2003 Bones Search II - Revision history

Moleski: /* Narratives */

2026-03-31T05:41:47Z

Narratives

← Older revision		Revision as of 05:41, 31 March 2026
Line 2:		Line 2:
	== Narratives ==		== Narratives ==
	* [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Research/Bulletins/42_FijiBoneSearch.html Fiji Bone Search II--Final Report] (article on TIGHAR website)		* [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Research/Bulletins/42_FijiBoneSearch.html Fiji Bone Search II--Final Report] (article on TIGHAR website)
	* [~~http~~:~~//www.companysj.com/v223/amelia.htm~~ "Amelia and Roger and Me,"] ''Company Magazine.''		* [Dead link: "Amelia and Roger and Me,"] ''Company Magazine.''

	== Background ==		== Background ==

Moleski: /* Were the bones buried or cremated? */

2012-06-22T02:47:52Z

Were the bones buried or cremated?

← Older revision		Revision as of 02:47, 22 June 2012
Line 85:		Line 85:
	* The bones could have been discarded at any time with medical waste from [[Colonial War Memorial Hospital]]. Neither FSM nor CWMH have records that go back to the 1940s and 1950s that would preserve that level of detail.		* The bones could have been discarded at any time with medical waste from [[Colonial War Memorial Hospital]]. Neither FSM nor CWMH have records that go back to the 1940s and 1950s that would preserve that level of detail.
	==== Were the bones buried or cremated? ====		==== Were the bones buried or cremated? ====
	* [[Roger Kelley's Reports--Fiji, 2003\| Kelley's research]] suggests not.		* [[Roger Kelley's Reports--Fiji, 2003\| Kelley's research]] suggests that no bones found on Gardner were buried or cremated ''through the system whose files he searched in Suva.'' That does not mean that there might not have been an unofficial burial or cremation in Suva or elsewhere.

	==== Were the bones returned to the [[WPHC]]? ====		==== Were the bones returned to the [[WPHC]]? ====
	* There is no record of that in the file. The last note about the bones says that [[Hoodless]] will keep them until [[Sir Harry]] decides what the next step is.		* There is no record of that in the file. The last note about the bones says that [[Hoodless]] will keep them until [[Sir Harry]] decides what the next step is.

Moleski: /* Search of Hoodless House garage */

2012-03-29T22:14:14Z

Search of Hoodless House garage

← Older revision		Revision as of 22:14, 29 March 2012
Line 55:		Line 55:

	== Search of Hoodless House garage ==		== Search of Hoodless House garage ==
	''When Kelley and Moleski were preparing for the trip to Fiji, we reviewed notes from [Bones I\| the 1999 bones search, which seemed to suggest that there were boxes in the garage. Our interpretation of the note suggested the picture of boxes containing interesting papers and maybe even some old bones. In retrospect, it seems that they may have seen cardboard boxes flattened on the floor, perhaps to catch oil drips from a car parked there or else some other form of garbage. The garage does not have any hiding places where a box of bones could rest unmolested for sixty years or more.''		''When Kelley and Moleski were preparing for the trip to Fiji, we reviewed notes from [[Bones I\| the 1999 bones search,]] which seemed to suggest that there were boxes in the garage. Our interpretation of the note suggested the picture of boxes containing interesting papers and maybe even some old bones. In retrospect, it seems that they may have seen cardboard boxes flattened on the floor, perhaps to catch oil drips from a car parked there or else some other form of garbage. The garage does not have any hiding places where a box of bones could rest unmolested for sixty years or more.''
	=== Roger Kelley's report ===		=== Roger Kelley's report ===

Moleski: /* Burials, Cremations, Police Evidence Warehouse */

2011-04-23T13:36:46Z

Burials, Cremations, Police Evidence Warehouse

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:36, 23 April 2011
Line 43:		Line 43:

	== Burials, Cremations, Police Evidence Warehouse ==		== Burials, Cremations, Police Evidence Warehouse ==
			[[File:Roger-046.jpg\|thumb\|<div align="center">Amelia, 30 August 1939.</div>]]
			[[File:Roger 047.jpg\|thumb\|<div align="center">Amelia was Polynesian.</div>]]
	It is conceivable that someone decided to give the castaway of Nikumaroro a decent burial. Roger Kelley tested that idea by examining all of the burial and cremation records in Suva from 1937 to the present.		It is conceivable that someone decided to give the castaway of Nikumaroro a decent burial. Roger Kelley tested that idea by examining all of the burial and cremation records in Suva from 1937 to the present.

