:30,733 --> 00:22:32,800
- mustard stick, and lime.
- 517
- 00:22:32,800 --> 00:22:34,500
- GATES:
- Show me how I do this.
- 518
- 00:22:35,433 --> 00:22:36,933
- I use my teeth
- to open it?
- Yeah.
- 519
- 00:22:36,933 --> 00:22:39,367
- Already, it doesn't seem
- like a good idea.
- 520
- 00:22:39,367 --> 00:22:41,400
- That's not good
- for your teeth.
- 521
- 00:22:41,400 --> 00:22:42,867
- Okay.
- 522
- 00:22:42,867 --> 00:22:43,933
- Oh, I need -- I want
- the middle piece.
- 523
- 00:22:43,933 --> 00:22:45,167
- I see. Soft piece. Boom.
- 524
- 00:22:45,167 --> 00:22:46,167
- The whole thing?
- 525
- 00:22:46,167 --> 00:22:46,933
- Yeah.
- 526
- 00:22:46,933 --> 00:22:49,233
- Okay. Ugh,
- it's bitter.
- 527
- 00:22:49,233 --> 00:22:50,233
- Now what?
- 528
- 00:22:50,233 --> 00:22:52,700
- Small one, in the lime?
- 529
- 00:22:54,167 --> 00:22:56,633
- The ingredients are combined
- and chewed,
- 530
- 00:22:56,633 --> 00:22:59,200
- producing torrential amounts
- of bright-red saliva,
- 531
- 00:22:59,200 --> 00:23:02,667
- which Papuans spit on just about
- every surface in sight.
- 532
- 00:23:03,667 --> 00:23:05,033
- No, that's enough.
- 533
- 00:23:05,033 --> 00:23:06,200
- Believe it or not,
- 534
- 00:23:06,200 --> 00:23:08,433
- this is the fourth-most-consumed
- drug in the world
- 535
- 00:23:08,433 --> 00:23:11,067
- after nicotine, booze,
- and coffee.
- 536
- 00:23:11,067 --> 00:23:13,233
- It is definitely
- not recommended by
- 537
- 00:23:13,233 --> 00:23:16,467
- the American Dental Association,
- and for the uninitiated,
- 538
- 00:23:16,467 --> 00:23:19,333
- the chemical combination
- can be a little intense.
- 539
- 00:23:19,333 --> 00:23:20,933
- Whoo!
- 540
- 00:23:20,933 --> 00:23:23,033
- Starting to feel
- a little dizzy.
- 541
- 00:23:23,033 --> 00:23:24,433
- [Women singing
- in native language]
- 542
- 00:23:24,433 --> 00:23:27,033
- It's good.
- What does it do?
- 543
- 00:23:30,267 --> 00:23:31,733
- Your eyes open.
- I don't know about that.
- 544
- 00:23:31,733 --> 00:23:33,100
- My eyes are about to close.
- 545
- 00:23:33,100 --> 00:23:34,133
- [Laughter]
- 546
- 00:23:34,133 --> 00:23:35,567
- Whoo!
- 547
- 00:23:36,967 --> 00:23:38,000
- Hoo!
- 548
- 00:23:38,000 --> 00:23:39,567
- Where'd all these people
- come from?
- 549
- 00:23:43,833 --> 00:23:46,133
- Okay, I'm just gonna
- lay here for a while
- 550
- 00:23:46,133 --> 00:23:48,000
- until the world
- stops spinning.
- 551
- 00:23:50,600 --> 00:23:54,667
- Moments later,
- I'm back on my feet, sort of.
- 552
- 00:23:54,667 --> 00:23:56,600
- Apologies --
- just give me a moment, here.
- 553
- 00:23:56,600 --> 00:23:57,533
- It wears off fast.
- 554
- 00:23:59,467 --> 00:24:02,133
- I'm good. Let's go.
- 555
- 00:24:02,133 --> 00:24:04,033
- Finally feeling less dizzy,
- 556
- 00:24:04,033 --> 00:24:06,567
- I'm ready to meet up with
- historian Rob Rowenson.
- 557
- 00:24:06,567 --> 00:24:10,700
- As an aircraft expert with the
- Organization of Pacific Wrecks,
- 558
- 00:24:10,700 --> 00:24:13,133
- Rob lives here
- and speaks Papuan dialects,
- 559
- 00:24:13,133 --> 00:24:15,200
- making him
- a critical intermediary
- 560
- 00:24:15,200 --> 00:24:17,767
- between outside investigators
- and the remote tribe
- 561
- 00:24:17,767 --> 00:24:21,600
- that claims to have found
- a downed plane in the jungle.
- 562
- 00:24:21,600 --> 00:24:23,867
- We've had someone report,
- say there was an engine there,
- 563
- 00:24:23,867 --> 00:24:26,167
- and some parts
- of an airplane.
- 564
- 00:24:26,167 --> 00:24:27,667
- Of course,
- you get these reports,
- 565
- 00:24:27,667 --> 00:24:29,367
- and then you have
- to go there yourself
- 566
- 00:24:29,367 --> 00:24:31,500
- and try and determine
- what sort of airplane it was.
- 567
- 00:24:31,500 --> 00:24:33,333
- Yeah. What's the road like
- out to this village?
- 568
- 00:24:33,333 --> 00:24:34,633
- It's rough.
- 569
- 00:24:34,633 --> 00:24:36,900
- You need vehicles that can
- handle those sort of conditions.
- 570
- 00:24:36,900 --> 00:24:38,967
- I do know of a vehicle
- that might help you out.
- 571
- 00:24:38,967 --> 00:24:41,767
- Okay.
- [Chuckles]
- 572
- 00:24:54,500 --> 00:24:58,233
- Once airborne, we loft up
- over the island of New Britain
- 573
- 00:24:58,233 --> 00:25:00,200
- and head toward the unknown.
- 574
- 00:25:00,200 --> 00:25:03,467
- The helicopter will fly us
- 40 miles inland,
- 575
- 00:25:03,467 --> 00:25:05,333
- to the remote village
- of Vunalama.
- 576
- 00:25:05,333 --> 00:25:08,300
- Below us are some of the wildest
- and least-explored jungles
- 577
- 00:25:08,300 --> 00:25:09,600
- on Earth.
- 578
- 00:25:09,600 --> 00:25:13,067
- Papua New Guinea is often
- referred to as "the lost world,"
- 579
- 00:25:13,067 --> 00:25:14,100
- and for good reason.
- 580
- 00:25:14,100 --> 00:25:15,933
- More new species
- are discovered here
- 581
- 00:25:15,933 --> 00:25:19,833
- than anywhere else on Earth,
- an average of two a week.
- 582
- 00:25:19,833 --> 00:25:23,300
- The tribes that live in
- these jungles exist off the grid
- 583
- 00:25:23,300 --> 00:25:25,633
- and far from the reach
- of modern laws.
- 584
- 00:25:25,633 --> 00:25:28,900
- There are still isolated reports
- of murder, cannibalism,
- 585
- 00:25:28,900 --> 00:25:32,933
- and sacrifice associated with
- sorcery and tribal beliefs.
- 586
- 00:25:41,233 --> 00:25:44,200
- Rob's contacts have given us
- the rough location
- 587
- 00:25:44,200 --> 00:25:46,467
- of the Baining village
- that reported the wrecked plane.
- 588
- 00:25:46,467 --> 00:25:48,433
- But all we're seeing is jungle.
- 589
- 00:25:48,433 --> 00:25:50,133
- I'm genuinely concerned here,
- 590
- 00:25:50,133 --> 00:25:52,933
- since landing
- in the wrong tribe's territory
- 591
- 00:25:52,933 --> 00:25:54,433
- could be a fatal mistake.
- 592
- 00:25:54,433 --> 00:25:57,467
- But with the weather worsening,
- we've got one shot at this,
- 593
- 00:25:57,467 --> 00:25:59,633
- so we touch down
- in a nearby clearing.
- 594
- 00:25:59,633 --> 00:26:01,033
- We're good. We're down.
- 595
- 00:26:01,033 --> 00:26:03,767
- My cameraman leaps out first
- to film the landing,
- 596
- 00:26:03,767 --> 00:26:05,833
- and before I can unhook
- my harness,
- 597
- 00:26:05,833 --> 00:26:07,933
- he realizes
- that we've got company.
- 598
- 00:26:14,400 --> 00:26:15,600
- They're here to meet us?
- 599
- 00:26:21,067 --> 00:26:22,700
- With my helicopter pilot
- 600
- 00:26:22,700 --> 00:26:24,867
- not sticking around
- to see how this turns out,
- 601
- 00:26:24,867 --> 00:26:25,900
- we are on our own.
- 602
- 00:26:25,900 --> 00:26:27,500
- Wait, wait!
- Wait, wait, hey, hey!
- 603
- 00:26:34,100 --> 00:26:37,433
- GATES:
- I've just been dropped into
- the jungles of Papua New Guinea,
- 604
- 00:26:37,433 --> 00:26:40,567
- looking for a local tribe with
- information about a plane wreck
- 605
- 00:26:40,567 --> 00:26:42,867
- that could be Amelia Earhart's.
- 606
- 00:26:42,867 --> 00:26:45,233
- Good. We're down.
- 607
- 00:26:49,467 --> 00:26:52,400
- I'm not sure if this is
- a welcome crew or a war party,
- 608
- 00:26:52,400 --> 00:26:53,667
- but at 6'3",
- 609
- 00:26:53,667 --> 00:26:56,300
- I'm a pretty easy target
- for a well-aimed projectile.
- 610
- 00:26:56,300 --> 00:26:58,667
- Wait, wait!
- Wait, wait, hey, hey!
- 611
- 00:27:03,000 --> 00:27:04,700
- How are you?
- Good. All right.
- 612
- 00:27:04,700 --> 00:27:06,667
- Nice to meet you.
- What's your name?
- 613
- 00:27:06,667 --> 00:27:07,733
- Uh, Bill.
- Bill?
- 614
- 00:27:07,733 --> 00:27:08,567
- Yes.
- 615
- 00:27:08,567 --> 00:27:09,733
- You don't look
- like a Bill.
- 616
- 00:27:09,733 --> 00:27:10,567
- [Both laugh]
- 617
- 00:27:10,567 --> 00:27:11,567
- Nice to meet you!
- 618
- 00:27:11,567 --> 00:27:12,567
- Hello.
- Hello.
- 619
- 00:27:12,567 --> 00:27:14,133
- What's your name?
- Clement.
- 620
- 00:27:14,133 --> 00:27:15,700
- Clement,
- nice to meet you.
- 621
- 00:27:15,700 --> 00:27:18,333
- Do you have a place we can
- get out of the rain?
- 622
- 00:27:18,333 --> 00:27:20,000
- Yeah?
- Someplace with cover?
- 623
- 00:27:20,000 --> 00:27:21,600
- [Speaking
- native language]
- 624
- 00:27:21,600 --> 00:27:22,600
- Yeah.
- Yeah?
- 625
- 00:27:22,600 --> 00:27:24,233
- [Conversing
- in native language]
- 626
- 00:27:24,233 --> 00:27:25,400
- Okay, great. Let's go.
- 627
- 00:27:25,400 --> 00:27:27,367
- It turns out
- that Bill and Clement
- 628
- 00:27:27,367 --> 00:27:29,033
- are more likely to offer me tea
- 629
- 00:27:29,033 --> 00:27:30,600
- than the pointy end
- of their spears.
- 630
- 00:27:30,600 --> 00:27:31,900
- [Laughing] I don't know.
- 631
- 00:27:31,900 --> 00:27:33,733
- That was a little touch-and-go
- there for a minute.
- 632
- 00:27:33,733 --> 00:27:35,533
- You were worried they were
- gonna put a spear through you?
- 633
- 00:27:35,533 --> 00:27:36,600
- Yeah.
- 634
- 00:27:36,600 --> 00:27:38,333
- The show of force
- is just a ritual greeting
- 635
- 00:27:38,333 --> 00:27:39,333
- of the Baining tribe,
- 636
- 00:27:39,333 --> 00:27:41,133
- and the children
- from the village run out
- 637
- 00:27:41,133 --> 00:27:42,767
- to have a good laugh
- at our expense.
- 638
- 00:27:42,767 --> 00:27:45,100
- Evan, I found an umbrella
- for your camera.
- 639
- 00:27:45,100 --> 00:27:49,800
- I mean, what kind of
- "Land of the Lost" leaf is this?
- 640
- 00:27:49,800 --> 00:27:51,733
- Here you go. Stay dry.
- 641
- 00:27:52,767 --> 00:27:55,100
- With the rain coming down,
- 642
- 00:27:55,100 --> 00:27:57,367
- we need to get to the village
- as quickly as possible
- 643
- 00:27:57,367 --> 00:27:59,600
- before the downpour
- destroys our camera equipment.
- 644
- 00:28:03,100 --> 00:28:06,200
- Did you catch Rob's translation?
- 645
- 00:28:06,200 --> 00:28:08,400
- The Baining tribe,
- like many Papuans, speak pidgin
- 646
- 00:28:08,400 --> 00:28:11,300
- that consists largely
- of English and German words
- 647
- 00:28:11,300 --> 00:28:13,800
- repurposed into
- a unique language.
- 648
- 00:28:13,800 --> 00:28:15,733
- Though the vocabulary
- is familiar,
- 649
- 00:28:15,733 --> 00:28:17,500
- it sounds like total gibberish.
- 650
- 00:28:22,700 --> 00:28:24,267
- This is the first time
- they've ever had any people
- 651
- 00:28:24,267 --> 00:28:24,967
- out here with cameras.
- 652
- 00:28:24,967 --> 00:28:26,000
- Really?
- Yeah.
- 653
- 00:28:26,000 --> 00:28:27,833
- Wow.
- That's what I was asking.
- 654
- 00:28:27,833 --> 00:28:30,133
- I'm thankful when we finally
- arrive at the village,
- 655
- 00:28:30,133 --> 00:28:32,600
- and even more thankful that
- these jawbones aren't human.
- 656
- 00:28:32,600 --> 00:28:34,667
- Okay, first order of business
- is just to get dry,
- 657
- 00:28:34,667 --> 00:28:36,167
- to get the equipment dry, yeah?
- 658
- 00:28:36,167 --> 00:28:40,667
- It looks like they are, like,
- in real time, making a shelter.
- 659
- 00:28:40,667 --> 00:28:41,700
- Can I help?
- What can I do?
- 660
- 00:28:41,700 --> 00:28:43,400
- These first?
- Up, up, up?
- 661
- 00:28:43,400 --> 00:28:44,800
- Yeah.
- 662
- 00:28:44,800 --> 00:28:47,100
- We're in the middle of the
- jungle, but in no time at all,
- 663
- 00:28:47,100 --> 00:28:50,267
- our new friends have built us
- a cozy guest house.
- 664
- 00:28:50,267 --> 00:28:52,000
- This is now a couch
- they've made,
- 665
- 00:28:52,000 --> 00:28:54,633
- and they're adding banana leaves
- as cushions. Amazing.
- 666
- 00:28:54,633 --> 00:28:57,200
- This is the fastest construction
- crew I've ever met.
- 667
- 00:28:57,200 --> 00:29:00,600
- Five minutes flat --
- addition to your house.
- 668
- 00:29:00,600 --> 00:29:02,400
- This jungle is their home,
- 669
- 00:29:02,400 --> 00:29:05,867
- and the tribe has welcomed me
- with five-star accommodations...
- 670
- 00:29:05,867 --> 00:29:08,567
- and a complimentary beverage.
- 671
- 00:29:12,367 --> 00:29:14,133
- I'm anxious to speak
- to the chief
- 672
- 00:29:14,133 --> 00:29:16,367
- about the wreck they discovered.
- 673
- 00:29:16,367 --> 00:29:17,933
- But first, the tribe
- insists on welcoming us
- 674
- 00:29:17,933 --> 00:29:19,733
- with a sacred fire dance.
- 675
- 00:29:19,733 --> 00:29:22,333
- This is a seldom-seen ritual.
- 676
- 00:29:33,867 --> 00:29:35,967
- So, the women --
- the women have gone away?
- 677
- 00:29:36,767 --> 00:29:39,233
- Why's that?
- 678
- 00:29:39,233 --> 00:29:40,533
- Wow.
- 679
- 00:29:40,533 --> 00:29:42,967
- Only men are allowed
- to participate or watch.
- 680
- 00:29:42,967 --> 00:29:45,533
- If any women in the village
- were to witness this,
- 681
- 00:29:45,533 --> 00:29:47,300
- they would be killed.
- 682
- 00:29:47,300 --> 00:29:48,767
- The men tend the fire,
- 683
- 00:29:48,767 --> 00:29:51,767
- feeding it until the flames
- begin to devour the darkness...
- 684
- 00:29:51,767 --> 00:29:53,767
- [Staves pounding rhythmically]
- 685
- 00:29:53,767 --> 00:29:56,200
- ...at which point,
- the dance begins.
