I completely agree; that's where the evidence suggests that AE apparently wound up. I am just wondering WHY she would go there. 
As even a quick glance at the Google Earth images of the island show, it's quite a trek (3+ miles) to that location from the hypothetical Electra landing site. Unless the Seven Site location offered advantages over the immediate area of the landing site on the northwest coast of the atoll, I can't see any reason to relocate.
If AE left her skeleton there, you'll have to live with the mystery.
If you're saying TIGHAR should never have looked there, you'll have to live with a fait accompli.
Was there better access to food (clam beds, lagoon fishing) and water (freshwater lens?) and / or shade there?
Turtles, fish, birds, clams; nice forest setting (not as it is now); sea breezes; high ground giving a lookout toward Howland Island, where a Coast Guard cutter was stationed on their behalf; perhaps fewer crabs than elsewhere.
No freshwater lens on the island. That is the main reason why the colony was
abandoned in 1963.If not, I see no real advantage to relocating. You'd have to transport whatever materials you salvaged. You'd have to walk all that way; with the inherent injury and exertion / dehydration risks that are associated with that effort. It puts you miles away from the most likely place a search party would gravitate towards - the wreckage of the aircraft (at least until it disappeared), and of the SS Norwich City.
Do you find, as a general rule, that most people behave as you expect them to? How long would you stay by the Norwich City before searching the rest of the island for resources? Would you have embarked on a flight that depended on radio technology without knowing the capabilities of your equipment in detail? Would you have given the Coast Guard wrong frequencies to use both before and during the flight? Can we rely on your self-appraisal as a guide to understanding AE?
It is highly doubtful that AE and FN would have expected an air search in 1937. Search and rescue was in its infancy. There weren't a lot of aircraft that could go looking for them. The planes that flew over Niku may have caught them completely off guard. No other searches of the island were done by airplane.
I must respectfully disagree. As aviators, AE and FN would have probably both known about the state of naval aviation during their era. Not only were aircraft carriers and seaplane tenders available, but most battleships and cruisers carried and utilized catapult launched floatplanes (like the Vought O3U-3 from the USS Colorado that overflew Gardner as part of the search) for reconnaissance purposes; greatly extending the range of their search capabilities. It would have been highly surprising for them to be unaware of these aviation related facts. If a search was to be conducted - and again, considering her fame, a search NOT being conducted would have been unlikely - aircraft being a component of that search would have to at least been something they would have thought of as possible, if not likely.
I respectfully disagree back at you. There was one (1) overflight of the island. That doesn't like a whole lot of SAR to me. YMMV.
In light of that fact, not keeping the signal pistol and at least a few rounds for it (and according to the inventory, there were over a dozen; including two parachute flares) with them at all times would have been unthinkable.
And yet, it seems that
the flare pistol was left behind.No; if TIGHAR has searched that area extensively, then such items are probably not there. I'm not suggesting otherwise - only that such a location near to the (probable) Electra landing site would be the most logical location for anyone stranded on that island to set up camp. If you land on the reef just north of the SSNC, then you'd head for the beach immediately to your east. It's the closest location to set up camp. The crew of the Norwich City set up camp in that general area; near the abandoned and collapsed structures from the 1890s era Arundel project. It's also the location of the coconut trees which the Arundel colony planted, and from what I've read, some of the tallest (and best shade producing?) trees on the atoll. Walking to the northwestern tip of the atoll, and then all the way around and down to the far southeastern end of the island to the Seven Site doesn't make much sense... especially if you're carrying bottles, a sextant box, etc. etc. Why take a three or four mile trek over rugged terrain and in hot weather if you don't have to?
All out of food from the plane and the Norwich City cache? Thirsty and hoping that one had seen
a pond at the far end of the island? Suffering from heat stroke? Curiosity? A different set of intuitions from yours?
If one one (or both) of them survived for months (as Ric theorized) or even weeks, then I would suspect some exploration of the atoll would have been undertaken. If they felt the Seven Site offered them some advantage, then it would make sense for them to consider the move. But again, such an advantage would have to have been significant to justify the effort involved in the relocation from the point of their initial landing.
It just doesn't make sense to me. But again, just because I don't understand the reasons doesn't mean they didn't have any for undertaking that move, and even though I may not find it logical, if the evidence suggests otherwise, then you have to side with that. 
Yes, exactly. IF one or both moved to the Seven Site, we just have to presume that
they thought it was the best place to be. Or else they got that far and died, without being able to go back to home base, if there ever was a home base, near the Norwich City.
Thanks again for your reply and the links. I find the whole subject fascinating!
You're welcome. I find it fascinating, too.
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Topic: Discovery Channel Show (Read 128415 times)