Moleski at 23:34, 20 January 2011

2011-01-20T23:34:51Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 23:34, 20 January 2011
Line 1:		Line 1:
	In the spring of 2003, TIGHAR sent [[Roger Kelley]], a former Marine and retired police officer, and [[User:Moleski\|Marty Moleski]], a Jesuit priest, to Fiji to follow up on various leads developed in the [[1999_Bones_Search_I\|1999 search]] for the bones that had been [[Bones found on Nikumaroro\| found on Nikumaroro]] in 1940. Although TIGHAR had also developed fresh ideas for avenues to explore through the [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/~~forum~~/AESForum.html Earhart Forum], Kelley and Moleski's search failed to find any trace of the [[bones]], [[sextant box]], [[shoe parts]], and [[corks]] that [[Gerald_Gallagher\|Gallagher]] had found on [[Nikumaroro]] and [[bones file\|sent to Fiji]].		In the spring of 2003, TIGHAR sent [[Roger Kelley]], a former Marine and retired police officer, and [[User:Moleski\|Marty Moleski]], a Jesuit priest, to Fiji to follow up on various leads developed in the [[1999_Bones_Search_I\|1999 search]] for the bones that had been [[Bones found on Nikumaroro\| found on Nikumaroro]] in 1940. Although TIGHAR had also developed fresh ideas for avenues to explore through the [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Forum/AESForum.html Earhart Forum], Kelley and Moleski's search failed to find any trace of the [[bones]], [[sextant box]], [[shoe parts]], and [[corks]] that [[Gerald_Gallagher\|Gallagher]] had found on [[Nikumaroro]] and [[bones file\|sent to Fiji]].
	== Narratives ==		== Narratives ==
	* [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Research/Bulletins/42_FijiBoneSearch.html Fiji Bone Search II--Final Report] (article on TIGHAR website)		* [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Research/Bulletins/42_FijiBoneSearch.html Fiji Bone Search II--Final Report] (article on TIGHAR website)
	* [http://www.companysj.com/v223/amelia.htm "Amelia and Roger and Me,"] ''Company Magazine.''		* [http://www.companysj.com/v223/amelia.htm "Amelia and Roger and Me,"] ''Company Magazine.''

Line 7:		Line 7:

	* [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Bones_Chronology.html Bones Chronology]		* [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Bones_Chronology.html Bones Chronology]
	* [http://www.tighar.org/TTracks/13_1/tarawa.html Tarawa file]		* [http://www.tighar.org/Publications/TTracks/13_1/tarawa.html Tarawa file]
	* [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/~~forum~~/FAQs/bones.htm DNA tests]		* [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Forum/FAQs/bones.htm DNA tests]
	* [http://www.tighar.org/TTracks/14_2/14-2Bones.html Bones Analysis (1998)]		* [http://www.tighar.org/Publications/TTracks/14_2/14-2Bones.html Bones Analysis (1998)]
	* [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Research/Bulletins/14_Fijibones/14_Fijibones.html Bones I Article] (1999)		* [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Research/Bulletins/14_Fijibones/14_Fijibones.html Bones I Article] (1999)
	* [[IIIIP\|1999 Bones Search--Niku IIIIP]]		* [[IIIIP\|1999 Bones Search--Niku IIIIP]]

Moleski at 22:10, 20 January 2011

2011-01-20T22:10:39Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 22:10, 20 January 2011
Line 6:		Line 6:
	== Background ==		== Background ==

	* [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Bones_Chronology.html Bones Chronology]		* [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Bones_Chronology.html Bones Chronology]
	* [http://www.tighar.org/TTracks/13_1/tarawa.html Tarawa file]		* [http://www.tighar.org/TTracks/13_1/tarawa.html Tarawa file]
	* [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/forum/FAQs/bones.htm DNA tests]		* [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/forum/FAQs/bones.htm DNA tests]

Moleski: /* To do */

2010-06-12T22:05:16Z

To do

← Older revision		Revision as of 22:05, 12 June 2010
Line 153:		Line 153:

	<!-- Please leave this category marker at the bottom. You may add this article to other categories if you wish -->		<!-- Please leave this category marker at the bottom. You may add this article to other categories if you wish -->
	[[Category:Expeditions\|Bones]]		[[Category:Expeditions\|Bones 2003]]

Rickerjones at 15:04, 12 June 2010

2010-06-12T15:04:56Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 15:04, 12 June 2010
Line 153:		Line 153:

	<!-- Please leave this category marker at the bottom. You may add this article to other categories if you wish -->		<!-- Please leave this category marker at the bottom. You may add this article to other categories if you wish -->
	[[Category:Expeditions]]		[[Category:Expeditions\|Bones]]

Moleski: /* Have people lied to us about what they know? */

2009-12-15T20:00:06Z

Have people lied to us about what they know?