- 686
- 00:29:56,200 --> 00:29:58,767
- [Men chanting]
- 687
- 00:29:58,767 --> 00:30:00,900
- The dancers
- are completely barefoot
- 688
- 00:30:00,900 --> 00:30:03,067
- and attempt to ward off
- evil spirits
- 689
- 00:30:03,067 --> 00:30:06,200
- by passing directly through
- the flames and embers.
- 690
- 00:30:08,733 --> 00:30:10,233
- He goes right into
- the fire.
- 691
- 00:30:10,233 --> 00:30:11,467
- Yeah.
- That's amazing.
- 692
- 00:30:11,467 --> 00:30:13,133
- The dance is performed
- 693
- 00:30:13,133 --> 00:30:16,533
- to initiate young men into
- adulthood, or, in this case,
- 694
- 00:30:16,533 --> 00:30:18,633
- to celebrate visiting outsiders.
- 695
- 00:30:21,567 --> 00:30:23,933
- The dance itself
- is frenetic, wild,
- 696
- 00:30:23,933 --> 00:30:26,867
- and not for the faint of heart.
- 697
- 00:30:26,867 --> 00:30:28,300
- And I feel totally overwhelmed
- 698
- 00:30:28,300 --> 00:30:30,833
- at being able to witness it
- firsthand.
- 699
- 00:30:35,000 --> 00:30:37,833
- With the ceremony complete
- and my eyebrows singed,
- 700
- 00:30:37,833 --> 00:30:39,733
- I'm granted access to the chief
- 701
- 00:30:39,733 --> 00:30:41,833
- to discuss the plane wreck
- in the jungle,
- 702
- 00:30:41,833 --> 00:30:43,933
- which could be
- Earhart's lost Electra.
- 703
- 00:30:43,933 --> 00:30:45,300
- That was incredible.
- 704
- 00:30:45,300 --> 00:30:46,467
- I've never seen anything
- like that.
- 705
- 00:30:46,467 --> 00:30:47,933
- Thank you for
- welcoming us here.
- 706
- 00:30:47,933 --> 00:30:48,767
- Thank you.
- 707
- 00:30:48,767 --> 00:30:50,933
- [Speaking native language]
- 708
- 00:30:50,933 --> 00:30:53,133
- We heard these stories
- 709
- 00:30:53,133 --> 00:30:56,733
- that your tribe has found
- wreckage in the jungles.
- 710
- 00:30:56,733 --> 00:30:58,533
- [Speaking
- native language]
- 711
- 00:30:58,533 --> 00:30:59,667
- Yeah, there's some wreckage
- in the bush.
- 712
- 00:30:59,667 --> 00:31:00,700
- Yeah.
- 713
- 00:31:00,700 --> 00:31:02,533
- They don't know
- who it came from.
- 714
- 00:31:02,533 --> 00:31:05,100
- Is the wreckage definitely
- from an airplane?
- 715
- 00:31:05,100 --> 00:31:06,333
- [Speaking
- native language]
- 716
- 00:31:06,333 --> 00:31:07,333
- It's from a plane.
- 717
- 00:31:07,333 --> 00:31:08,500
- It's from a plane?
- From a plane.
- 718
- 00:31:08,500 --> 00:31:10,700
- How far is the wreckage
- from the village?
- 719
- 00:31:10,700 --> 00:31:12,233
- [Speaking
- native language]
- 720
- 00:31:12,233 --> 00:31:14,200
- He says the wreckage
- is close by here.
- 721
- 00:31:14,200 --> 00:31:16,967
- And could we have permission to
- go and to look at the wreckage?
- 722
- 00:31:16,967 --> 00:31:19,467
- Can you guide us
- and show us where it is?
- 723
- 00:31:19,467 --> 00:31:22,633
- [Speaking
- native language]
- 724
- 00:31:22,633 --> 00:31:25,467
- People who know exactly where
- it is -- they will guide us.
- 725
- 00:31:25,467 --> 00:31:26,200
- Terrific.
- 726
- 00:31:26,200 --> 00:31:27,800
- Let's do it.
- Come on.
- 727
- 00:31:27,800 --> 00:31:28,500
- Okay.
- 728
- 00:31:35,433 --> 00:31:38,333
- GATES: The jungles
- of New Britain are no joke,
- 729
- 00:31:38,333 --> 00:31:39,767
- especially at night,
- 730
- 00:31:39,767 --> 00:31:43,567
- but some believe that Earhart's
- Electra could be out here,
- 731
- 00:31:43,567 --> 00:31:45,267
- waiting in the darkness.
- 732
- 00:31:51,833 --> 00:31:53,533
- [Exhales sharply]
- 733
- 00:31:53,533 --> 00:31:55,633
- These are real-deal jungles.
- 734
- 00:31:55,633 --> 00:31:58,533
- A lot of predators out here --
- snakes, spiders --
- 735
- 00:31:58,533 --> 00:32:00,800
- and we're very far
- from a hospital,
- 736
- 00:32:00,800 --> 00:32:04,067
- so we have to be very, very
- careful going through here.
- 737
- 00:32:04,067 --> 00:32:06,100
- Ooh, big hole right here.
- Whoa, whoa, whoa, big hole.
- 738
- 00:32:06,100 --> 00:32:07,033
- Drops down.
- 739
- 00:32:07,033 --> 00:32:08,533
- What do you think,
- impact point?
- 740
- 00:32:08,533 --> 00:32:09,400
- Could be, yeah.
- 741
- 00:32:09,400 --> 00:32:12,133
- In 1945, in these very jungles,
- 742
- 00:32:12,133 --> 00:32:14,567
- an Australian army patrol
- stumbled on a crash site
- 743
- 00:32:14,567 --> 00:32:18,467
- they believed was Earhart's,
- but no one ever found it again.
- 744
- 00:32:18,467 --> 00:32:20,567
- Could this be the same wreck?
- 745
- 00:32:22,600 --> 00:32:24,167
- Well, that's a piece
- of wreckage for sure.
- 746
- 00:32:24,167 --> 00:32:25,233
- Look at this. Rob, come here.
- 747
- 00:32:29,067 --> 00:32:30,267
- It's an airplane engine, yeah?
- 748
- 00:32:30,267 --> 00:32:31,967
- Oh, definitely an
- airplane engine, yeah.
- 749
- 00:32:31,967 --> 00:32:34,633
- They've taken
- propellers off.
- 750
- 00:32:34,633 --> 00:32:36,633
- Let's get the vines off it.
- 751
- 00:32:36,633 --> 00:32:38,800
- Earhart's Electra
- was a twin-prop plane.
- 752
- 00:32:38,800 --> 00:32:41,867
- We've found one engine, and
- I'm desperate to find another.
- 753
- 00:32:41,867 --> 00:32:45,233
- The problem is the wreckage is
- scattered all over the jungle.
- 754
- 00:32:45,233 --> 00:32:47,167
- Rob, check this out.
- 755
- 00:32:47,167 --> 00:32:48,267
- There's an interlocking
- piece there.
- 756
- 00:32:48,267 --> 00:32:49,300
- It looks like a fold.
- 757
- 00:32:49,300 --> 00:32:50,767
- Maybe this is the strut?
- Part of the strut.
- 758
- 00:32:50,767 --> 00:32:52,133
- Part of the strut
- for the wheel, maybe?
- 759
- 00:32:52,133 --> 00:32:53,500
- Yeah.
- 760
- 00:32:53,500 --> 00:32:54,600
- This like looks --
- What do you think,
- 761
- 00:32:54,600 --> 00:32:55,633
- part of the exhaust
- or something?
- 762
- 00:32:55,633 --> 00:32:56,700
- Exhaust, or something
- like that, yeah.
- 763
- 00:32:56,700 --> 00:32:57,800
- Yeah.
- 764
- 00:32:57,800 --> 00:32:58,833
- I would say that
- 765
- 00:32:58,833 --> 00:33:00,700
- when the plane
- came in, it burned.
- 766
- 00:33:00,700 --> 00:33:01,933
- It burned quite severely.
- 767
- 00:33:01,933 --> 00:33:03,300
- Something over there?
- 768
- 00:33:03,300 --> 00:33:03,967
- MAN: Yeah.
- 769
- 00:33:03,967 --> 00:33:06,467
- Let's go look. More.
- 770
- 00:33:06,467 --> 00:33:07,933
- Rob, we got more
- over here.
- 771
- 00:33:08,933 --> 00:33:10,567
- Unbelievable.
- Look at this.
- 772
- 00:33:16,100 --> 00:33:18,400
- GATES: I'm in the jungles
- of Papua New Guinea,
- 773
- 00:33:18,400 --> 00:33:22,667
- investigating a wreck that could
- be Amelia Earhart's lost plane.
- 774
- 00:33:22,667 --> 00:33:26,267
- Suddenly, we find
- a crucial piece of evidence.
- 775
- 00:33:26,267 --> 00:33:27,633
- Something over there?
- 776
- 00:33:27,633 --> 00:33:30,100
- More. Rob, we got
- more over here.
- 777
- 00:33:30,100 --> 00:33:32,500
- Unbelievable.
- Look at this.
- 778
- 00:33:32,500 --> 00:33:34,300
- What is this part?
- It's not the landing gear.
- 779
- 00:33:34,300 --> 00:33:35,533
- Is it part of the undercarriage?
- 780
- 00:33:35,533 --> 00:33:37,000
- ROWENSON:
- It's undercarriage, yeah.
- 781
- 00:33:37,000 --> 00:33:39,800
- So we're looking at part
- of the wing, yeah?
- 782
- 00:33:39,800 --> 00:33:40,900
- Yeah, this'll be
- part of the wing.
- 783
- 00:33:40,900 --> 00:33:42,633
- And it's been fairly
- badly burnt, too.
- 784
- 00:33:42,633 --> 00:33:44,033
- Yeah, it looks very burned.
- 785
- 00:33:44,033 --> 00:33:46,100
- All right, let's pull out
- that schematic of the Electra.
- 786
- 00:33:48,467 --> 00:33:52,533
- So, Electra's
- a twin-engine Lockheed.
- 787
- 00:33:52,533 --> 00:33:53,767
- This looks like a twin
- or a single to you?
- 788
- 00:33:53,767 --> 00:33:55,267
- Well, I think it's a twin.
- 789
- 00:33:55,267 --> 00:33:56,867
- And what leads you to believe
- that it's a twin engine?
- 790
- 00:33:56,867 --> 00:33:59,000
- Because this is
- a very strong undercarriage.
- 791
- 00:33:59,000 --> 00:34:00,400
- Right.
- 792
- 00:34:00,400 --> 00:34:02,933
- On a single-engine airplane,
- it's usually just the one strut.
- 793
- 00:34:02,933 --> 00:34:03,633
- Right.
- 794
- 00:34:03,633 --> 00:34:04,567
- We have a twin strut here.
- 795
- 00:34:04,567 --> 00:34:05,600
- It's a radial engine, too.
- 796
- 00:34:05,600 --> 00:34:07,000
- Same type of engine design,
- right?
- 797
- 00:34:07,000 --> 00:34:08,200
- Same type
- of engine design.
- 798
- 00:34:08,200 --> 00:34:10,433
- All right, well, she's
- still a candidate, then.
- 799
- 00:34:10,433 --> 00:34:12,767
- There should be another
- engine here somewhere.
- 800
- 00:34:12,767 --> 00:34:14,567
- Have you found
- a second engine?
- 801
- 00:34:14,567 --> 00:34:15,233
- MAN: No.
- 802
- 00:34:15,233 --> 00:34:16,433
- One only?
- 803
- 00:34:16,433 --> 00:34:18,267
- I mean, if it hit so hard,
- I mean, it could have gone
- 804
- 00:34:18,267 --> 00:34:20,033
- 200 meters down
- the bloody shore.
- 805
- 00:34:20,033 --> 00:34:21,833
- Electra had
- Pratt & Whitney engines.
- That's right, yeah.
- 806
- 00:34:21,833 --> 00:34:23,433
- Can you tell if that's
- a Pratt & Whitney or not?
- 807
- 00:34:23,433 --> 00:34:24,633
- Well, I can't.
- That's the problem.
- 808
- 00:34:24,633 --> 00:34:26,067
- It may well be
- a Pratt & Whitney.
- 809
- 00:34:26,067 --> 00:34:28,233
- Well, if we can get close and
- see some identification on it.
- 810
- 00:34:28,233 --> 00:34:30,000
- Let's see if we can get
- some identifying marks
- 811
- 00:34:30,000 --> 00:34:30,667
- off the engines.
- 812
- 00:34:30,667 --> 00:34:32,000
- GATES: In 1945,
- 813
- 00:34:32,000 --> 00:34:35,200
- an Australian army patrol
- found a Pratt & Whitney engine
- 814
- 00:34:35,200 --> 00:34:36,600
- here in this jungle,
- 815
- 00:34:36,600 --> 00:34:39,900
- and they were convinced it
- belonged to Earhart's Electra.
- 816
- 00:34:39,900 --> 00:34:44,133
- If this is the same engine,
- we might have struck gold.
- 817
- 00:34:44,133 --> 00:34:45,867
- God, I wish we had a propeller
- or something like that,
- 818
- 00:34:45,867 --> 00:34:47,300
- 'cause on propellers,
- you had dates on them.
- 819
- 00:34:47,300 --> 00:34:49,233
- Someone's taken a lot
- of the stuff away from here.
- 820
- 00:34:49,233 --> 00:34:50,900
- Although Rabaul is littered
- with wrecks,
- 821
- 00:34:50,900 --> 00:34:53,800
- Earhart's plane has features
- that distinguish it
- 822
- 00:34:53,800 --> 00:34:55,700
- from most World War II aircraft.
- 823
- 00:34:55,700 --> 00:34:57,867
- It was designed
- with a unique twin tail,
- 824
- 00:34:57,867 --> 00:34:59,533
- unpainted aluminum body,
- 825
- 00:34:59,533 --> 00:35:03,200
- and was packed with a dozen fuel
- tanks in the fuselage and wings
- 826
- 00:35:03,200 --> 00:35:07,633
- to feed the twin Pratt & Whitney
- Wasp engines on her long flight.
- 827
- 00:35:07,633 --> 00:35:10,867
- Any tags or identifiable parts
- with serial numbers
- 828
- 00:35:10,867 --> 00:35:13,233
- have either been stolen
- or destroyed.
- 829
- 00:35:13,233 --> 00:35:16,733
- Most of what looters left behind
- is burned beyond recognition.
- 830
- 00:35:16,733 --> 00:35:18,700
- So we can't really tell if
- it's a Pratt & Whitney or not.
- 831
- 00:35:18,700 --> 00:35:20,833
- Maybe, because we can't find
- any identifying marks on it.
- 832
- 00:35:20,833 --> 00:35:22,000
- Right.
- 833
- 00:35:22,000 --> 00:35:24,767
- There's got to be something
- we're missing.
- 834
- 00:35:24,767 --> 00:35:26,467
- I've just realized something.
- 835
- 00:35:26,467 --> 00:35:30,000
- This is the undercarriage leg
- of a dual-leg undercarriage.
- 836
- 00:35:30,000 --> 00:35:33,500
- The undercarriage on an Electra
- is a single oleo leg
- 837
- 00:35:33,500 --> 00:35:35,700
- with a wishbone on the bottom
- and the wheel between them.
- 838
- 00:35:35,700 --> 00:35:36,733
- Forks over the wheel.
- 839
- 00:35:36,733 --> 00:35:38,000
- That's right, it forks
- over the wheel.
- 840
- 00:35:38,000 --> 00:35:41,000
- It indicates to me
- a much heavier aircraft.
- 841
- 00:35:41,000 --> 00:35:44,333
- This wreck has two full struts
- on each side of the wheels,
- 842
- 00:35:44,333 --> 00:35:45,833
- but Earhart's Lockheed Electra
- 843
- 00:35:45,833 --> 00:35:47,667
- had a single strut
- for each wheel,
- 844
- 00:35:47,667 --> 00:35:50,033
- with a wishbone
- that wrapped around the tire --
- 845
- 00:35:50,033 --> 00:35:52,700
- a subtle but damning
- piece of evidence.
- 846
- 00:35:52,700 --> 00:35:55,933
- My opinion is, at present,
- it's not an Electra.
- 847
- 00:35:57,100 --> 00:36:00,733
- Now, what I think it is --
- it's probably Japanese,
- 848
- 00:36:00,733 --> 00:36:03,633
- and the only way to identify
- that is to take this information
- 849
- 00:36:03,633 --> 00:36:06,733
- that I have now and compare it
- with information that I have
- 850
- 00:36:06,733 --> 00:36:07,967
- back in Rabaul.
- 851
- 00:36:07,967 --> 00:36:09,933
- So, wheel structure doesn't
- match the Electra,
- 852
- 00:36:09,933 --> 00:36:11,300
- so we know it's not
- Earhart's plane.
- 853
- 00:36:11,300 --> 00:36:12,033
- Definitely not.
- 854
- 00:36:12,033 --> 00:36:13,000
- But still a mystery.
- 855
- 00:36:13,000 --> 00:36:13,767
- Still a mystery.
