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[Bill Mangus]

The question is
 Where's Fred?

The Fiji Princess group found a suspicious-looking pile of coral slabs near the northwest tip of the island that needs to be investigated.

Ric, is this pile of coral slabs in or near a position that could have been 'camp zero'?  If it was noticed and seemed suspicious it must have been well above the storm over-wash line you mentioned in the daily reports.  Suggest that a detailed survey of the entire area, not just the coral slabs may be in order for the next visit.

[Ric Gillespie]

Ric, is this pile of coral slabs in or near a position that could have been 'camp zero'?  If it was noticed and seemed suspicious it must have been well above the storm over-wash line you mentioned in the daily reports.

I haven't been given much information about it and I'm not sure exactly where it is except that it is allegedly in an area north of where the Niku VIII Land Team surveyed.  Attached is the only photo I have seen.  The walking stick is supposedly about 4 feet long.  From what little I can see this could easily be a nothing more than some coral slabs pushed up by wave action.  Still, it needs to be re-located and excavated.

  Suggest that a detailed survey of the entire area, not just the coral slabs may be in order for the next visit.

We did a detailed survey of the entire NW area.  The statement that the coral slabs are north of the area we surveyed was made by someone who wasn't with us.

[Bill Mangus]

Didn't mean the entire NW area; just the immediate area around the coral slabs, out to maybe 15 feet all around.  If it's Fred, the crabs would have moved whatever bits and pieces they could reach.  The Prologue in Thirteen Bones is sounding more and more realistic to me.

Something else for the Niku IX to-do list, whenever it happens.

[Monty Fowler]

The walking stick is supposedly about 4 feet long. 

That's not a walking stick. Looks like a standard Mark 1 Mod 0 US long shovel handle to me. Look at the taper on the left end, and the slight bulging halfway up.

LTM,
Monty Fowler, TIGHAR No. 2189 EC

[Ric Gillespie]

The walking stick is supposedly about 4 feet long. 

That's not a walking stick. Looks like a standard Mark 1 Mod 0 US long shovel handle to me. Look at the taper on the left end, and the slight bulging halfway up.

Whatever it is it is what Betchart provided the tourists with to serve as walking sticks. Personally, I have been known to use a salvaged fluorescent light tube.

[Daniel Paul Cotts]

I measured the length of the handles of two long shovels. One is 40"; the other 50". I believe the 50" one more closely matches the appearance of the "walking stick" in the photo. So "about four feet" is a good description assuming it is a shovel handle.

[Craig Romig]

I too have had a thought that Fred may have gone down with the plane. But I do have many doubts about that. And I hope he didn't. Because I don't want to see his bones in any wreckage pics.

[Ric Gillespie]

I don't want to see his bones in any wreckage pics.

Fear not.  There's no way that human bone would survive in the underwater environment.

[Craig Romig]

Well tight probably wouldn't post them if they were seen
 I know tighar has good sence to edit that out of public eye.

[Ric Gillespie]

Well tight probably wouldn't post them if they were seen
 I know tights has good sence to edit that out of public eye.

Please do us the courtesy of proofing your posts for spelling and grammar.

[Ric Gillespie]

How often are bones found on uninhabited and isolated islands in the South Pacific?

As you can see from Marty's re-post of Andrew McKenna's post - not very often.

There are, in fact, fewer castaways than are sometimes assumed. For example, some folks who visited Gardner in 1924 saw a "dilapitated shack" that they assumed was a relic left by a castaway.  They were unaware of Arundel's planting operations in the 1890s and the shacks he provided for his workers (as described in Arundel's notes).  Later visitors (I've forgotten now whether it was the NZ survey party or the Bushnell party) also commented on the shacks that were "in a state of collapse." 

The 1924 group did find the wreck of a ship, a shack, and a skeleton on Canton.


Corrected link

[Craig Romig]

Well tight probably wouldn't post them if they were seen
 I know tights has good sence to edit that out of public eye.

Please do us the courtesy of proofing your posts for spelling and grammar.

flocking auto correct got me again
 I'll fix it.

[H.J. 'DUTCH' KLUGE]

Re: #23
Ric
Human remains are found regularly on WW2 wrecks - Truk lagoon e.g.
I would hope NOT to find Fred lounging at his nav table.
Dutch

[Ric Gillespie]

Human remains are found regularly on WW2 wrecks - Truk lagoon e.g.

Do you know of specific examples? I've been told by underwater archaeologists that anything organic (bones, cotton, leather, paper, hemp rope) would be long gone in the reef environment.

[Ric Gillespie]

Interesting examples. I don't know whether the sheltered environment of a lagoon versus the dynamic ocean reef slope would make a difference.  We have the same problem with airplane wreckage.  Lots of good examples of well-preserved aircraft in lagoons.  No example of aircraft on ocean reef slopes.  The U-boat, especially if closed off to the outside environment, is a different case.  The much-older sealed turret of the ironclad Monitor also contained human remains.