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:00, 15 December 2009
Line 111:		Line 111:

	=== Have people lied to us about what they know? ===		=== Have people lied to us about what they know? ===
	[[User:Moleski\|Moleski]: I don't think we have to presume any conspiracy to keep the bones story quiet. The people who had the stuff did the best they could with colonial resources. Once [[Hoodless]] judged that [[bones\|the remains]] were from a male and other examiners found no significance in the [[sextant box]], [[shoe parts]], or [[corks]], the case just became mundane. Some poor soul died on Niku--one of many unknowns who died in the Pacific over the years. No one bothered to double back and cross-reference later files with earlier ones. "Do not attribute to malice what can be explained by ignorance" ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanlon%27s_razor Hanlon's Razor]).		[[User:Moleski\|Moleski]]: I don't think we have to presume any conspiracy to keep the bones story quiet. The people who had the stuff did the best they could with colonial resources. Once [[Hoodless]] judged that [[bones\|the remains]] were from a male and other examiners found no significance in the [[sextant box]], [[shoe parts]], or [[corks]], the case just became mundane. Some poor soul died on Niku--one of many unknowns who died in the Pacific over the years. No one bothered to double back and cross-reference later files with earlier ones. "Do not attribute to malice what can be explained by ignorance" ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanlon%27s_razor Hanlon's Razor]).

	== Helpful Witness Syndrome ==		== Helpful Witness Syndrome ==

Moleski: /* Discussion of the possibilities */

2009-10-20T21:04:02Z

Discussion of the possibilities

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:04, 20 October 2009
Line 78:		Line 78:

	== Discussion of the possibilities ==		== Discussion of the possibilities ==
	=== What if Hoodless kept the bones? ===		=== What if [[Hoodless]] kept the bones? ===
	* Then his family should have inherited them. Hoodless' daughter says that she is not aware of any box of bones left by her father.		* Then his family should have inherited them. Hoodless' daughter says that she is not aware of any box of bones left by her father.
	==== What if the bones stayed at Fiji School of Medicine? ====		==== What if the bones stayed at the [[Fiji School of Medicine]]? ====
	* Most probably discarded with other unwanted historical material by an acting director in the 1950s who took over when [[Frater\| Dr. Frater]] died unexpectedly. ''We do not have any substantiation of the name of the acting director nor of an order to 'Get rid of all of that stuff.' But it is not, on the face of it, an implausible story.''		* Most probably discarded with other unwanted historical material by an acting director in the 1950s who took over when [[Frater\| Dr. Frater]] died unexpectedly. ''We do not have any substantiation of the name of the acting director nor of an order to 'Get rid of all of that stuff.' But it is not, on the face of it, an implausible story.''
	* The bones could have been discarded at any time with medical waste from [[Colonial War Memorial Hospital]]. Neither FSM nor CWMH have records that go back to the 1940s and 1950s that would preserve that level of detail.		* The bones could have been discarded at any time with medical waste from [[Colonial War Memorial Hospital]]. Neither FSM nor CWMH have records that go back to the 1940s and 1950s that would preserve that level of detail.
	==== Were the bones buried or cremated? ====		==== Were the bones buried or cremated? ====
	* [[Roger Kelley's Reports--Fiji, 2003\| Kelley's research]] suggests not.		* [[Roger Kelley's Reports--Fiji, 2003\| Kelley's research]] suggests not.
	==== Were the bones returned to the WPHC? ====		==== Were the bones returned to the [[WPHC]]? ====
	* There is no record of that in the file. The last note about the bones says that [[Hoodless]] will keep them until [[Sir Harry]] decides what the next step is.		* There is no record of that in the file. The last note about the bones says that [[Hoodless]] will keep them until [[Sir Harry]] decides what the next step is.
	=== Why is there no record of disposition of the Niku materials? ===		=== Why is there no record of disposition of the [[:Category: Collected by Gallagher\|Niku materials]]? ===
	Hoodless had custody only of the [[kanawa box]] and the bones. He could not have discarded the sextant box, shoe parts, or corks even if he tried.		Hoodless had custody only of the [[kanawa box]] and the bones. He could not have discarded the sextant box, shoe parts, or corks even if he tried.
	==== Premise: Bureaucrats keep records ====		==== Premise: Bureaucrats keep records ====
	[[User:Moleski \|Moleski]]: After reading the files in the [[National Archives of Fiji]], I understand what others have said: it seems inconceivable that the British would have let the ~~dispostion~~ of the material collected on Niku remain unrecorded. It ''seems'' that there has to be a record somewhere of what someone decided to do with the material. Even if someone decided that it was all worthless and should be burned, ~~they~~ would record that judgment for posterity. We just don't know where that ~~file~~ is.		[[User:Moleski \|Moleski]]: After reading the files in the [[National Archives of Fiji]], I understand what others have said: it seems inconceivable that the British would have let the disposition of the material collected on Niku remain unrecorded. It ''seems'' that there has to be a record somewhere of what someone decided to do with the material. Even if someone decided that it was all worthless and should be burned, the standard-issue British bureaucrat would record that judgment for posterity. We just don't know where that record is--if it exists.