- 856
- 00:36:13,767 --> 00:36:14,900
- And an important mystery.
- 857
- 00:36:14,900 --> 00:36:16,733
- Yeah, well,
- people died here,
- 858
- 00:36:16,733 --> 00:36:20,700
- so it deserves our attention,
- most certainly.
- 859
- 00:36:20,700 --> 00:36:23,767
- It's not Earhart's plane,
- but with further investigation,
- 860
- 00:36:23,767 --> 00:36:26,100
- this wreck will solve
- a different mystery
- 861
- 00:36:26,100 --> 00:36:30,433
- and answer questions about the
- demise of another downed pilot.
- 862
- 00:36:30,433 --> 00:36:31,767
- Thank you very much
- for showing us this.
- 863
- 00:36:31,767 --> 00:36:33,433
- Also, we're gonna need
- somewhere to sleep.
- 864
- 00:36:33,433 --> 00:36:34,167
- [Laughs]
- 865
- 00:36:34,167 --> 00:36:35,300
- [Chuckles]
- 866
- 00:36:35,300 --> 00:36:36,900
- Helicopter will be back
- in the morning.
- 867
- 00:36:36,900 --> 00:36:38,667
- All right, we're down
- to our very last torches, here.
- 868
- 00:36:38,667 --> 00:36:39,800
- Let's get back to the village.
- 869
- 00:36:39,800 --> 00:36:41,233
- Otherwise, we're gonna be
- like this plane --
- 870
- 00:36:41,233 --> 00:36:42,867
- we're gonna be
- out here forever.
- [Chuckles]
- 871
- 00:36:46,367 --> 00:36:48,300
- By the light of a new day,
- 872
- 00:36:48,300 --> 00:36:50,933
- we leave the jungle behind
- and head back to Rabaul.
- 873
- 00:36:50,933 --> 00:36:52,467
- The wreck may or may not
- 874
- 00:36:52,467 --> 00:36:56,067
- be the same one that
- the Australians found in 1945.
- 875
- 00:36:56,067 --> 00:37:00,667
- Either way, we know
- that it isn't Earhart's plane.
- 876
- 00:37:00,667 --> 00:37:03,900
- But this isn't the only
- developing lead here in PNG.
- 877
- 00:37:03,900 --> 00:37:06,900
- Locals believe that unidentified
- underwater wreckage
- 878
- 00:37:06,900 --> 00:37:10,900
- off the coast of Rabaul may
- in fact be the missing Electra.
- 879
- 00:37:10,900 --> 00:37:12,967
- After grabbing a set of wheels,
- 880
- 00:37:12,967 --> 00:37:16,433
- I'm rumbling my way over
- to where Rabaul used to be.
- 881
- 00:37:16,433 --> 00:37:18,500
- Back on the ground,
- headed over to Old Rabaul,
- 882
- 00:37:18,500 --> 00:37:20,200
- or what's left of it.
- 883
- 00:37:20,200 --> 00:37:23,367
- That is an active volcano
- named Vulcan.
- 884
- 00:37:23,367 --> 00:37:26,967
- Still active, very much alive,
- very dangerous.
- 885
- 00:37:26,967 --> 00:37:30,033
- This is one of two
- very pissed-off-looking volcanos
- 886
- 00:37:30,033 --> 00:37:31,533
- that loom over Rabaul.
- 887
- 00:37:31,533 --> 00:37:34,867
- But its twin brother, Tavurvur,
- is the one to keep an eye on.
- 888
- 00:37:36,600 --> 00:37:40,900
- In 1937, an eruption
- killed more than 500 people,
- 889
- 00:37:40,900 --> 00:37:42,800
- and less than a month
- before my arrival,
- 890
- 00:37:42,800 --> 00:37:45,400
- it decided to wake up again.
- 891
- 00:37:47,000 --> 00:37:50,633
- MAN #1: Oh, geez!
- 892
- 00:37:50,633 --> 00:37:54,467
- MAN #2:
- Holy smokin' Toledos.
- 893
- 00:37:54,467 --> 00:37:57,133
- Along the side of the road here,
- you see this big wall --
- 894
- 00:37:57,133 --> 00:37:58,833
- it's just 10 feet tall --
- of ash,
- 895
- 00:37:58,833 --> 00:38:00,900
- and we're just driving over
- volcanic ash.
- 896
- 00:38:00,900 --> 00:38:03,267
- All of this is just from
- the most recent eruption.
- 897
- 00:38:03,267 --> 00:38:04,567
- Looking up at the hills,
- 898
- 00:38:04,567 --> 00:38:08,800
- nearly every palm tree
- in sight is scorched to bits.
- 899
- 00:38:08,800 --> 00:38:10,833
- Okay, we should be coming into
- Rabaul.
- 900
- 00:38:10,833 --> 00:38:14,400
- As I approach the crater and
- the coordinates of Old Rabaul,
- 901
- 00:38:14,400 --> 00:38:16,433
- it might seem like
- I'm in the wrong spot.
- 902
- 00:38:16,433 --> 00:38:20,900
- But the town is here,
- I'm just driving on top of it.
- 903
- 00:38:20,900 --> 00:38:22,567
- Peeking up from the ash
- 904
- 00:38:22,567 --> 00:38:25,600
- are the ghostly remains
- of an entire city,
- 905
- 00:38:25,600 --> 00:38:28,633
- destroyed by the volcanos
- in 1994.
- 906
- 00:38:28,633 --> 00:38:32,367
- Motels, night clubs, banks,
- 907
- 00:38:32,367 --> 00:38:34,967
- entire city streets -- gone.
- 908
- 00:38:34,967 --> 00:38:37,133
- Perched atop the Ring of Fire,
- 909
- 00:38:37,133 --> 00:38:40,967
- PNG is one of the most volcanic
- nations in the world.
- 910
- 00:38:40,967 --> 00:38:44,367
- The earthquake I felt in Lae
- is not a good sign,
- 911
- 00:38:44,367 --> 00:38:47,300
- and judging by the billowing
- smoke rising from Tavurvur
- 912
- 00:38:47,300 --> 00:38:49,067
- and the boiling water
- coming up by my feet,
- 913
- 00:38:49,067 --> 00:38:51,967
- I'm suddenly struck
- by a question --
- 914
- 00:38:51,967 --> 00:38:54,300
- What the hell am I doing here?
- 915
- 00:38:54,300 --> 00:38:55,533
- Well, nobody said
- 916
- 00:38:55,533 --> 00:38:58,367
- looking for Earhart was
- going to be easy or safe,
- 917
- 00:38:58,367 --> 00:39:00,433
- so I'm challenging
- my inner explorer
- 918
- 00:39:00,433 --> 00:39:02,133
- and pressing on with the search.
- 919
- 00:39:04,233 --> 00:39:07,233
- The wreck in the jungle
- was one of two leads here.
- 920
- 00:39:07,233 --> 00:39:10,233
- Next, I'm going to explore
- another promising theory --
- 921
- 00:39:10,233 --> 00:39:13,367
- that Earhart crashed in
- the waters off Papua New Guinea.
- 922
- 00:39:13,367 --> 00:39:15,533
- Next stop here is to meet
- with a guy named Rod,
- 923
- 00:39:15,533 --> 00:39:18,167
- a dive expert
- and a World War II historian,
- 924
- 00:39:18,167 --> 00:39:20,567
- and he knows more
- about downed aircraft
- 925
- 00:39:20,567 --> 00:39:22,400
- in these parts of the waters
- than anybody.
- 926
- 00:39:22,400 --> 00:39:26,267
- Recently, local divers reported
- seeing wreckage off of Rabaul
- 927
- 00:39:26,267 --> 00:39:28,733
- that they believe
- looks like the Electra.
- 928
- 00:39:28,733 --> 00:39:31,800
- To check out the report, I make
- my way down to the harbor,
- 929
- 00:39:31,800 --> 00:39:34,433
- which is today,
- home to a listing collection
- 930
- 00:39:34,433 --> 00:39:36,867
- of ghost ships
- decimated by the volcano.
- 931
- 00:39:36,867 --> 00:39:40,500
- But amidst the waterlogged fleet
- are a few seaworthy vessels,
- 932
- 00:39:40,500 --> 00:39:43,800
- one of which is captained
- by Rod Pierce.
- 933
- 00:39:43,800 --> 00:39:45,467
- Hey. How are you?
- Are you Rod?
- 934
- 00:39:45,467 --> 00:39:46,467
- Josh, g'day. Yep.
- 935
- 00:39:46,467 --> 00:39:48,333
- Yeah, nice to meet you.
- Pleasure.
- 936
- 00:39:48,333 --> 00:39:50,100
- So, I hear you're the man in
- the know about airplane wrecks.
- 937
- 00:39:50,100 --> 00:39:54,000
- Yes, yes. Been researching
- them since the '70s,
- 938
- 00:39:54,000 --> 00:39:56,033
- and there's a lot
- of them here.
- 939
- 00:39:56,033 --> 00:39:57,233
- From World War II,
- 940
- 00:39:57,233 --> 00:39:59,900
- there's over 500
- in the Gazelle area alone.
- 941
- 00:39:59,900 --> 00:40:00,567
- Amazing.
- 942
- 00:40:00,567 --> 00:40:02,200
- I look for MIAs.
- 943
- 00:40:02,200 --> 00:40:03,133
- Uh-huh.
- 944
- 00:40:03,133 --> 00:40:06,067
- Seek closure
- to a lot of people,
- 945
- 00:40:06,067 --> 00:40:07,800
- from pilots
- of all nations --
- 946
- 00:40:07,800 --> 00:40:09,800
- Japanese, Australians,
- Americans.
- 947
- 00:40:09,800 --> 00:40:11,000
- How do you locate
- these wrecks?
- 948
- 00:40:11,000 --> 00:40:14,267
- Basically with sonar.
- Mm-hmm.
- 949
- 00:40:14,267 --> 00:40:17,500
- And that will draw you
- an outline of a plane,
- 950
- 00:40:17,500 --> 00:40:20,367
- or a wreck, or whatever
- you're looking for.
- 951
- 00:40:20,367 --> 00:40:22,267
- We've heard reports,
- recent reports,
- 952
- 00:40:22,267 --> 00:40:24,600
- of some aircraft wreckage
- out here near Rabaul,
- 953
- 00:40:24,600 --> 00:40:27,067
- and some people sort
- of whispering
- 954
- 00:40:27,067 --> 00:40:28,533
- that they think it may be
- Earhart's plane
- 955
- 00:40:28,533 --> 00:40:29,633
- that may have
- come back here.
- 956
- 00:40:29,633 --> 00:40:31,133
- Have you heard
- those stories?
- 957
- 00:40:31,133 --> 00:40:32,167
- I've also heard that.
- 958
- 00:40:32,167 --> 00:40:33,500
- Do you think
- it could be her plane?
- 959
- 00:40:33,500 --> 00:40:35,200
- Anything's possible.
- 960
- 00:40:35,200 --> 00:40:38,033
- The only way to know
- is to go out, investigate it,
- 961
- 00:40:38,033 --> 00:40:39,500
- and see what we can find.
- 962
- 00:40:40,767 --> 00:40:43,767
- As we head out to sea
- to search the coordinates
- 963
- 00:40:43,767 --> 00:40:46,967
- where divers claim to see
- a wreck matching the Electra,
- 964
- 00:40:46,967 --> 00:40:49,067
- I'm captivated
- by the possibility
- 965
- 00:40:49,067 --> 00:40:51,800
- of finding the plane,
- but also a bit unnerved.
- 966
- 00:40:51,800 --> 00:40:55,400
- After all, we're cruising in the
- shadow of two active volcanos,
- 967
- 00:40:55,400 --> 00:40:57,133
- one of which is still smoking.
- 968
- 00:40:57,133 --> 00:41:01,300
- Even more alarming, the entire
- harbor is a volcanic caldera.
- 969
- 00:41:01,300 --> 00:41:04,800
- 1,500 years ago,
- this bay exploded.
- 970
- 00:41:04,800 --> 00:41:08,033
- The ash cloud was so huge
- it darkened the skies of Europe
- 971
- 00:41:08,033 --> 00:41:10,033
- for a year.
- 972
- 00:41:10,033 --> 00:41:13,067
- Rod, walk me through this.
- This looks like a missile.
- 973
- 00:41:13,067 --> 00:41:15,567
- Okay, this is --
- This is a towfish.
- 974
- 00:41:15,567 --> 00:41:18,800
- The idea is to run it about
- 5 to 10 meters above the bottom
- 975
- 00:41:18,800 --> 00:41:21,033
- to get ideal footage.
- 976
- 00:41:21,033 --> 00:41:22,233
- Cool.
- 977
- 00:41:22,233 --> 00:41:24,433
- Looks like a pretty serious
- piece of equipment.
- 978
- 00:41:24,433 --> 00:41:26,067
- Very serious piece
- of equipment,
- 979
- 00:41:26,067 --> 00:41:29,300
- capable of picking up
- a nipple on a mermaid.
- 980
- 00:41:29,300 --> 00:41:30,400
- [Laughs]
- 981
- 00:41:30,400 --> 00:41:33,267
- But it will do the job,
- I can assure you.
- 982
- 00:41:33,267 --> 00:41:36,167
- I'm just hoping for the nipple
- on a mermaid at this point.
- 983
- 00:41:37,567 --> 00:41:39,400
- Okay, Rod, here we go.
- 984
- 00:41:44,100 --> 00:41:45,400
- Here we go. She's gone.
- 985
- 00:41:45,400 --> 00:41:47,333
- All right.
- 986
- 00:41:47,333 --> 00:41:49,633
- Keep it going.
- 987
- 00:41:52,133 --> 00:41:55,433
- Okay, she's out.
- Let's see what she sees.
- 988
- 00:41:55,433 --> 00:41:59,233
- With the sonar in the water,
- the search begins.
- 989
- 00:41:59,233 --> 00:42:01,900
- We're scanning
- a largely unexplored area
- 990
- 00:42:01,900 --> 00:42:04,700
- near where the divers
- reported seeing a wreck.
- 991
- 00:42:04,700 --> 00:42:08,367
- Lockheed only produced
- 147 Model 10 Electras.
- 992
- 00:42:08,367 --> 00:42:10,600
- Only four ever visited
- Papua New Guinea,
- 993
- 00:42:10,600 --> 00:42:12,367
- and three are accounted for.
- 994
- 00:42:12,367 --> 00:42:17,033
- So if Rod and I find an Electra
- in this harbor, it's Earhart's.
- 995
- 00:42:17,033 --> 00:42:18,533
- This kind of
- a waiting game now.
- 996
- 00:42:18,533 --> 00:42:20,467
- We've got this
- side-scan sonar in the water.
- 997
- 00:42:20,467 --> 00:42:22,067
- We're towing it behind the boat,
- and it's just giving us
- 998
- 00:42:22,067 --> 00:42:23,733
- a beautiful image
- of the ocean floor,
- 999
- 00:42:23,733 --> 00:42:26,633
- and we're just kind of --
- we're going back and forth,
- 1000
- 00:42:26,633 --> 00:42:29,533
- eliminating each sector
- as we go through it,
- 1001
- 00:42:29,533 --> 00:42:31,800
- and looking for wreckage
- while we go.
- 1002
- 00:42:31,800 --> 00:42:34,633
- Rod has been investigating
- Papua New Guinea's waters
- 1003
- 00:42:34,633 --> 00:42:35,700
- for over 30 years.
- 1004
- 00:42:35,700 --> 00:42:38,867
- Needless to say,
- he calls the shots...
- 1005
- 00:42:38,867 --> 00:42:41,033
- and I take beverage orders.
- 1006
- 00:42:41,033 --> 00:42:43,067
- Josh, do you know
- how to make tea?
- 1007
- 00:42:43,067 --> 00:42:45,667
- Cup of tea coming up.
- 1008
- 00:42:45,667 --> 00:42:47,967
- And I want it
- before Christmas.
- 1009
- 00:42:47,967 --> 00:42:49,233
- Aye-aye.
- 1010
- 00:42:49,233 --> 00:42:51,367
- It's like I'm with Quint
- from "Jaws."
- 1011
- 00:42:51,367 --> 00:42:54,033
- Oh, for a splash of rum.
- 1012
- 00:42:54,033 --> 00:42:56,467
- Don't have to take
- this abuse much longer.
- 1013
- 00:42:58,600 --> 00:43:03,467
- I got the kettle on,
- so let's see what we got here.
- 1014
- 00:43:03,467 --> 00:43:07,167
- Peanut butter...
- 1015
- 00:43:07,167 --> 00:43:10,100
- ...baked beans...
- 1016
- 00:43:15,000 --> 00:43:17,267
- ...condensed milk.
- 1017
- 00:43:17,267 --> 00:43:19,433
- [Whistling]
- 1018
- 00:43:19,433 --> 00:43:22,067
- Okay, tea coming up.
- 1019
- 00:43:24,100 --> 00:43:25,700
- Okay, cup o' tea
- coming up.
- 1020
- 00:43:25,700 --> 00:43:26,700
- Oh, thanks, Josh.
