Doing more research on trans-pacific aircraft missing in flight, seems it is not a rare event as we have been led to believe. Charles Ulm went missing 1934 on a flight from CA to Hawaii. Same kinda a deal as Doran. But, what is more interesting, is that Ulm was part of mail carrying operations from Australia to US. And more interesting is the line of flight went right over the Phoenix group of islands.
Point being is that the Pacific in the 30's was not as lonely a place as we might often think.