Amelia Earhart: Most Expensive Air And Sea Search In American History

Amelia Earhart was declared legally dead on January 5, 1939, after the most expensive air and sea search in American history. The first search for Amelia Earhart started on July 2, 1937, and was lead by the U.S Navy and Coast Guard. An additional search funded by George Putnam, Amelia Earhart's husband of six years, was also unsuccessful (“What Happened”). At the time of Amelia’s disappearance, she was one of the world's most famous female aviators. As a result of this fame, expectations were high that Amelia would be rescued. Several weeks of newspapers led the public to believe there was new evidence, later found inconclusive, resulting in disappointment. Many people deduced that Amelia and Fred ran out of fuel a crashed into the Pacific