- 1021
- 00:43:26,700 --> 00:43:28,300
- There you go.
- Cheers, mate.
- 1022
- 00:43:28,300 --> 00:43:29,633
- Cheers.
- All the best.
- 1023
- 00:43:29,633 --> 00:43:30,900
- Hows it looking up here?
- 1024
- 00:43:30,900 --> 00:43:32,000
- Good, good.
- 1025
- 00:43:32,000 --> 00:43:33,833
- All right, I'm headed
- back to my station.
- 1026
- 00:43:37,167 --> 00:43:39,967
- Not the manliest mug.
- 1027
- 00:43:44,200 --> 00:43:46,033
- Oh, Rod! Got something!
- 1028
- 00:43:46,033 --> 00:43:47,800
- Rod, come here!
- Off the starboard side!
- 1029
- 00:43:47,800 --> 00:43:49,000
- PIERCE: Coming.
- 1030
- 00:43:49,000 --> 00:43:51,033
- Something big right off
- the starboard side.
- 1031
- 00:43:51,033 --> 00:43:52,200
- See it?
- Oh, yes, yes.
- 1032
- 00:43:52,200 --> 00:43:53,333
- Oh, that's nice.
- 1033
- 00:43:53,333 --> 00:43:54,600
- That's a big ship.
- 1034
- 00:43:54,600 --> 00:43:55,400
- You think so?
- 1035
- 00:43:55,400 --> 00:43:56,500
- Yeah,
- that's a big ship.
- 1036
- 00:43:56,500 --> 00:43:57,233
- Okay.
- 1037
- 00:43:57,233 --> 00:43:58,700
- World War II...
- 1038
- 00:43:58,700 --> 00:44:01,033
- How big do you think --
- what's the scale?
- 1039
- 00:44:01,033 --> 00:44:03,467
- It's probably around about
- 3,000, 4,000 tons.
- 1040
- 00:44:03,467 --> 00:44:05,367
- [Exhales sharply]
- Unbelievable.
- 1041
- 00:44:05,367 --> 00:44:06,233
- Lying upright.
- 1042
- 00:44:06,233 --> 00:44:07,333
- Crazy.
- 1043
- 00:44:07,333 --> 00:44:10,333
- Okay, so, not a plane,
- but we got a wreck.
- 1044
- 00:44:10,333 --> 00:44:11,733
- Not a plane, unfortunately.
- 1045
- 00:44:11,733 --> 00:44:12,867
- Okay. All right.
- 1046
- 00:44:12,867 --> 00:44:14,800
- We'll keep going,
- but we're hot to trot.
- 1047
- 00:44:14,800 --> 00:44:16,067
- Keep going. Hot to trot.
- 1048
- 00:44:16,067 --> 00:44:17,967
- We're on it.
- We're finding wrecks.
- 1049
- 00:44:20,467 --> 00:44:24,233
- The harbor is eight miles long
- and six miles wide,
- 1050
- 00:44:24,233 --> 00:44:26,967
- and slowly but surely,
- we're scanning every inch of it.
- 1051
- 00:44:28,833 --> 00:44:31,567
- Oh! Rod, I got a plane!
- 1052
- 00:44:31,567 --> 00:44:33,367
- Rod, I got a plane,
- for sure! Come here!
- 1053
- 00:44:33,367 --> 00:44:35,533
- Look at that.
- Look at that.
- 1054
- 00:44:35,533 --> 00:44:37,100
- That's a [bleep] plane.
- 1055
- 00:44:42,100 --> 00:44:43,867
- GATES:
- I'm in Papua New Guinea,
- 1056
- 00:44:43,867 --> 00:44:46,600
- using side-scan sonar equipment
- to scan Rabaul harbor
- 1057
- 00:44:46,600 --> 00:44:48,767
- for Amelia Earhart's
- missing plane,
- 1058
- 00:44:48,767 --> 00:44:50,900
- and we just got a major hit.
- 1059
- 00:44:50,900 --> 00:44:53,433
- Oh! Rod, I got a plane!
- 1060
- 00:44:53,433 --> 00:44:55,233
- Rod, I got a plane,
- for sure! Come here!
- 1061
- 00:44:55,233 --> 00:44:57,400
- Look at that.
- Look at that.
- 1062
- 00:44:57,400 --> 00:45:00,733
- That's a [bleep] plane.
- That's a plane, right?
- 1063
- 00:45:00,733 --> 00:45:02,600
- Now, that is definitely
- a plane.
- 1064
- 00:45:02,600 --> 00:45:04,400
- Great.
- 1065
- 00:45:04,400 --> 00:45:05,533
- That's amazing.
- 1066
- 00:45:05,533 --> 00:45:07,767
- One wing's buried
- in the sand.
- 1067
- 00:45:07,767 --> 00:45:08,633
- Or missing.
- 1068
- 00:45:08,633 --> 00:45:09,533
- Or missing.
- 1069
- 00:45:09,533 --> 00:45:11,600
- Look at that.
- That's a plane.
- 1070
- 00:45:11,600 --> 00:45:13,433
- We'll put the anchor down.
- Let's do it.
- 1071
- 00:45:15,500 --> 00:45:18,233
- That's a plane!
- Let's get wet.
- 1072
- 00:45:40,300 --> 00:45:41,900
- Based on the sonar readings,
- 1073
- 00:45:41,900 --> 00:45:45,033
- there may be multiple wrecks
- scattered beneath the boat,
- 1074
- 00:45:45,033 --> 00:45:47,467
- and we descend into the murky
- depths to investigate them.
- 1075
- 00:45:47,467 --> 00:45:48,867
- [Radio beeps]
- 1076
- 00:46:33,100 --> 00:46:34,767
- The million-dollar question
- 1077
- 00:46:34,767 --> 00:46:36,700
- is whether this could be
- the Electra.
- 1078
- 00:46:36,700 --> 00:46:40,100
- As we scour the wreckage,
- vital clues come into focus,
- 1079
- 00:46:40,100 --> 00:46:42,900
- including a slot
- on the bottom of the plane.
- 1080
- 00:47:07,667 --> 00:47:09,233
- From 1940 to 1945,
- 1081
- 00:47:09,233 --> 00:47:13,000
- the Mitsubishi A6M Zero
- was the infamous symbol
- 1082
- 00:47:13,000 --> 00:47:14,767
- of Japan's air power.
- 1083
- 00:47:14,767 --> 00:47:16,700
- A legendary long-range fighter
- 1084
- 00:47:16,700 --> 00:47:19,600
- responsible for the attack
- on Pearl Harbor,
- 1085
- 00:47:19,600 --> 00:47:22,200
- the Zero was light, fast,
- and deadly.
- 1086
- 00:47:36,167 --> 00:47:40,500
- If this is a Zero, we may be
- able to find the Hinomaru,
- 1087
- 00:47:40,500 --> 00:47:43,400
- the red, circular sun
- that adorned the wings
- 1088
- 00:47:43,400 --> 00:47:44,933
- of Japanese warplanes.
- 1089
- 00:48:10,667 --> 00:48:14,700
- The second sonar hit is located
- only a short distance
- 1090
- 00:48:14,700 --> 00:48:16,067
- from the Japanese Zero,
- 1091
- 00:48:16,067 --> 00:48:18,967
- and it's another shot
- at finding Earhart's plane.
- 1092
- 00:48:36,967 --> 00:48:38,300
- Rod and I scour the wreck
- 1093
- 00:48:38,300 --> 00:48:40,333
- to look for more
- identifying markers,
- 1094
- 00:48:40,333 --> 00:48:43,200
- but this plane is badly mangled.
- 1095
- 00:48:49,767 --> 00:48:53,000
- The cockpit on the Electra had
- a wide field of view,
- 1096
- 00:48:53,000 --> 00:48:54,633
- but short, narrow windows.
- 1097
- 00:48:54,633 --> 00:48:58,433
- The cockpit area here looks like
- a much more open design.
- 1098
- 00:49:19,367 --> 00:49:22,133
- Based on the configuration,
- 1099
- 00:49:22,133 --> 00:49:25,333
- Rod believes that this
- is a Grumman TBF Avenger,
- 1100
- 00:49:25,333 --> 00:49:28,333
- an Allied torpedo bomber
- that proved indispensable
- 1101
- 00:49:28,333 --> 00:49:29,967
- in defeating the Japanese.
- 1102
- 00:49:53,433 --> 00:49:56,833
- Shockingly,
- it appears the three-person crew
- 1103
- 00:49:56,833 --> 00:49:59,567
- are still trapped
- in the cockpit.
- 1104
- 00:50:24,633 --> 00:50:28,200
- The plane and the soldiers
- inside are likely
- 1105
- 00:50:28,200 --> 00:50:30,667
- either from New Zealand
- or the United States.
- 1106
- 00:50:30,667 --> 00:50:33,967
- Even though this isn't
- the Electra, it's a major find,
- 1107
- 00:50:33,967 --> 00:50:37,000
- since Rod and his team can
- now begin the important work
- 1108
- 00:50:37,000 --> 00:50:39,367
- of identifying the servicemen
- who died here,
- 1109
- 00:50:39,367 --> 00:50:41,767
- and having these heroes
- repatriated home.
- 1110
- 00:50:41,767 --> 00:50:44,933
- Perhaps in time
- this will bring closure
- 1111
- 00:50:44,933 --> 00:50:47,800
- to someone searching
- for these missing pilots.
- 1112
- 00:50:50,533 --> 00:50:52,633
- It's time for me to bid farewell
- 1113
- 00:50:52,633 --> 00:50:55,167
- to the exotic shores
- of Papua New Guinea.
- 1114
- 00:50:55,167 --> 00:50:58,200
- After exploring the jungles
- of New Britain
- 1115
- 00:50:58,200 --> 00:51:00,367
- and scanning the harbor
- of Rabaul,
- 1116
- 00:51:00,367 --> 00:51:03,233
- we've eliminated two
- high-profile leads in the case.
- 1117
- 00:51:03,233 --> 00:51:06,467
- With so many aircraft wrecks
- yet to be identified here,
- 1118
- 00:51:06,467 --> 00:51:08,833
- it's easy to see
- why people believe
- 1119
- 00:51:08,833 --> 00:51:10,867
- Earhart's could be among them.
- 1120
- 00:51:10,867 --> 00:51:12,300
- But at the end of the day,
- 1121
- 00:51:12,300 --> 00:51:14,933
- I don't believe
- there's enough physical evidence
- 1122
- 00:51:14,933 --> 00:51:16,167
- to support the theory.
- 1123
- 00:51:16,167 --> 00:51:17,367
- Furthermore,
- 1124
- 00:51:17,367 --> 00:51:18,567
- I remain personally doubtful
- 1125
- 00:51:18,567 --> 00:51:20,067
- that she could have had
- enough fuel
- 1126
- 00:51:20,067 --> 00:51:22,333
- to limp all the way back here.
- 1127
- 00:51:22,333 --> 00:51:25,700
- But my search for answers
- has just begun.
- 1128
- 00:51:25,700 --> 00:51:28,167
- There's another breaking lead
- in the case --
- 1129
- 00:51:28,167 --> 00:51:29,800
- one that's so compelling,
- 1130
- 00:51:29,800 --> 00:51:32,300
- it has recently captured
- worldwide attention.
- 1131
- 00:51:32,300 --> 00:51:34,267
- There's stunning new evidence
- to suggest
- 1132
- 00:51:34,267 --> 00:51:37,067
- that once Earhart failed
- to locate Howland Island,
- 1133
- 00:51:37,067 --> 00:51:39,833
- she headed someplace
- much closer than PNG,
- 1134
- 00:51:39,833 --> 00:51:42,200
- just 400 miles south
- of her target,
- 1135
- 00:51:42,200 --> 00:51:45,600
- crash-landing on the uninhabited
- island of Nikumaroro.
- 1136
- 00:51:45,600 --> 00:51:48,633
- A renowned expert believes
- she may have died
- 1137
- 00:51:48,633 --> 00:51:51,200
- on this lonely island
- as a castaway.
- 1138
- 00:51:51,200 --> 00:51:52,500
- And the kicker --
- 1139
- 00:51:52,500 --> 00:51:56,100
- he may actually have a piece
- of her plane to prove it.
- 1140
- 00:51:57,300 --> 00:52:01,300
- 13-year-old boy, you find
- human bones under your house?
- 1141
- 00:52:01,300 --> 00:52:03,733
- It never, ever came back
- into my life
- 1142
- 00:52:03,733 --> 00:52:06,800
- until I read this thing
- about Amelia Earhart.
- 1143
- 00:52:06,800 --> 00:52:09,000
- Was the rest of that
- crawl space under the house
- 1144
- 00:52:09,000 --> 00:52:10,433
- thoroughly explored?
- 1145
- 00:52:10,433 --> 00:52:11,333
- No, not at all.
- 1146
- 00:52:11,333 --> 00:52:12,367
- Really?
- Never.
- 1147
- 00:52:12,367 --> 00:52:14,000
- I got a bone down here.
- 1148
- 00:52:14,000 --> 00:52:17,000
- There's more down here.
- There's more down here.
- 1149
- 00:52:17,000 --> 00:52:18,333
- It might be time to call
- the police department
- 1150
- 00:52:18,333 --> 00:52:20,100
- to come over here
- and take a look,
- 1151
- 00:52:20,100 --> 00:52:22,267
- 'cause a couple of them
- could be human. I don't know.
- 1152
- 00:52:28,033 --> 00:52:30,967
- GATES: I'm flying
- at about 35,000 feet
- 1153
- 00:52:30,967 --> 00:52:32,600
- and headed
- to Wilmington, Delaware,
- 1154
- 00:52:32,600 --> 00:52:35,767
- to interview an expert on the
- disappearance of Amelia Earhart.
- 1155
- 00:52:35,767 --> 00:52:38,933
- On one of the last legs
- of her trans-world flight,
- 1156
- 00:52:38,933 --> 00:52:41,567
- Earhart was supposed to travel
- 2,500 miles
- 1157
- 00:52:41,567 --> 00:52:43,200
- from Lae, Papua New Guinea,
- 1158
- 00:52:43,200 --> 00:52:46,700
- to tiny Howland Island in
- the middle of the South Pacific.
- 1159
- 00:52:46,700 --> 00:52:49,900
- But she never reached
- her destination...
- 1160
- 00:52:49,900 --> 00:52:52,800
- and vanished
- without a trace...
- 1161
- 00:52:52,800 --> 00:52:55,433
- or so we all thought.
- 1162
- 00:52:55,433 --> 00:52:59,300
- Ric Gillespie is the
- executive director of TIGHAR,
- 1163
- 00:52:59,300 --> 00:53:03,200
- an organization dedicated
- to finding Earhart's Electra.
- 1164
- 00:53:03,200 --> 00:53:06,100
- He believes that Earhart
- missed Howland Island
- 1165
- 00:53:06,100 --> 00:53:09,000
- and crashed on the nearby atoll
- of Nikumaroro.
- 1166
- 00:53:09,000 --> 00:53:11,200
- When we started
- this organization,
- 1167
- 00:53:11,200 --> 00:53:16,200
- my attitude toward looking
- for Amelia Earhart was,
- 1168
- 00:53:16,200 --> 00:53:17,867
- "Look, she probably
- just got lost
- 1169
- 00:53:17,867 --> 00:53:19,833
- looking for a tiny island
- in a big ocean,
- 1170
- 00:53:19,833 --> 00:53:21,333
- ran out of gas,
- crashed at the sea.
- 1171
- 00:53:21,333 --> 00:53:24,633
- The technology doesn't exist
- to find such a small target
- 1172
- 00:53:24,633 --> 00:53:26,667
- in such a big ocean."
- 1173
- 00:53:26,667 --> 00:53:29,200
- And it wasn't until
- two of our members,
- 1174
- 00:53:29,200 --> 00:53:31,400
- who were retired
- military aerial navigators,
- 1175
- 00:53:31,400 --> 00:53:33,533
- came to us and said,
- 1176
- 00:53:33,533 --> 00:53:37,033
- "The things that Earhart is
- known to have said on the radio
- 1177
- 00:53:37,033 --> 00:53:38,700
- "make perfect sense
- to a navigator.
- 1178
- 00:53:38,700 --> 00:53:40,933
- "She was doing exactly
- what she should have done,
- 1179
- 00:53:40,933 --> 00:53:45,900
- "and that should have brought
- her to one of two islands
- 1180
- 00:53:45,900 --> 00:53:47,300
- that she had enough fuel
- to get to."
- 1181
- 00:53:47,300 --> 00:53:48,733
- And nobody
- ever looked there.
- 1182
- 00:53:48,733 --> 00:53:52,033
- Earhart's final transmissions
- indicate that her and Noonan
- 1183
- 00:53:52,033 --> 00:53:55,567
- believed they were in the right
- spot but couldn't see Howland.
