--- description: Dogs will try to locate Amelia Earhart’s remains in an island near Fiji where the trailblazing aviator is believed to have vanished. title: What Happened to Amelia Earhart? These Dogs Are on a Mission to Sniff Out Her Remains image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltef73e03dda428dee/6988d28d86f68e440a6e5403/amelia-earhart.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [History](/section/history/) ## History Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Aviation](/tag/aviation/) ## Aviation Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # What Happened to Amelia Earhart? These Dogs Are on a Mission to Sniff Out Her Remains  by [Melissa Chan](/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Updated: Dec 14, 2023 9:38 PM CUTPublished: Jun 21, 2017 3:59 PM CUT  Undated picture taken in the 1930s of American aviator Amelia Earhart, at the controls of her plane. Undated picture taken in the 1930s of American aviator Amelia Earhart, at the controls of her plane.AFP/Getty Images  by [Melissa Chan](/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Updated: Dec 14, 2023 9:38 PM CUTPublished: Jun 21, 2017 3:59 PM CUT A pack of specially-trained dogs will attempt to locate [Amelia Earhart’s remains](http://time.com/3904826/amelia-earhart-search-history/ "undefined") on an island near Fiji where the trailblazing American aviator may have vanished decades ago. The four forensic canines — border collies trained to detect human remains — will be sent to Nikumaroro to help solve the mystery of Earhart’s disappearance, according to [_National Geographic_](http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/06/amelia-earhart-island-dogs/ "undefined"). “No other technology is more sophisticated than the dogs,” said Fred Hiebert, archaeologist in residence at the National Geographic Society, which is sponsoring the search. “They have a higher rate of success identifying things than ground-penetrating radar.” Earhart, the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean, disappeared somewhere over the Pacific Ocean during a [1937 journey](https://www.usnews.com/news/us/articles/2015/06/09/brief-film-taken-before-earharts-last-flight-surfaces "undefined") with navigator Fred Noonan. But the exact location of Earhart’s final location has long stumped aviation historians and explorers alike, despite multiple expeditions and competing theories. The dogs, which come from the Institute for Canine Forensics, will embark on their journey with their human explorer counterparts Saturday from Fiji, according to _National Geographic_. “If the dogs are successful, it will be the discovery of a lifetime,” Hiebert told the magazine. \[[_National Geographic_](http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/06/amelia-earhart-island-dogs/ "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4826740/amelia-earhart-dogs/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4826740/amelia-earhart-dogs/"},"headline":"What Happened to Amelia Earhart? These Dogs Are on a Mission to Sniff Out Her Remains","datePublished":"2017-06-21T15:59:40.000Z","dateModified":"2023-12-14T21:38:33.000Z","description":"The famed aviator's final location has been a mystery for decades","url":"https://time.com/4826740/amelia-earhart-dogs/","keywords":["Aviation","animals","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltef73e03dda428dee/6988d28d86f68e440a6e5403/amelia-earhart.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Melissa Chan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/"}],"articleSection":"History","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltef73e03dda428dee/6988d28d86f68e440a6e5403/amelia-earhart.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Undated picture taken in the 30' s of American fem","caption":"Undated picture taken in the 30' s of American fem","creditText":"AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/history/","name":"History"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/aviation/","name":"Aviation"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4826740/amelia-earhart-dogs/","name":"What Happened to Amelia Earhart? These Dogs Are on a Mission to Sniff Out Her Remains"}}]}] ```