Bones on Pacific isle are Amelia Earhart’s

BONES found in 1940 on a remote Pacific island were probably remains of aviator Amelia Earhart, new analysis has concluded.

Earhart, her plane, and her navigator vanished without a trace in 1937 over the Pacific Ocean. Many theories have sought to explain her disappearance.

But a new study published in Forensic Anthropology claims these bones prove she died as an island castaway.

The report claims they are a 99 per cent match, contradicting an earlier conclusion.

The remains discovered on Nikumaroro Island are now lost and all that survive are seven measurements, from the skull and bones from the arm and leg.

This led a scientist in 1941 to conclude that they belonged to a man.

Earhart was known to have been near the island when she vanished during her doomed attempt to fly across the globe.

Now University of Tennessee anthropologist Richard Jantz has weighed in with a new analysis of the measurements.

The study and other evidence “point toward her rather strongly,” Mr Jantz said.

For comparison, he used an inseam length and waist circumference from a pair of Earhart’s trousers.

He also drew on a photo of her holding an oil can to estimate the lengths of two arm bones.

Analysis showed “the bones are consistent with Earhart in all respects we know or can reasonably infer.

“It’s highly unlikely that a random person would resemble the bones as closely as Earhart,” he said.