- 1184
- 00:54:03,167 --> 00:54:05,633
- If, in fact,
- Earhart followed that line,
- 1185
- 00:54:05,633 --> 00:54:08,633
- it would have likely passed
- near the Phoenix group,
- 1186
- 00:54:08,633 --> 00:54:10,833
- leading straight
- to Gardner Island,
- 1187
- 00:54:10,833 --> 00:54:12,367
- known today as Nikumaroro.
- 1188
- 00:54:12,367 --> 00:54:16,200
- Okay, if all those radio signals
- people thought were genuine
- 1189
- 00:54:16,200 --> 00:54:19,500
- were real, then the airplane
- would have to be on land.
- 1190
- 00:54:19,500 --> 00:54:20,833
- "But we've looked
- on the land,
- 1191
- 00:54:20,833 --> 00:54:22,433
- "and there's no airplane
- on the land.
- 1192
- 00:54:22,433 --> 00:54:25,233
- "Therefore, the radio signals
- must be somehow bogus.
- 1193
- 00:54:25,233 --> 00:54:28,067
- Let's go look in the ocean
- for a floating airplane."
- 1194
- 00:54:28,067 --> 00:54:30,833
- And that's what they did,
- and they didn't find one.
- 1195
- 00:54:30,833 --> 00:54:32,267
- They didn't find anything.
- 1196
- 00:54:32,267 --> 00:54:34,233
- How many times have you
- been out to Nikumaroro?
- 1197
- 00:54:34,233 --> 00:54:35,567
- I've been to Nikumaroro
- 10 times.
- 1198
- 00:54:35,567 --> 00:54:36,567
- 10 times.
- 1199
- 00:54:36,567 --> 00:54:38,767
- And not an easy island
- to reach.
- 1200
- 00:54:38,767 --> 00:54:41,567
- No, it's one of
- the most remote places on Earth.
- 1201
- 00:54:41,567 --> 00:54:43,733
- And what's your level
- of confidence
- 1202
- 00:54:43,733 --> 00:54:46,233
- that that's where
- she set that plane down?
- 1203
- 00:54:46,233 --> 00:54:47,233
- 100%.
- 100%?
- 1204
- 00:54:47,233 --> 00:54:47,933
- 100%.
- 1205
- 00:54:47,933 --> 00:54:49,200
- No doubt in your mind.
- 1206
- 00:54:49,200 --> 00:54:54,233
- We just established last week
- 1207
- 00:54:54,233 --> 00:54:56,100
- that a piece of aluminum
- 1208
- 00:54:56,100 --> 00:54:58,833
- that we found on that island
- in 1991
- 1209
- 00:54:58,833 --> 00:55:02,900
- matches in every respect
- a unique part
- 1210
- 00:55:02,900 --> 00:55:04,733
- of Earhart's airplane.
- 1211
- 00:55:06,633 --> 00:55:09,333
- When Earhart
- was in Miami...
- 1212
- 00:55:11,533 --> 00:55:13,367
- ...she had a special
- custom-made window
- 1213
- 00:55:13,367 --> 00:55:17,167
- on the right side
- of the airplane replaced
- 1214
- 00:55:17,167 --> 00:55:19,000
- with a plain aluminum patch.
- 1215
- 00:55:19,000 --> 00:55:21,233
- It has a unique rivet pattern,
- 1216
- 00:55:21,233 --> 00:55:23,033
- unique proportions
- dictated by the size
- 1217
- 00:55:23,033 --> 00:55:24,367
- of the hole
- it was covering
- 1218
- 00:55:24,367 --> 00:55:25,633
- and the structure
- of the airplane.
- 1219
- 00:55:25,633 --> 00:55:26,667
- Right.
- 1220
- 00:55:26,667 --> 00:55:28,767
- So a piece
- of Amelia Earhart's airplane
- 1221
- 00:55:28,767 --> 00:55:30,133
- ended up on that island.
- 1222
- 00:55:30,133 --> 00:55:33,533
- Critics will say, "Yeah, well,
- it could have floated up there,"
- 1223
- 00:55:33,533 --> 00:55:35,500
- 'cause we found it
- washed up.
- 1224
- 00:55:35,500 --> 00:55:36,833
- Mm-hmm.
- 1225
- 00:55:36,833 --> 00:55:39,567
- And if that was the only thing
- we'd ever found on Nikumaroro,
- 1226
- 00:55:39,567 --> 00:55:41,300
- you could say,
- "Yeah, well, maybe."
- 1227
- 00:55:41,300 --> 00:55:43,400
- But it's not the only thing
- we've ever found.
- 1228
- 00:55:44,533 --> 00:55:49,100
- September 1940 -- there's
- a man named Gerald Gallagher.
- 1229
- 00:55:49,100 --> 00:55:52,367
- He went down there
- and found a partial skeleton.
- 1230
- 00:55:54,433 --> 00:55:55,967
- Total of 13 bones,
- 1231
- 00:55:55,967 --> 00:56:00,933
- and it looked like this person
- had been lying under a tree
- 1232
- 00:56:00,933 --> 00:56:02,900
- and had died there.
- 1233
- 00:56:02,900 --> 00:56:05,400
- And he looked at this,
- and he said,
- 1234
- 00:56:05,400 --> 00:56:06,867
- "This might be
- Amelia Earhart."
- 1235
- 00:56:08,600 --> 00:56:12,000
- Gallagher was a colonial soldier
- who landed on Nikumaroro
- 1236
- 00:56:12,000 --> 00:56:13,700
- as part of a British settlement.
- 1237
- 00:56:13,700 --> 00:56:16,233
- He packed the skeleton
- he discovered into a box
- 1238
- 00:56:16,233 --> 00:56:18,400
- and took it back to Fiji
- for analysis.
- 1239
- 00:56:18,400 --> 00:56:20,867
- The bones were sent to
- the School of Medicine
- 1240
- 00:56:20,867 --> 00:56:22,967
- and given only
- a cursory examination,
- 1241
- 00:56:22,967 --> 00:56:25,767
- in which the doctor concluded
- they were from a male.
- 1242
- 00:56:25,767 --> 00:56:28,267
- Before anyone could test
- to see if they belonged
- 1243
- 00:56:28,267 --> 00:56:29,633
- to Earhart's navigator,
- 1244
- 00:56:29,633 --> 00:56:34,067
- the bones disappeared somewhere
- in the island's archives.
- 1245
- 00:56:34,067 --> 00:56:38,267
- But we have the notes
- the doctor took
- 1246
- 00:56:38,267 --> 00:56:41,867
- of the measurements
- of those bones,
- 1247
- 00:56:41,867 --> 00:56:43,767
- and we've given
- those measurements
- 1248
- 00:56:43,767 --> 00:56:46,133
- to two independent
- forensic anthropologists.
- 1249
- 00:56:46,133 --> 00:56:48,733
- Plugs it into
- the databases available now.
- 1250
- 00:56:48,733 --> 00:56:50,767
- What comes out
- of the computer
- 1251
- 00:56:50,767 --> 00:56:53,600
- is "white female
- of Northern European descent
- 1252
- 00:56:53,600 --> 00:56:55,000
- who stood 5'7", 5'8"."
- 1253
- 00:56:55,000 --> 00:56:58,533
- Well, there's nobody else
- like that missing out there.
- 1254
- 00:56:58,533 --> 00:57:00,833
- That's a description
- of Amelia Earhart.
- 1255
- 00:57:00,833 --> 00:57:03,000
- It's an amazing lead.
- 1256
- 00:57:03,000 --> 00:57:06,133
- But the question remains --
- what became of the bones?
- 1257
- 00:57:06,133 --> 00:57:10,333
- Fiji's main newspaper
- is now reporting a new lead
- 1258
- 00:57:10,333 --> 00:57:12,233
- in the case.
- 1259
- 00:57:12,233 --> 00:57:13,767
- If the bones can be found,
- 1260
- 00:57:13,767 --> 00:57:14,967
- it may finally close
- 1261
- 00:57:14,967 --> 00:57:17,633
- the greatest missing-persons
- case in history.
- 1262
- 00:57:17,633 --> 00:57:20,000
- Time for me to head
- back to the skies,
- 1263
- 00:57:20,000 --> 00:57:22,167
- get to Fiji,
- and join the search.
- 1264
- 00:57:25,833 --> 00:57:27,667
- Since the dawn of aviation,
- 1265
- 00:57:27,667 --> 00:57:30,900
- every pilot and passenger
- has seen this view --
- 1266
- 00:57:30,900 --> 00:57:34,300
- the endless cloudscape
- that swaddles planet Earth.
- 1267
- 00:57:34,300 --> 00:57:36,100
- It was just over a century ago,
- 1268
- 00:57:36,100 --> 00:57:38,867
- on a windy stretch of beach
- in North Carolina,
- 1269
- 00:57:38,867 --> 00:57:40,033
- that the Wright brothers
- 1270
- 00:57:40,033 --> 00:57:41,900
- launched
- the first powered aircraft --
- 1271
- 00:57:41,900 --> 00:57:44,100
- the fragile-looking
- Wright Flyer I.
- 1272
- 00:57:44,100 --> 00:57:46,833
- The plane may have only
- flown for 12 seconds,
- 1273
- 00:57:46,833 --> 00:57:50,100
- but humanity's terrestrial
- shackles were finally broken.
- 1274
- 00:57:50,100 --> 00:57:52,233
- The world
- would never be the same.
- 1275
- 00:57:52,967 --> 00:57:55,200
- It's hard to know to what extent
- 1276
- 00:57:55,200 --> 00:57:56,567
- early aviation pioneers
- like Earhart
- 1277
- 00:57:56,567 --> 00:57:58,100
- envisioned what would follow,
- 1278
- 00:57:58,100 --> 00:58:02,400
- but she probably never imagined
- Richard Branson, seat-back TVs,
- 1279
- 00:58:02,400 --> 00:58:04,833
- or double-decker jumbo jets.
- 1280
- 00:58:04,833 --> 00:58:06,133
- And yet,
- 1281
- 00:58:06,133 --> 00:58:09,433
- despite this technological
- golden age of aviation,
- 1282
- 00:58:09,433 --> 00:58:11,267
- some things haven't changed.
- 1283
- 00:58:11,267 --> 00:58:12,700
- We still lose planes.
- 1284
- 00:58:12,700 --> 00:58:16,267
- In fact, more than 80 aircraft
- have completely vanished
- 1285
- 00:58:16,267 --> 00:58:18,233
- since the end of World War II.
- 1286
- 00:58:18,233 --> 00:58:20,900
- Many aspects
- of Earhart's disappearance
- 1287
- 00:58:20,900 --> 00:58:23,667
- seem eerily relevant
- with the recent loss
- 1288
- 00:58:23,667 --> 00:58:25,233
- of Malaysia Flight 370.
- 1289
- 00:58:25,233 --> 00:58:28,800
- It serves to remind us
- that our dominion over the skies
- 1290
- 00:58:28,800 --> 00:58:30,000
- is not absolute,
- 1291
- 00:58:30,000 --> 00:58:33,300
- and that an awe-inspiring
- 90% of the world's oceans
- 1292
- 00:58:33,300 --> 00:58:34,567
- remain unexplored.
- 1293
- 00:58:34,567 --> 00:58:37,600
- Thanks to brave
- aviation pioneers like Earhart,
- 1294
- 00:58:37,600 --> 00:58:40,567
- my modern jumbo jet will make
- the 5,000-mile trip
- 1295
- 00:58:40,567 --> 00:58:43,133
- across the Pacific
- in a matter of hours.
- 1296
- 00:58:45,600 --> 00:58:48,633
- I touch down
- in the Fijian capital of Suva,
- 1297
- 00:58:50,000 --> 00:58:54,833
- a bustling and cosmopolitan town
- with a laid-back island charm.
- 1298
- 00:58:54,833 --> 00:58:56,500
- This is the last place
- the missing remains
- 1299
- 00:58:56,500 --> 00:58:58,433
- from Nikumaroro were taken.
- 1300
- 00:59:01,567 --> 00:59:02,767
- Exploring a new culture
- 1301
- 00:59:02,767 --> 00:59:04,700
- is always
- an eye-opening experience,
- 1302
- 00:59:04,700 --> 00:59:06,200
- and Suva is no exception --
- 1303
- 00:59:06,200 --> 00:59:09,633
- like seeing these
- authentic Fijian recliners.
- 1304
- 00:59:09,633 --> 00:59:11,433
- I like your chairs.
- 1305
- 00:59:11,433 --> 00:59:13,233
- Do you mind? May I?
- 1306
- 00:59:13,233 --> 00:59:16,233
- Oh, this is very nice.
- 1307
- 00:59:16,233 --> 00:59:17,633
- Oh, yeah.
- 1308
- 00:59:17,633 --> 00:59:19,300
- You guys got it all
- figured out here.
- 1309
- 00:59:19,300 --> 00:59:21,533
- Are you guys working
- right now?
- Yeah.
- 1310
- 00:59:21,533 --> 00:59:22,400
- Yeah? You are?
- 1311
- 00:59:25,567 --> 00:59:27,733
- You're not allowed to drink beer
- when you're working?
- 1312
- 00:59:27,733 --> 00:59:29,800
- Yeah.
- Are you allowed to sit
- in a wheelbarrow?
- 1313
- 00:59:29,800 --> 00:59:31,900
- [Laughs]
- [Laughs]
- 1314
- 00:59:34,067 --> 00:59:37,167
- I'm in town to meet with
- Nemani Delaibatiki,
- 1315
- 00:59:37,167 --> 00:59:39,300
- the editor in chief
- of the Fiji Sun.
- 1316
- 00:59:39,300 --> 00:59:41,800
- His paper recently published
- a new report
- 1317
- 00:59:41,800 --> 00:59:44,933
- on the missing bones that
- came to Fiji from Nikumaroro,
- 1318
- 00:59:44,933 --> 00:59:47,100
- where Earhart may have perished.
- 1319
- 00:59:47,100 --> 00:59:49,867
- According to the article,
- a Dr. Kenneth Gilchrist,
- 1320
- 00:59:49,867 --> 00:59:52,033
- the former head
- of the Fiji Medical School,
- 1321
- 00:59:52,033 --> 00:59:54,233
- may have been in possession
- of the bones.
- 1322
- 00:59:54,233 --> 00:59:56,033
- The doctor has passed away,
- 1323
- 00:59:56,033 --> 00:59:58,933
- but three Fijian employees
- were named as beneficiaries
- 1324
- 00:59:58,933 --> 00:59:59,867
- in his will.
- 1325
- 00:59:59,867 --> 01:00:01,700
- All three men have also died,
- 1326
- 01:00:01,700 --> 01:00:04,067
- and investigators believe
- that the box of bones
- 1327
- 01:00:04,067 --> 01:00:07,433
- may have been inherited by
- one of their family members.
- 1328
- 01:00:07,433 --> 01:00:13,233
- There was three Fijians
- who were close to the doctor
- 1329
- 01:00:13,233 --> 01:00:15,833
- and apparently had knowledge
- of the box.
- 1330
- 01:00:16,867 --> 01:00:20,033
- The mystery is,
- which one got the box?
- 1331
- 01:00:20,033 --> 01:00:23,167
- Two of the men's families
- have already been interviewed,
- 1332
- 01:00:23,167 --> 01:00:24,867
- and neither have the bones.
- 1333
- 01:00:24,867 --> 01:00:27,433
- The third man's son
- has yet to be found.
- 1334
- 01:00:27,433 --> 01:00:29,333
- If I can find him, and the box,
- 1335
- 01:00:29,333 --> 01:00:31,600
- DNA testing could prove
- whether the bones
- 1336
- 01:00:31,600 --> 01:00:34,000
- are the remains of Earhart
- or her navigator.
- 1337
- 01:00:34,000 --> 01:00:39,967
- We heard that one of the three
- people lives in Navala,
- 1338
- 01:00:39,967 --> 01:00:41,000
- a remote village.
- 1339
- 01:00:41,000 --> 01:00:42,133
- Navala.
- 1340
- 01:00:42,133 --> 01:00:44,133
- Navala village,
- on the western side of Fiji.
- 1341
- 01:00:51,667 --> 01:00:52,833
- With no time to lose,
- 1342
- 01:00:52,833 --> 01:00:54,933
- I'm heading to the village
- to investigate.
- 1343
- 01:00:54,933 --> 01:00:56,800
- Since I'll be showing up
- uninvited,
- 1344
- 01:00:56,800 --> 01:00:59,033
- it's important
- that I don't go empty-handed,
- 1345
- 01:00:59,033 --> 01:01:02,567
- so I'm heading to the market
- to pick up a gift.
- 1346
- 01:01:07,100 --> 01:01:10,267
- We got spices.
- We got beans. We got...
- 1347
- 01:01:10,267 --> 01:01:11,667
- whatever that is.
- 1348
- 01:01:11,667 --> 01:01:13,933
- Since I'm not seeing
- any Starbucks cards
- 1349
- 01:01:13,933 --> 01:01:15,400
- or vanilla-scented candles,
- 1350
- 01:01:15,400 --> 01:01:17,533
- I decide to go with
- a Fijian classic.
- 1351
- 01:01:17,533 --> 01:01:19,567
- Kava -- you have
- lots of kava.