	"Think like a bureaucrat."		"Think like a bureaucrat."
Line 99:		Line 99:
	What if:		What if:
	* The bones file went into the archives because someone thought it was a dead file.		* The bones file went into the archives because someone thought it was a dead file.
	* But the Gardner artifacts were still in storage somewhere.		* But the [[:Category: Collected by Gallagher\|Gardner artifacts]] were still in storage somewhere.
	* A cleanup of the storage space requires making a record of disposition. But the bones file is not available to use because it's gone into the archives. So a new file is opened--or the information simply goes into a different file under the title "Getting Rid of Old Junk." No cross-ref will be found in the old file because they don't have access to the old file any more.		* A cleanup of the storage space requires making a record of disposition. But the bones file is not available to use because it's gone into the [[WPHC Archives\|archives]]. So a new file is opened--or the information simply goes into a different file under the title "Getting Rid of Old Junk." No cross-ref will be found in the old file because they don't have access to the old file any more.
	There was also a time of confusion when a new [[WPHC Numbering System\| numbering system]] was imposed on the filing system. But it would be highly unlike [[Vaskess]] not to find the old file and make a note in it if he was the one who decided to get rid of the Niku material.		There was also a time of confusion when a new [[WPHC Numbering System\| numbering system]] was imposed on the filing system. But it would be highly unlike [[Vaskess]] not to find the old file and make a note in it ''if'' he was the one who decided to get rid of the [[:Category: Collected by Gallagher\|Niku material]].

	==== Why is the death of the Niku castaway not in someone's Cold Case Files? ====		==== Why is the death of the Niku castaway not in someone's Cold Case Files? ====
	* There was no such terminology in the 1940s.		* There was no such terminology in the 1940s.
	* The Fijian evidence warehouse (searched by Kelley) seems to date from Fiji's independence in 1970. Prior to that, the [[WPHC]] and/or some other part of the Colonial Service provided police services.		* The Fijian evidence warehouse (searched by Kelley) seems to date from Fiji's independence in 1970. Prior to that, the [[WPHC]] and/or some other part of the Colonial Service provided police services. If there were "police files" prior to the establishment of the current police force, we have not found them.
	==== Was there ever a coroner's inquest into the death of the castaway? ====		==== Was there ever a coroner's inquest into the death of the castaway? ====
	* As far as we could tell, no. It seems as though the [[bones file]] is a record of an inquest, such as it was.		* As far as we could tell, no. It seems as though the [[bones file]] is a record of an inquest, such as it was.
	* There may not have been any obligation for the WPHC to report its findings to anyone but itself. [[Sir Harry]] wore two hats: High Commissioner of the WPHC and Governor of Fiji. Niku fell under the jurisdiction of the WPHC, not that of Fiji. For all practical purposes, Sir Harry or his delegates acted as the coroner for this case. The final note in the [[bones file]] says effectively, "Case closed."		* There may not have been any obligation for the [[WPHC]] to report its findings to anyone but itself. [[Sir Harry]] wore two hats: High Commissioner of the WPHC and Governor of Fiji. Niku fell under the jurisdiction of the WPHC, not that of Fiji. For all practical purposes, Sir Harry or his delegates acted as the coroner for this case. The final note in the [[bones file]] says effectively, "Case closed."

	=== Have people lied to us about what they know? ===		=== Have people lied to us about what they know? ===
	[[User:Moleski\|Moleski]: I don't think we have to presume any conspiracy to keep the bones story quiet. The people who had the stuff did the best they could with colonial resources. Once Hoodless ~~said it was~~ a male~~'s bones~~ and other examiners found no significance in the sextant box, shoe parts, or corks, the case just became mundane. Some poor soul died on Niku--one of many unknowns who died in the Pacific over the years. No one bothered to double back and cross-reference later files with earlier ones. "Do not attribute to malice what can be explained by ignorance" ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanlon%27s_razor Hanlon's Razor]).		[[User:Moleski\|Moleski]: I don't think we have to presume any conspiracy to keep the bones story quiet. The people who had the stuff did the best they could with colonial resources. Once [[Hoodless]] judged that [[bones\|the remains]] were from a male and other examiners found no significance in the [[sextant box]], [[shoe parts]], or [[corks]], the case just became mundane. Some poor soul died on Niku--one of many unknowns who died in the Pacific over the years. No one bothered to double back and cross-reference later files with earlier ones. "Do not attribute to malice what can be explained by ignorance" ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanlon%27s_razor Hanlon's Razor]).

	== Helpful Witness Syndrome ==		== Helpful Witness Syndrome ==