SALISBURY, Md-A local researcher named Bill Snavely has dedicated over a decade to finding out what happened to Amelia Earhart.
He may be steps closer now, due to recently uncovered items he and his team of divers found near Buka Island in Papua New Guinea.
Snavely is the director of Project Blue Angel, which is an organization that seeks to uncover Earhart's 80-plus year mystery.
They have recently uncovered what appears to be a complete plane and a landing light consistent with Earhart's that lies in the Pacific Ocean.
Snavely said, "It's too early to know for sure whose plane it is, but I'm amazed at how many similarities there are."
Over the past couple of years, Snavely and his team have sent over a handful of divers to explore the ocean, and see what items they could find to help uncover Earhart's mystery.
Snavely believes Earhart disappeared near Buka Island, after leaving Lae, New Guinea to Howland Island, during her mission to circumnavigate the world.
Snavely believes due to strong headwinds and a bad storm, Earhart and expert navigator Fred Noonan never made it, and went down somewhere in the pacific.
"I think she said we're turning back towards Buka, we're low on fuel, probably said it two or three times, assumed they had heard her, and they hadn't."
After a few transmissions after leaving Lae, no one ever heard from Earhart and Noonan again.
Snavely said the plane his team recently found is covered in coral now, and it is a race against time to uncover what truly lies within this plane.
But he said the landing light and plane are very consistent with the Lockeed Model 10-E Electra Earharts flew, and these similarities should not be overlooked.
Snavely says he is excited about the discovery, but does not want to jump to any conclusions.
If it is Earhart's plane, "I'd love to see a school started on the island, and a first-aid station, at least, as a legacy, as her legacy."
Snavely says his team has sent over divers five or six times so far, but it is expensive to do.
He estimates that their recent dive will cost around 55 thousand dollars, and has started a go fund me for those who would like to contribute.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/project-blue-angel