- 1352
- 01:01:19,567 --> 01:01:20,233
- Yeah.
- 1353
- 01:01:20,233 --> 01:01:21,367
- I need to buy some.
- 1354
- 01:01:21,367 --> 01:01:23,400
- The roots of the kava plant
- are mashed
- 1355
- 01:01:23,400 --> 01:01:25,500
- and turned into
- an intoxicating sedative
- 1356
- 01:01:25,500 --> 01:01:27,967
- that's wildly popular
- in this part of the world.
- 1357
- 01:01:27,967 --> 01:01:28,967
- How much is it?
- 1358
- 01:01:28,967 --> 01:01:29,733
- 35 a kilo.
- 1359
- 01:01:29,733 --> 01:01:30,500
- 35 a kilo?
- 1360
- 01:01:30,500 --> 01:01:31,267
- Yeah.
- 1361
- 01:01:31,267 --> 01:01:32,500
- Sounds like a fair price.
- 1362
- 01:01:32,500 --> 01:01:33,667
- Yeah.
- 1363
- 01:01:33,667 --> 01:01:35,800
- I don't know how much
- kava's supposed to cost,
- 1364
- 01:01:35,800 --> 01:01:36,800
- so I trust you.
- 1365
- 01:01:36,800 --> 01:01:38,700
- [Speaking
- native language]
- 1366
- 01:01:38,700 --> 01:01:40,100
- Okay, I'll take a kilo.
- 1367
- 01:01:40,100 --> 01:01:41,200
- Do you drink kava?
- 1368
- 01:01:41,200 --> 01:01:41,867
- Yeah.
- 1369
- 01:01:41,867 --> 01:01:42,867
- Does he drink Kava?
- 1370
- 01:01:42,867 --> 01:01:43,800
- No.
- 1371
- 01:01:43,800 --> 01:01:44,767
- No? He doesn't like it?
- No.
- 1372
- 01:01:44,767 --> 01:01:46,800
- It's an acquired taste.
- 1373
- 01:01:46,800 --> 01:01:50,733
- Look at that.
- That looks amazing.
- 1374
- 01:01:50,733 --> 01:01:52,233
- Could play Quidditch
- with this thing.
- 1375
- 01:01:52,233 --> 01:01:52,967
- Thank you.
- 1376
- 01:01:52,967 --> 01:01:53,667
- Bye.
- 1377
- 01:01:53,667 --> 01:01:54,867
- With my offering in hand,
- 1378
- 01:01:54,867 --> 01:01:57,233
- I'm starting my journey
- to the village.
- 1379
- 01:01:57,233 --> 01:02:00,367
- I'm hopeful to find the man
- who may be in possession
- 1380
- 01:02:00,367 --> 01:02:01,933
- of the missing bones.
- 1381
- 01:02:01,933 --> 01:02:04,167
- Here,
- in Fiji's rugged backcountry,
- 1382
- 01:02:04,167 --> 01:02:05,700
- may be the answers
- 1383
- 01:02:05,700 --> 01:02:09,333
- to one of the world's greatest
- unsolved mysteries.
- 1384
- 01:02:10,433 --> 01:02:12,000
- This is where it happened?
- 1385
- 01:02:12,000 --> 01:02:13,200
- Right there.
- 1386
- 01:02:13,200 --> 01:02:16,067
- There's got to be a better way
- to make a living.
- 1387
- 01:02:16,067 --> 01:02:17,667
- When you found the box...
- Yes.
- 1388
- 01:02:17,667 --> 01:02:20,367
- ...did they go through
- the underside of this house
- 1389
- 01:02:20,367 --> 01:02:21,633
- with a fine-tooth comb?
- 1390
- 01:02:21,633 --> 01:02:22,567
- No.
- 1391
- 01:02:22,567 --> 01:02:24,067
- This looks like bone.
- 1392
- 01:02:24,067 --> 01:02:25,733
- It might be time
- to call the police department
- 1393
- 01:02:25,733 --> 01:02:27,367
- to come over here
- and take a look.
- 1394
- 01:02:27,367 --> 01:02:29,467
- We don't need any cameras.
- Leave those cameras.
- 1395
- 01:02:36,733 --> 01:02:39,200
- GATES: I'm on the island
- of Viti Levu in Fiji,
- 1396
- 01:02:39,200 --> 01:02:41,867
- searching for a man who may
- be in possession of bones
- 1397
- 01:02:41,867 --> 01:02:45,433
- that were brought here from
- a remote Pacific island in 1945,
- 1398
- 01:02:45,433 --> 01:02:48,967
- and which could be the remains
- of Amelia Earhart.
- 1399
- 01:02:48,967 --> 01:02:51,800
- After picking up a traditional
- offering of kava plant,
- 1400
- 01:02:51,800 --> 01:02:54,633
- I'm heading off the grid
- to search a remote village
- 1401
- 01:02:54,633 --> 01:02:58,667
- where the man was last known
- to live.
- 1402
- 01:02:58,667 --> 01:03:02,300
- Beyond the capital,
- Fiji reveals her true colors.
- 1403
- 01:03:02,300 --> 01:03:04,867
- These islands
- are an undeveloped wonderland
- 1404
- 01:03:04,867 --> 01:03:07,933
- brimming with stunning
- natural beauty.
- 1405
- 01:03:07,933 --> 01:03:10,033
- While the small village
- of Navala
- 1406
- 01:03:10,033 --> 01:03:12,200
- is just 55 miles northeast
- of Suva,
- 1407
- 01:03:12,200 --> 01:03:15,000
- the road system isn't exactly
- state-of-the-art.
- 1408
- 01:03:15,000 --> 01:03:18,433
- Fiji's rustic charm
- may be pleasing to the eye,
- 1409
- 01:03:18,433 --> 01:03:21,600
- but it does come with
- some minor drawbacks.
- 1410
- 01:03:25,700 --> 01:03:26,900
- No rush.
- 1411
- 01:03:26,900 --> 01:03:29,067
- [Goat bleats]
- 1412
- 01:03:37,300 --> 01:03:41,500
- Okay, that may be
- the end of this road.
- 1413
- 01:03:41,500 --> 01:03:45,867
- Hopefully the village
- is not too far from here.
- 1414
- 01:03:45,867 --> 01:03:46,867
- Here we go.
- 1415
- 01:03:46,867 --> 01:03:48,767
- In this part of the world,
- 1416
- 01:03:48,767 --> 01:03:51,567
- reaching a remote village
- involves more than just
- 1417
- 01:03:51,567 --> 01:03:53,233
- a bumpy ride down a dirt road.
- 1418
- 01:03:53,233 --> 01:03:54,333
- In this case,
- 1419
- 01:03:54,333 --> 01:03:55,833
- I'll have to channel
- my inner Huck Finn
- 1420
- 01:03:55,833 --> 01:03:56,967
- to reach my destination.
- 1421
- 01:03:56,967 --> 01:03:58,400
- Bula!
- 1422
- 01:03:58,400 --> 01:03:59,700
- MAN: Bula, bula!
- 1423
- 01:04:00,933 --> 01:04:03,133
- Are you going
- to the village?
- 1424
- 01:04:03,133 --> 01:04:04,300
- To the village?
- 1425
- 01:04:04,300 --> 01:04:05,967
- Yeah.
- Can I have a ride?
- 1426
- 01:04:05,967 --> 01:04:07,867
- Okay.
- 1427
- 01:04:07,867 --> 01:04:11,800
- Think I'm about
- to sink your boat.
- 1428
- 01:04:15,600 --> 01:04:18,833
- All right,
- we're floating.
- 1429
- 01:04:18,833 --> 01:04:20,200
- A few generations ago,
- 1430
- 01:04:20,200 --> 01:04:22,767
- an outsider like myself
- arriving uninvited
- 1431
- 01:04:22,767 --> 01:04:25,300
- at some Fijian villages
- could have become
- 1432
- 01:04:25,300 --> 01:04:27,733
- the main course
- in a cannibalistic feast.
- 1433
- 01:04:27,733 --> 01:04:30,433
- While I'm not afraid of winding
- up on the menu these days,
- 1434
- 01:04:30,433 --> 01:04:32,700
- I am worried that
- it's going to take me a month
- 1435
- 01:04:32,700 --> 01:04:36,633
- to paddle there on what
- the locals call a bilibili raft.
- 1436
- 01:04:37,867 --> 01:04:41,167
- This is the 2014 model
- of the bilibili raft.
- 1437
- 01:04:41,167 --> 01:04:44,633
- Comes with full bamboo.
- 1438
- 01:04:44,633 --> 01:04:47,300
- Sunroof, obviously.
- 1439
- 01:04:47,300 --> 01:04:49,833
- Natural air-conditioning.
- 1440
- 01:04:49,833 --> 01:04:51,400
- Manual transmission.
- 1441
- 01:04:53,867 --> 01:04:57,700
- Here? Village?
- Yeah?
- 1442
- 01:04:57,700 --> 01:04:58,967
- Okay.
- 1443
- 01:04:58,967 --> 01:05:01,000
- I don't really know where
- the emergency brake is
- 1444
- 01:05:01,000 --> 01:05:02,100
- on this thing,
- 1445
- 01:05:02,100 --> 01:05:03,600
- so I'm just gonna smash it
- into the rocks here.
- 1446
- 01:05:06,800 --> 01:05:08,133
- Okay, my friend.
- 1447
- 01:05:08,133 --> 01:05:09,400
- Vinaka vakalevu.
- 1448
- 01:05:09,400 --> 01:05:10,133
- Vinaka.
- 1449
- 01:05:10,133 --> 01:05:10,833
- Bye.
- 1450
- 01:05:16,233 --> 01:05:17,933
- It wasn't exactly
- an express trip,
- 1451
- 01:05:17,933 --> 01:05:21,000
- but the journey
- comes with an instant reward.
- 1452
- 01:05:21,000 --> 01:05:22,967
- The traditional village
- is beautiful beyond words,
- 1453
- 01:05:22,967 --> 01:05:25,967
- and the brilliant smiles
- of its youngest residents
- 1454
- 01:05:25,967 --> 01:05:28,200
- make the journey
- well worth the effort.
- 1455
- 01:05:37,567 --> 01:05:39,100
- Bula.
- 1456
- 01:05:39,100 --> 01:05:41,900
- This village is reportedly home
- to a man who may have inherited
- 1457
- 01:05:41,900 --> 01:05:45,033
- the possible remains
- of Amelia Earhart.
- 1458
- 01:05:45,033 --> 01:05:46,667
- But an outsider
- doesn't just waltz in
- 1459
- 01:05:46,667 --> 01:05:48,267
- and start snooping around.
- 1460
- 01:05:48,267 --> 01:05:51,467
- First, I'll need to get approval
- from the village chief.
- 1461
- 01:05:51,467 --> 01:05:53,800
- [Women singing
- in native language]
- 1462
- 01:05:53,800 --> 01:05:56,267
- I'm immediately led
- to the chief's hut.
- 1463
- 01:05:56,267 --> 01:05:57,600
- His word is law here.
- 1464
- 01:05:57,600 --> 01:05:58,900
- With the future
- of my investigation
- 1465
- 01:05:58,900 --> 01:06:00,200
- riding on winning him over,
- 1466
- 01:06:00,200 --> 01:06:04,233
- I'm hoping my kilo of kava
- helps grease the wheels.
- 1467
- 01:06:04,233 --> 01:06:06,433
- [Men and women singing]
- 1468
- 01:06:19,067 --> 01:06:23,933
- Uh-huh.
- 1469
- 01:06:23,933 --> 01:06:25,967
- BULIWA:
- Now the sevusevu.
- 1470
- 01:06:25,967 --> 01:06:27,733
- The men take away the root,
- 1471
- 01:06:27,733 --> 01:06:30,100
- mash it,
- and turn it into a drink.
- 1472
- 01:06:31,667 --> 01:06:33,533
- Though it's consumed
- by millions of people
- 1473
- 01:06:33,533 --> 01:06:35,200
- throughout the Pacific,
- to outsiders,
- 1474
- 01:06:35,200 --> 01:06:38,900
- kava is an acquired taste.
- 1475
- 01:06:38,900 --> 01:06:42,700
- Yes, it's bitter, gritty,
- and resembles muddy water,
- 1476
- 01:06:42,700 --> 01:06:45,033
- but it also comes with
- a warm wave of euphoria,
- 1477
- 01:06:45,033 --> 01:06:48,067
- thanks to its properties
- as a natural sedative.
- 1478
- 01:06:48,067 --> 01:06:51,200
- I pass to you? Or this way?
- 1479
- 01:06:51,200 --> 01:06:53,400
- I have to finish it?
- Yeah.
- 1480
- 01:06:53,400 --> 01:06:56,367
- Kava is more than a drink.
- It's ceremonial.
- 1481
- 01:06:56,367 --> 01:06:59,700
- Not finishing every last drop
- is considered an insult.
- 1482
- 01:06:59,700 --> 01:07:02,433
- So bottoms up.
- 1483
- 01:07:06,433 --> 01:07:07,733
- Vinaka.
- 1484
- 01:07:09,067 --> 01:07:12,033
- And now it all comes down
- to the chief.
- 1485
- 01:07:12,033 --> 01:07:14,533
- His is the final approval.
- 1486
- 01:07:27,100 --> 01:07:29,433
- GATES:
- I'm in a small Fijian village,
- 1487
- 01:07:29,433 --> 01:07:32,800
- looking for answers to the
- disappearance of Amelia Earhart.
- 1488
- 01:07:32,800 --> 01:07:35,667
- A recent news story reported
- that a man in this village
- 1489
- 01:07:35,667 --> 01:07:38,433
- may have a box
- containing her bones.
- 1490
- 01:07:38,433 --> 01:07:40,133
- If I can find these remains,
- 1491
- 01:07:40,133 --> 01:07:43,967
- it may solve one of the greatest
- puzzles in modern human history.
- 1492
- 01:07:43,967 --> 01:07:47,200
- But first I need to win over
- the chief,
- 1493
- 01:07:47,200 --> 01:07:49,733
- who is the absolute authority
- here.
- 1494
- 01:07:49,733 --> 01:07:50,933
- Without his permission,
- 1495
- 01:07:50,933 --> 01:07:52,967
- I won't be able to stay
- in the village
- 1496
- 01:07:52,967 --> 01:07:54,467
- and continue my investigation.
- 1497
- 01:07:54,467 --> 01:07:57,233
- After downing a few cups
- of ceremonial kava,
- 1498
- 01:07:57,233 --> 01:07:59,267
- the chief is ready
- to make his decision.
- 1499
- 01:07:59,267 --> 01:08:03,233
- Hopefully, he thinks
- I'm a good drinking buddy.
- 1500
- 01:08:11,633 --> 01:08:14,367
- Oh, that's very nice to hear.
- Thank you very much. Vinaka.
- 1501
- 01:08:14,367 --> 01:08:17,300
- Thank you very much
- for allowing me to come here
- 1502
- 01:08:17,300 --> 01:08:20,933
- and for accepting the kava and
- for sharing the drink with me.
- 1503
- 01:08:20,933 --> 01:08:23,967
- I appreciate it. Thank you.
- Vinaka.
- 1504
- 01:08:23,967 --> 01:08:26,367
- Let's get some pizzas
- up in here, huh?
- 1505
- 01:08:26,367 --> 01:08:27,933
- Mnh.
- 1506
- 01:08:29,567 --> 01:08:30,967
- If I give you one inch...
- 1507
- 01:08:30,967 --> 01:08:31,633
- Yeah?
- 1508
- 01:08:31,633 --> 01:08:32,767
- ...don't take one mile.
- 1509
- 01:08:32,767 --> 01:08:35,033
- [Laughs]
- Okay. Sounds good.
- 1510
- 01:08:36,367 --> 01:08:39,300
- [Speaking
- native language]
- 1511
- 01:08:39,300 --> 01:08:40,000
- Bula.
- 1512
- 01:08:41,700 --> 01:08:42,700
- [Laughs]
- 1513
- 01:08:42,700 --> 01:08:44,033
- Okay?
- Yes.
- 1514
- 01:08:45,467 --> 01:08:47,233
- The chief thinks
- I need one for the road.
- 1515
- 01:08:47,233 --> 01:08:48,667
- After obliging,
- 1516
- 01:08:48,667 --> 01:08:51,567
- I head out into the village
- to begin my hut-to-hut search
- 1517
- 01:08:51,567 --> 01:08:53,700
- for the man who might have
- the mysterious box
- 1518
- 01:08:53,700 --> 01:08:56,167
- that experts believe
- could contain the bones
- 1519
- 01:08:56,167 --> 01:08:57,600
- of Amelia Earhart.
- 1520
- 01:08:58,867 --> 01:09:00,133
- Bula.
- 1521
- 01:09:01,067 --> 01:09:02,433
- How are you?
- Good, thank you.
- And you?
- 1522
- 01:09:02,433 --> 01:09:03,467
- I'm good.
- 1523
- 01:09:08,800 --> 01:09:10,000
- Bula.
- 1524
- 01:09:10,000 --> 01:09:11,300
- Hello.
- Hello.
- 1525
- 01:09:11,300 --> 01:09:13,700
- Listen, I'm trying
- to find these men.
- 1526
- 01:09:13,700 --> 01:09:15,767
- Do you know these men?
- Do you know these names?
- 1527
- 01:09:15,767 --> 01:09:16,933
- Do any of them live here?
- 1528
- 01:09:16,933 --> 01:09:18,367
- No.
- No?
- 1529
- 01:09:18,367 --> 01:09:20,700
- Strike one.
- Okay. Next.
- 1530
- 01:09:20,700 --> 01:09:21,900
- No.
- No?
- 1531
- 01:09:21,900 --> 01:09:24,600
- None of them live here?
- No.
- 1532
- 01:09:24,600 --> 01:09:25,433
- Vinaka.
- 1533
- 01:09:25,433 --> 01:09:26,433
- Strike two.
- 1534
- 01:09:26,433 --> 01:09:28,333
- Just as I'm about to give up,
- 1535
- 01:09:28,333 --> 01:09:30,500
- I meet with one last man
- in the village.
- 1536
- 01:09:30,500 --> 01:09:31,567
- Bula.
- Bula.
- 1537
- 01:09:31,567 --> 01:09:33,600
- How are you?
- I'm good, I'm good.
- 1538
- 01:09:33,600 --> 01:09:35,567
- I'm looking for
- these three men.
- 1539
- 01:09:35,567 --> 01:09:38,967
- Do any of these names
- look familiar to you?
- 1540
- 01:09:38,967 --> 01:09:41,067
- Uh-huh. Kalaviti.
- 1541
- 01:09:41,067 --> 01:09:43,900
- He was in the village,
- but he passed away.
- 1542
- 01:09:43,900 --> 01:09:44,933
- He passed away?
- 1543
- 01:09:44,933 --> 01:09:45,933
- Passed away.
- 1544
- 01:09:45,933 --> 01:09:48,600
- Does he have any family
- here still?
- 1545
- 01:09:48,600 --> 01:09:49,333
- Uh, no,
- 1546
- 01:09:49,333 --> 01:09:51,367
- not what I know.
- 1547
- 01:09:51,367 --> 01:09:54,433
- And we're looking for these men
- because they may have been
- 1548
- 01:09:54,433 --> 01:09:59,367
- in possession of a box
- with human bones.
- 1549
- 01:09:59,367 --> 01:10:00,533
- When this man died,
- 1550
- 01:10:00,533 --> 01:10:02,067
- did he have any possessions
- here in the village --
- 1551
- 01:10:02,067 --> 01:10:03,500
- a box, maybe?
- 1552
- 01:10:03,500 --> 01:10:06,567
- Kalaviti doesn't have any
- belongings when he passed away.
- 1553
- 01:10:06,567 --> 01:10:07,267
- Right.
- 1554
- 01:10:07,267 --> 01:10:08,900
- There wasn't any box.
- 1555
- 01:10:08,900 --> 01:10:10,100
- Okay.
- 1556
- 01:10:10,100 --> 01:10:12,067
- I think there's another man
- you should see.
- 1557
- 01:10:12,067 --> 01:10:13,367
- He's staying in Suva.
- 1558
- 01:10:13,367 --> 01:10:14,633
- In Suva?
- In Suva.
- 1559
- 01:10:14,633 --> 01:10:15,500
- Who is that?
- 1560
- 01:10:15,500 --> 01:10:17,233
- His name is John Grey.
- 1561
- 01:10:17,233 --> 01:10:19,467
- John Grey?
- That's a familiar name to me.
- 1562
- 01:10:19,467 --> 01:10:20,633
- John Grey is who?
- 1563
- 01:10:20,633 --> 01:10:24,067
- He was the one who found
- some bones in the box.
- 1564
- 01:10:24,067 --> 01:10:25,667
- Yes, many years ago
- he found bones, right?
- 1565
- 01:10:25,667 --> 01:10:27,100
- Yeah.
- 1566
- 01:10:27,100 --> 01:10:30,833
- The name John Grey has long been
- linked to the Earhart mystery.
- 1567
- 01:10:30,833 --> 01:10:32,267
- As a boy in 1968,
- 1568
- 01:10:32,267 --> 01:10:35,600
- he was exploring a crawl space
- underneath his home in Fiji
- 1569
- 01:10:35,600 --> 01:10:37,933
- when he made
- a startling discovery.
- 1570
- 01:10:37,933 --> 01:10:41,600
- He found a box of bones
- that included a human skull.
- 1571
- 01:10:41,600 --> 01:10:44,200
- Furthermore, the house
- had previously belonged
- 1572
- 01:10:44,200 --> 01:10:46,900
- to an employee from
- the Fiji School of Medicine.
- 1573
- 01:10:46,900 --> 01:10:50,000
- Some believe that these bones
- could be the very same ones
- 1574
- 01:10:50,000 --> 01:10:52,067
- that went missing
- from Nikumaroro.
- 1575
- 01:10:52,067 --> 01:10:56,600
- But in a maddening twist,
- these bones have also been lost.
- 1576
- 01:11:00,533 --> 01:11:02,833
- My trip to the village
- has confirmed
- 1577
- 01:11:02,833 --> 01:11:05,433
- that the last man mentioned
- in the article
- 1578
- 01:11:05,433 --> 01:11:06,700
- didn't have the bones.
- 1579
- 01:11:06,700 --> 01:11:09,133
- But a new lead
- is drawing me back to Suva.
- 1580
- 01:11:09,133 --> 01:11:11,700
- Could John Grey provide
- any new insight
- 1581
- 01:11:11,700 --> 01:11:14,700
- about the bones he found
- nearly 50 years ago?
- 1582
- 01:11:14,700 --> 01:11:18,233
- Perhaps he holds the key
- to solving this epic mystery.
- 1583
- 01:11:19,900 --> 01:11:22,533
- So, you were about how old
- when this happened?
- 13.
- 1584
- 01:11:22,533 --> 01:11:27,133
- And so 13-year-old boy, you find
- human bones under your house?
- 1585
- 01:11:27,133 --> 01:11:29,600
- How did you come to be
- digging under your house?
- 1586
- 01:11:29,600 --> 01:11:31,267
- Me and my cousins
- decided that
- 1587
- 01:11:31,267 --> 01:11:33,467
- we needed to go
- and check the place out.
- 1588
- 01:11:33,467 --> 01:11:37,467
- And I crawled under
- this house and looked,
- 1589
- 01:11:37,467 --> 01:11:41,367
- and lo and behold,
- there was this box under there.
- 1590
- 01:11:41,367 --> 01:11:43,700
- As we took off
- part of the covering,
- 1591
- 01:11:43,700 --> 01:11:48,133
- we saw this roundish,
- whitish-brownish thing.
- 1592
- 01:11:50,267 --> 01:11:54,933
- And then, having pulled it out
- and seen what was the skull,
- 1593
- 01:11:54,933 --> 01:11:55,967
- it freaked me out.
- Yeah.
- 1594
- 01:11:55,967 --> 01:11:57,333
- [Laughs]
- 1595
- 01:11:57,333 --> 01:11:59,233
- And it's buried
- under your house.
- Absolutely!
- 1596
- 01:11:59,233 --> 01:12:01,267
- I mean, this is, like --
- this is like "Poltergeist."
- 1597
- 01:12:01,267 --> 01:12:02,967
- This is like
- a horror movie.
- 1598
- 01:12:02,967 --> 01:12:04,067
- Yeah.
- 1599
- 01:12:04,067 --> 01:12:06,833
- And then what became
- of the box and the bones?
- 1600
- 01:12:06,833 --> 01:12:09,167
- It was all given
- to the Fiji Museum.
- 1601
- 01:12:10,367 --> 01:12:12,400
- I just really didn't
- want to have anything to do
- 1602
- 01:12:12,400 --> 01:12:13,767
- with that skull again.
- Right.
- 1603
- 01:12:13,767 --> 01:12:17,700
- So, it never, ever
- came back into my life
- 1604
- 01:12:17,700 --> 01:12:21,467
- until I read this thing
- about Amelia Earhart.
- 1605
- 01:12:21,467 --> 01:12:23,867
- Something clicked in my mind,
- to say,
- 1606
- 01:12:23,867 --> 01:12:26,967
- "John, that skull that you
- had is, perhaps, that."
- 1607
- 01:12:26,967 --> 01:12:30,500
- Do you think there's a chance
- that it's still in the museum?
- 1608
- 01:12:30,500 --> 01:12:34,767
- Well, I hope so.
- 1609
- 01:12:34,767 --> 01:12:37,433
- Was the rest of that
- crawl space under the house
- 1610
- 01:12:37,433 --> 01:12:38,600
- thoroughly explored?
- 1611
- 01:12:38,600 --> 01:12:39,567
- No, not at all.
- 1612
- 01:12:39,567 --> 01:12:40,633
- Really?
- Never.
- 1613
- 01:12:40,633 --> 01:12:42,433
- Even if I did want to,
- I couldn't,
- 1614
- 01:12:42,433 --> 01:12:44,300
- 'cause someone else
- owned it.
- 1615
- 01:12:44,300 --> 01:12:46,367
- Now, though,
- it is a possibility?
- 1616
- 01:12:46,367 --> 01:12:49,033
- The current owner is amenable
- to us going in there
- 1617
- 01:12:49,033 --> 01:12:50,733
- and excavating
- if we need to.
- 1618
- 01:12:50,733 --> 01:12:52,767
- And you do think
- it's possible there could be
- 1619
- 01:12:52,767 --> 01:12:54,600
- other material remains
- under the house?
- 1620
- 01:12:54,600 --> 01:12:55,467
- Absolutely.
- 1621
- 01:12:55,467 --> 01:12:56,133
- You do?
- 1622
- 01:12:56,133 --> 01:12:57,000
- Absolutely.
- 1623
- 01:12:57,000 --> 01:12:58,600
- She needs closure.
- 1624
- 01:12:58,600 --> 01:12:59,300
- Hm.
- 1625
- 01:12:59,300 --> 01:13:01,300
- Amelia needs closure.
- 1626
- 01:13:06,200 --> 01:13:09,400
- John made arrangements for us to
- search the crawl space tonight.
- 1627
- 01:13:09,400 --> 01:13:11,500
- In the meantime,
- I want to further investigate
- 1628
- 01:13:11,500 --> 01:13:13,267
- his claim
- that the bones he found
- 1629
- 01:13:13,267 --> 01:13:16,533
- could still be in the archives
- at the Fiji Museum.
- 1630
- 01:13:16,533 --> 01:13:19,367
- The museum boasts
- an impressive collection
- 1631
- 01:13:19,367 --> 01:13:21,800
- that spans nearly 4,000 years.
- 1632
- 01:13:21,800 --> 01:13:23,867
- There are authentic
- Fijian rafts,
- 1633
- 01:13:23,867 --> 01:13:25,100
- and even the rudder
- 1634
- 01:13:25,100 --> 01:13:27,767
- from the infamously mutineered
- HMS Bounty.
- 1635
- 01:13:27,767 --> 01:13:29,900
- But much of the collection
- is devoted
- 1636
- 01:13:29,900 --> 01:13:31,900
- to Fiji's violent cannibal past.
- 1637
- 01:13:31,900 --> 01:13:35,600
- These islands were once
- a hotbed of human consumption.
- 1638
- 01:13:35,600 --> 01:13:37,200
- One missionary was even eaten
- 1639
- 01:13:37,200 --> 01:13:39,200
- right down to the soles
- of his shoes --
- 1640
- 01:13:39,200 --> 01:13:41,900
- the one part the natives
- found too tough to eat.
- 1641
- 01:13:41,900 --> 01:13:44,500
- In a museum brimming
- with human remains,
- 1642
- 01:13:44,500 --> 01:13:46,167
- I'm not feeling very optimistic
- 1643
- 01:13:46,167 --> 01:13:47,967
- about finding a single box
- of bones
- 1644
- 01:13:47,967 --> 01:13:51,300
- handed over by a teenage boy
- in the 1960s.
- 1645
- 01:13:51,300 --> 01:13:54,233
- But I've come this far
- and plan to leave no stone,
- 1646
- 01:13:54,233 --> 01:13:56,633
- or bone, unturned.
- 1647
- 01:14:00,433 --> 01:14:03,833
- I'm fortunate to be granted
- access to the museum's archives.
- 1648
- 01:14:03,833 --> 01:14:06,567
- However,
- what little hope I have shrinks
- 1649
- 01:14:06,567 --> 01:14:09,200
- as I realize that this place
- is essentially that room
- 1650
- 01:14:09,200 --> 01:14:11,267
- at the end
- of "Raiders of the Lost Ark."
- 1651
- 01:14:11,267 --> 01:14:13,500
- This might take a while.
- 1652
- 01:14:18,000 --> 01:14:22,100
- I comb through row after row of
- jumbled, disintegrating files.
- 1653
- 01:14:27,800 --> 01:14:30,200
- Eventually, I do manage
- to turn up
- 1654
- 01:14:30,200 --> 01:14:32,367
- some intriguing reports
- about Earhart...
- 1655
- 01:14:33,833 --> 01:14:36,500
- ...but no potential remains.
- 1656
- 01:14:37,733 --> 01:14:39,767
- As I continue to comb through
- the museum's collection,
- 1657
- 01:14:39,767 --> 01:14:42,233
- I find countless weapons
- and relics,
- 1658
- 01:14:42,233 --> 01:14:43,833
- but they're not what
- I'm looking for.
- 1659
- 01:14:47,367 --> 01:14:50,400
- Ooh. Box.
- Check this out.
- 1660
- 01:14:50,400 --> 01:14:52,633
- That kind of fits
- the description.
- 1661
- 01:14:52,633 --> 01:14:55,067
- As he said,
- it's got clasps on the front.
- 1662
- 01:15:08,100 --> 01:15:12,667
- GATES: I'm at the Fiji museum,
- looking for a lost box of bones
- 1663
- 01:15:12,667 --> 01:15:15,433
- that some think can be traced
- to Amelia Earhart.
- 1664
- 01:15:15,433 --> 01:15:16,467
- Ooh, box.
- 1665
- 01:15:16,467 --> 01:15:18,500
- After scouring the archives,
- 1666
- 01:15:18,500 --> 01:15:21,400
- I've come upon a box
- that matches the description.
- 1667
- 01:15:25,967 --> 01:15:28,467
- Nothing.
- 1668
- 01:15:28,467 --> 01:15:29,867
- Can't win 'em all.
- 1669
- 01:15:29,867 --> 01:15:32,367
- My search
- through the museum's archives
- 1670
- 01:15:32,367 --> 01:15:34,133
- doesn't turn up the remains.
- 1671
- 01:15:35,800 --> 01:15:38,833
- It costs me the day,
- but I haven't lost all hope.
- 1672
- 01:15:38,833 --> 01:15:41,133
- I'm traveling
- to the childhood home
- 1673
- 01:15:41,133 --> 01:15:44,467
- where John Grey found a box
- of bones over 40 years ago.
- 1674
- 01:15:44,467 --> 01:15:47,100
- The police never searched
- the crawl space
- 1675
- 01:15:47,100 --> 01:15:48,933
- after John made his discovery,
- 1676
- 01:15:48,933 --> 01:15:52,367
- so there could still be more
- evidence buried in the dirt.
- 1677
- 01:15:52,367 --> 01:15:54,433
- GATES: This is it?
- GREY: This is it.
- 1678
- 01:15:54,433 --> 01:15:56,367
- This is your childhood home.
- This is the home.
- 1679
- 01:15:56,367 --> 01:15:57,767
- Does it look the same?
- 1680
- 01:15:57,767 --> 01:16:00,933
- A little overgrown with shrubs
- and things like that,
- 1681
- 01:16:00,933 --> 01:16:03,300
- but the house
- looks exactly the same.
- 1682
- 01:16:03,300 --> 01:16:05,433
- All right.
- Well, here we go.
- 1683
- 01:16:05,433 --> 01:16:07,967
- So, this is
- where it happened.
- 1684
- 01:16:07,967 --> 01:16:10,067
- This is the entry.
- Right there.
- 1685
- 01:16:12,800 --> 01:16:14,400
- Okay, so,
- 13-year-old boy --
- 1686
- 01:16:14,400 --> 01:16:16,933
- You decide you're gonna go
- into that crawl space.
- 1687
- 01:16:16,933 --> 01:16:20,500
- Yep. I got into that,
- crawled under the house,
- 1688
- 01:16:20,500 --> 01:16:22,967
- and there it was --
- this box.
- 1689
- 01:16:22,967 --> 01:16:25,933
- Do you think anybody
- has been under here since 1968?
- 1690
- 01:16:25,933 --> 01:16:27,633
- By the looks of things,
- no.
- 1691
- 01:16:27,633 --> 01:16:30,433
- The box of bones
- that John found in 1968
- 1692
- 01:16:30,433 --> 01:16:32,000
- was strikingly similar
- 1693
- 01:16:32,000 --> 01:16:35,133
- to the one that went missing
- decades before.
- 1694
- 01:16:35,133 --> 01:16:38,800
- If there are any more remains
- buried under this house,
- 1695
- 01:16:38,800 --> 01:16:41,333
- they very well could be
- Earhart's.
- 1696
- 01:16:41,333 --> 01:16:44,300
- I'm not thrilled about poking
- around under an old house,
- 1697
- 01:16:44,300 --> 01:16:46,300
- looking for Earhart's bones
- in the dark,
- 1698
- 01:16:46,300 --> 01:16:47,467
- but I've come this far,
- 1699
- 01:16:47,467 --> 01:16:50,400
- and there's no way
- I'm turning back now.
- 1700
- 01:16:50,400 --> 01:16:53,200
- Where under here
- did you find the box?
- 1701
- 01:16:53,200 --> 01:16:56,333
- Right in there,
- where that timber stump is.
- 1702
- 01:16:57,967 --> 01:16:59,967
- I see it, yeah --
- about halfway back.
- That's correct.
- 1703
- 01:16:59,967 --> 01:17:03,600
- And it was just sitting there,
- or it was buried?
- It was sitting there,
- 1704
- 01:17:03,600 --> 01:17:05,700
- so if you get there,
- that's where the box was.
- 1705
- 01:17:05,700 --> 01:17:08,833
- Well, that seems like that's our
- spot to start digging around.
- 1706
- 01:17:10,400 --> 01:17:11,833
- Here we go.
- 1707
- 01:17:11,833 --> 01:17:15,200
- So, please, just --
- caution as you go through.
- 1708
- 01:17:15,200 --> 01:17:17,333
- Uh, okay.
- 1709
- 01:17:19,233 --> 01:17:21,100
- Definitely some spiders.
- God.
- 1710
- 01:17:22,767 --> 01:17:24,833
- So, John, you're talking about
- that post there?
- 1711
- 01:17:24,833 --> 01:17:26,733
- Correct, right in the middle
- of the house.
- 1712
- 01:17:26,733 --> 01:17:28,867
- If I find any money under here,
- I keep it, right?
- 1713
- 01:17:28,867 --> 01:17:29,900
- [Laughs]
- 1714
- 01:17:29,900 --> 01:17:32,033
- [Exhales sharply]
- 1715
- 01:17:32,033 --> 01:17:35,567
- Doesn't look like
- anyone's really been down here
- 1716
- 01:17:35,567 --> 01:17:37,733
- in the past 40 years.
- 1717
- 01:17:37,733 --> 01:17:39,033
- I found a button.
- 1718
- 01:17:39,033 --> 01:17:41,300
- Looks like a button
- off a piece of clothing.
- 1719
- 01:17:41,300 --> 01:17:43,367
- This is the first thing
- I've really found down here
- 1720
- 01:17:43,367 --> 01:17:44,800
- that looks
- from the human world.
- 1721
- 01:17:44,800 --> 01:17:48,000
- Lots of broken bits
- of pottery.
- 1722
- 01:17:48,000 --> 01:17:49,500
- [Clink]
- 1723
- 01:17:49,500 --> 01:17:51,100
- Some glass.
- 1724
- 01:17:51,100 --> 01:17:54,267
- Looks like
- a child's marble.
- 1725
- 01:17:54,267 --> 01:17:57,133
- Yeah, we used to play with those
- things in the younger days.
- 1726
- 01:17:57,133 --> 01:17:59,767
- You've lost your marbles,
- John.
- [Laughs]
- 1727
- 01:18:01,800 --> 01:18:03,333
- Okay, John,
- I'm pushing over
- 1728
- 01:18:03,333 --> 01:18:06,133
- toward the area
- where you found the box.
- 1729
- 01:18:06,133 --> 01:18:07,567
- [Sighing] Oh, boy.
- 1730
- 01:18:07,567 --> 01:18:11,367
- There has got to be a better way
- to make a living.
- 1731
- 01:18:12,733 --> 01:18:14,967
- Is it this beam right here,
- this small one?
- Yep, you're there.
- 1732
- 01:18:14,967 --> 01:18:16,933
- You're right there.
- That's it?
- 1733
- 01:18:16,933 --> 01:18:18,300
- That's it.
- Okay.
- 1734
- 01:18:18,300 --> 01:18:20,433
- So this was
- where the box was.
- 1735
- 01:18:25,533 --> 01:18:26,733
- [Sighs]
- 1736
- 01:18:30,167 --> 01:18:31,600
- Lot of coral down here.
- 1737
- 01:18:31,600 --> 01:18:34,633
- They must have, when they were
- building the house,
- 1738
- 01:18:34,633 --> 01:18:36,867
- used this as part
- of the landfill.
- 1739
- 01:18:40,567 --> 01:18:41,633
- John?
- Yeah?
- 1740
- 01:18:41,633 --> 01:18:43,767
- Just making sure
- you didn't go home.
- 1741
- 01:18:43,767 --> 01:18:46,200
- When you found the box...
- Yes?
- 1742
- 01:18:46,200 --> 01:18:49,400
- ...did they go through
- the underside of this house
- 1743
- 01:18:49,400 --> 01:18:51,333
- with a fine-tooth comb?
- No.
- 1744
- 01:18:51,333 --> 01:18:53,433
- I just wanted
- to get rid of the box.
- 1745
- 01:18:53,433 --> 01:18:56,067
- But the police
- didn't come down here.
- No.
- 1746
- 01:18:56,067 --> 01:18:58,467
- You would think after they found
- this box filled with bones,
- 1747
- 01:18:58,467 --> 01:18:59,833
- they would have
- come down here
- 1748
- 01:18:59,833 --> 01:19:01,567
- and done a more thorough search,
- but...
- 1749
- 01:19:01,567 --> 01:19:03,367
- I don't see anything
- around there
- 1750
- 01:19:03,367 --> 01:19:05,867
- other than a lot of dirt
- and some of this coral.
- 1751
- 01:19:08,933 --> 01:19:10,533
- Hold on.
- Let me see what's down here.
- 1752
- 01:19:12,300 --> 01:19:15,067
- This does not
- look like coral to me.
- 1753
- 01:19:18,233 --> 01:19:19,933
- This looks
- a lot like bone.
- 1754
- 01:19:29,200 --> 01:19:31,067
- Hold on.
- Let me see what's down here.
- 1755
- 01:19:31,067 --> 01:19:33,633
- GATES: I'm in Fiji,
- searching underneath a home
- 1756
- 01:19:33,633 --> 01:19:35,100
- for bones that some believe
- 1757
- 01:19:35,100 --> 01:19:37,233
- may be the remains
- of Amelia Earhart.
- 1758
- 01:19:37,233 --> 01:19:40,733
- After a bit of digging,
- I may have found something.
- 1759
- 01:19:40,733 --> 01:19:42,933
- This does not
- look like coral to me.
- 1760
- 01:19:45,900 --> 01:19:47,700
- This looks
- a lot like bone.
- 1761
- 01:19:49,633 --> 01:19:53,367
- I got a bone down here,
- for sure --
- 1762
- 01:19:53,367 --> 01:19:55,433
- a big piece of bone.
- 1763
- 01:19:55,433 --> 01:19:57,733
- I don't know if it's human
- or not, but...
- 1764
- 01:19:57,733 --> 01:20:00,633
- this is definitely bone.
- Wow.
- 1765
- 01:20:00,633 --> 01:20:03,367
- That is a bone. I mean, that
- looks like a human bone to me.
- 1766
- 01:20:03,367 --> 01:20:07,267
- Another one --
- part of a vertebrae.
- 1767
- 01:20:07,267 --> 01:20:08,667
- My goodness.
- 1768
- 01:20:08,667 --> 01:20:10,200
- More.
- 1769
- 01:20:10,200 --> 01:20:11,967
- In a million years,
- I didn't think
- 1770
- 01:20:11,967 --> 01:20:14,300
- I was gonna actually find bones
- under this house,
- 1771
- 01:20:14,300 --> 01:20:16,700
- but I'm looking
- at a handful of them right here,
- 1772
- 01:20:16,700 --> 01:20:20,033
- and I'm just barely
- scratching the surface.
- Amazing.
- 1773
- 01:20:20,033 --> 01:20:22,700
- There's more down here.
- There's more down here.
- 1774
- 01:20:22,700 --> 01:20:24,500
- I mean [bleep]
- 1775
- 01:20:24,500 --> 01:20:26,200
- There's a [bleep] skeleton
- down here.
- 1776
- 01:20:26,200 --> 01:20:28,400
- There's bits of bone
- all over the place down here.
- 1777
- 01:20:30,600 --> 01:20:32,900
- More bones.
- I mean, what is that from?
- 1778
- 01:20:32,900 --> 01:20:34,433
- It's everywhere I look.
- 1779
- 01:20:34,433 --> 01:20:36,700
- I mean, I'm putting a skeleton
- together down here.
- 1780
- 01:20:36,700 --> 01:20:38,733
- It might be time
- to call the police department
- 1781
- 01:20:38,733 --> 01:20:40,500
- to come over here
- and take a look,
- 1782
- 01:20:40,500 --> 01:20:43,267
- 'cause a couple of them
- could be human. I don't know.
- 1783
- 01:20:47,767 --> 01:20:49,433
- All right,
- I'm coming out.
- 1784
- 01:20:55,967 --> 01:20:57,400
- Oh, my goodness.
- 1785
- 01:20:57,400 --> 01:20:58,533
- [Sighs]
- 1786
- 01:20:58,533 --> 01:21:01,233
- Well, there's more
- under the house, John.
- 1787
- 01:21:01,233 --> 01:21:02,833
- Vertebrae.
- This, obviously --
- 1788
- 01:21:02,833 --> 01:21:05,667
- This could be a chicken bone,
- something much smaller.
- 1789
- 01:21:05,667 --> 01:21:07,300
- This could be a cow bone.
- 1790
- 01:21:07,300 --> 01:21:10,533
- But this -- I mean,
- things like this, I don't know.
- 1791
- 01:21:10,533 --> 01:21:11,900
- That could be human.
- 1792
- 01:21:11,900 --> 01:21:15,200
- We assumed that
- what was in the box
- 1793
- 01:21:15,200 --> 01:21:16,500
- was all that there was.
- 1794
- 01:21:16,500 --> 01:21:20,200
- And for a 13-year-old kid,
- you'd never want to go back in
- 1795
- 01:21:20,200 --> 01:21:22,133
- to find out
- if there's anything else.
- 1796
- 01:21:22,133 --> 01:21:25,867
- [Siren wailing]
- 1797
- 01:21:25,867 --> 01:21:27,900
- Yeah, okay. I got to --
- I got to --
- 1798
- 01:21:27,900 --> 01:21:30,500
- Please, we don't need
- any cameras at the moment.
- 1799
- 01:21:30,500 --> 01:21:31,500
- Oh, yeah?
- 1800
- 01:21:31,500 --> 01:21:32,767
- Yeah. No cameras.
- Okay.
- 1801
- 01:21:38,333 --> 01:21:40,933
- GATES: The bones
- that I found under the house
- 1802
- 01:21:40,933 --> 01:21:43,167
- transformed
- our television production
- 1803
- 01:21:43,167 --> 01:21:44,833
- into a criminal investigation.
- 1804
- 01:21:44,833 --> 01:21:47,600
- After lengthy questioning
- at the police station,
- 1805
- 01:21:47,600 --> 01:21:50,600
- the Fiji CSI unit has bagged
- the evidence for review,
- 1806
- 01:21:50,600 --> 01:21:51,900
- and I've got no choice
- 1807
- 01:21:51,900 --> 01:21:54,967
- but to head back to my hotel
- for a much-needed shower.
- 1808
- 01:21:57,233 --> 01:22:00,100
- The next morning, I return
- to the scene of the crime,
- 1809
- 01:22:00,100 --> 01:22:03,167
- only to find more investigators
- crawling under the house.
- 1810
- 01:22:03,167 --> 01:22:04,667
- Hazmat suits.
- 1811
- 01:22:04,667 --> 01:22:07,367
- Why didn't I think of that?
- 1812
- 01:22:07,367 --> 01:22:09,300
- [Police radio chatter]
- 1813
- 01:22:09,300 --> 01:22:11,467
- The police tape says it all.
- 1814
- 01:22:11,467 --> 01:22:13,567
- The case is now out of my hands,
- 1815
- 01:22:13,567 --> 01:22:17,333
- and I'm told that analysis and
- DNA testing could take months.
- 1816
- 01:22:17,333 --> 01:22:19,900
- However,
- the lab has already confirmed
- 1817
- 01:22:19,900 --> 01:22:23,233
- that at least one of the bones
- is human --
- 1818
- 01:22:23,233 --> 01:22:27,667
- a revelation that turns out
- to be front-page news.
- 1819
- 01:22:34,367 --> 01:22:36,267
- As I make my way
- back to the airport
- 1820
- 01:22:36,267 --> 01:22:38,067
- to bring my expedition
- to a close,
- 1821
- 01:22:38,067 --> 01:22:39,633
- I have a lot to reflect on.
- 1822
- 01:22:39,633 --> 01:22:42,067
- The shocking discovery
- of human remains
- 1823
- 01:22:42,067 --> 01:22:43,600
- beneath John Grey's house
- 1824
- 01:22:43,600 --> 01:22:45,367
- is a genuinely newsworthy lead
- 1825
- 01:22:45,367 --> 01:22:47,900
- in the search
- for the queen of the skies.
- 1826
- 01:22:47,900 --> 01:22:50,733
- In addition,
- the potential identification
- 1827
- 01:22:50,733 --> 01:22:53,867
- of the aluminum panel
- from the island of Nikumaroro
- 1828
- 01:22:53,867 --> 01:22:55,633
- makes it tempting to conclude
- 1829
- 01:22:55,633 --> 01:22:59,300
- that Earhart did indeed crash
- on or around the remote island.
- 1830
- 01:22:59,300 --> 01:23:02,500
- But much of the evidence,
- though hugely compelling,
- 1831
- 01:23:02,500 --> 01:23:04,000
- is still circumstantial.
- 1832
- 01:23:04,000 --> 01:23:05,300
- Until her bones
- 1833
- 01:23:05,300 --> 01:23:08,300
- or the full wreckage
- of the Electra is identified,
- 1834
- 01:23:08,300 --> 01:23:09,933
- no one can say for certain.
- 1835
- 01:23:09,933 --> 01:23:13,767
- Back in Papua New Guinea, the
- overgrown World War II wreckage
- 1836
- 01:23:13,767 --> 01:23:15,567
- that we found in the jungle,
- 1837
- 01:23:15,567 --> 01:23:18,200
- and the eerie wrecks
- beneath the waves,
- 1838
- 01:23:18,200 --> 01:23:21,900
- are, in a sense, every bit
- as important as Earhart's plane.
- 1839
- 01:23:21,900 --> 01:23:25,033
- After all, pilots went missing.
- Lives were lost.
- 1840
- 01:23:25,033 --> 01:23:28,467
- My hope is that the bones
- from the sunken Allied plane
- 1841
- 01:23:28,467 --> 01:23:31,033
- can be identified
- and repatriated home
- 1842
- 01:23:31,033 --> 01:23:32,867
- for the burial they deserve.
- 1843
- 01:23:35,033 --> 01:23:37,567
- At the heart
- of Earhart's world flight
- 1844
- 01:23:37,567 --> 01:23:40,300
- was a commitment
- to opening new frontiers,
- 1845
- 01:23:40,300 --> 01:23:43,133
- and to unite
- the many cultures of the world.
- 1846
- 01:23:43,133 --> 01:23:46,167
- In that regard,
- her mission has been a success.
- 1847
- 01:23:48,367 --> 01:23:51,800
- She helped herald in
- the modern age of aviation,
- 1848
- 01:23:51,800 --> 01:23:55,333
- which now serves to connect
- every nation on Earth.
- 1849
- 01:23:55,333 --> 01:23:59,233
- In the end, I'm most drawn
- to the unanswered question --
- 1850
- 01:23:59,233 --> 01:24:01,400
- Why do we continue the search?
- 1851
- 01:24:01,400 --> 01:24:04,400
- To me, the magnificent thing
- about Amelia
- 1852
- 01:24:04,400 --> 01:24:08,000
- is that in the eyes
- of the world, she never died --
- 1853
- 01:24:08,000 --> 01:24:11,733
- her fear never witnessed,
- her failure never recorded.
- 1854
- 01:24:11,733 --> 01:24:14,900
- Earhart's legacy of inspiration
- is amplified
- 1855
- 01:24:14,900 --> 01:24:18,800
- because her adventure is
- perpetual, unbroken by gravity.
- 1856
- 01:24:18,800 --> 01:24:21,400
- We simply think of her
- as missing.
- 1857
- 01:24:21,400 --> 01:24:24,267
- And perhaps
- that's where she belongs --
- 1858
- 01:24:24,267 --> 01:24:27,433
- somewhere over
- that limitless blue horizon.
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