It appeared like the answer to Elaine Traverse’s monetary issues, and a canine desperately needing a potty break led her to it.
“I saw this trail, so I went up there and parked, and he took off running,” Traverse mentioned.
Traverse, who’s disabled and may’t stroll lengthy distances, says she referred to as her grownup son to come and see what had upset her pet in a secluded space of Canada’s Heart’s Content, Newfoundland.
They had discovered the stays of Amelia Earhart. Or a minimum of, the stays of a statue that had been the speak of the small neighboring city of Harbour Grace for months.
“Oh my God,” Traverse mentioned to herself.
The statue of Earhart – the Kansas native who disappeared without a trace whereas flying over the Pacific Ocean in 1937 – had a mysterious disappearance of its personal.
It had been standing proudly in a Harbour Grace park since 2007, constructed with a non-public donation from a distinguished native household as a monument to Earhart’s first solo flight throughout the Atlantic Ocean 75 years earlier, which started proper there in considered one of Canada’s easternmost communities.
When the bronze determine disappeared on the morning of April 24, city officers thought somebody most definitely stole it to promote the metallic for scrap, and so they put collectively non-public donations for a $25,000 reward to search out it.
Traverse, who mentioned she had fallen on onerous instances, noticed a possibility in August as she discovered herself standing a number of miles away from Harbour Grace and searching over Earhart’s determine minimize into 5 items, nonetheless intact.
“I called … the mayor at that time, and I said, ‘I was wondering if the reward was still being offered,’” Traverse informed NCS.
It was, however Traverse mentioned the mayor declined her supply to ship the statue’s items herself. Several days later, she was referred to an investigator with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, who made it clear she shouldn’t anticipate a quick cheque.
“First thing she said was, ‘Do you want to speak to a lawyer? Because you could be arrested for this,’” Traverse mentioned, nonetheless shocked by the implication.
The statue of the well-known aviator – carrying a leather-based flight jacket and thigh-high laced boots – stood proudly within the Spirit of Harbour Grace Park, a roadside pull off overlooking the bay. The park additionally options a retired World War II-era DC-3 passenger aircraft named after the city.
The park is a seen signal of the group’s satisfaction in its distinctive place in aviation historical past. Earhart’s voyage was considered one of 20 transatlantic flights tried from the city’s bucolic airstrip.
The disappearance of the statue was a shock for locals and aviation buffs from around the globe.
“It’s heartbreaking to share that someone, under the cover of darkness, has stolen the statue of Amelia Earhart and one of the plaques commemorating her achievement,” The Ninety-Nines, a world group of girls pilots, wrote in a Facebook post. “Who would do such a thing?”
The only proof of the theft that has been made public is surveillance video from a gasoline station subsequent to the park.
In the footage, distant headlights could be seen pulling as much as the statue’s location, adopted moments later by screeching tires and a metallic clang. A minute later, the car hurriedly pulls away. Although muffled voices could be heard, the video is just too darkish to determine folks.
The discovery of the statue was a aid to city officers who had been making an attempt to determine if they may even afford to switch it.
“We are thrilled to welcome Amelia home to Harbour Grace, and appreciate the public’s assistance in finding this iconic statue,” mentioned then-mayor Don Coombs in a news release from the RCMP.
But Traverse herself has not been talked about in a number of bulletins concerning the statue. In information releases because the discovery, the town and RCMP have referred only to “a tip from the public” that led Mounties to the statue.
When Traverse referred to as to report the statue, she was suggested to not transfer it and anticipate legislation enforcement, a course of she says took a number of days.
“I used to go back twice a day to make sure she was still there,” mentioned Traverse, including she was nervous another person would possibly uncover Earhart’s statue and both take it or attempt to declare the reward.
“So, when I got the call on August 8 to go to the RCMP building – yes, I had a big relief when the officers took her,” she mentioned.
That aid didn’t final lengthy as soon as it was prompt she may be a suspect. Traverse was shocked, however thinks she is aware of the explanation for the suspicion.
Her son, who she mentioned was beforehand convicted of stealing copper, was with her after they noticed the statue. He has denied any involvement within the theft and declined to be interviewed or named by NCS.
“But he had nothing to do with (the statue’s disappearance). He’s innocent, and I’m innocent,” mentioned Traverse.
“We both passed a lie detector test saying we had nothing to do with stealing the statue or knew anything about it, and I’m still no further ahead,” Traverse mentioned.
Ironically, Traverse says her son’s file ought to show he didn’t take the statue.
“He was in jail at the time,” Traverse mentioned. “They’re just saying that he may have gotten somebody else to do it.”
The pictures they took after they first discovered Earhart’s statue confirmed the items surrounded in thick vegetation progress and round timber, a reality she argues ought to dissipate the speculation that they had been planted there to be “found” for the reward.
Representatives of the RCMP and the city of Harbour Grace have declined to touch upon the specifics of Traverse’s account of what occurred.
“To protect both the privacy of all parties and the integrity of this active police investigation, we are not able to provide any additional details at this time,” a spokesperson for the RCMP of Newfoundland and Labrador informed NCS.
In the 4 months because the statue was recovered, the group alongside the province’s slim Conception Bay has celebrated its return. And a native artist has been commissioned to reassemble and reinforce it earlier than a rededication ceremony deliberate for subsequent spring.
“Fortunately, the Town’s insurer covered the statue and base restoration costs, excluding the deductible,” the native authorities mentioned in a assertion.
Meanwhile, Traverse has neither acquired a reward, nor confronted prison prices. Instead, she was left with a damaged reputation as rumors unfold locally.
“A lot of people are blaming me for stuff that I’m not doing, and they’re posting all kinds of stuff about myself and my family, and it’s not right,” she mentioned.
For now, Harbour Grace officers have mentioned little about how they suppose the statue was stolen within the first place, guaranteeing updates on the matter will likely be shared “as appropriate” whereas the investigation continues.
“At this time, the identity of the person or persons responsible for the theft remains unknown,” the RCMP mentioned.
Noting the allocation of the reward isn’t the city’s name, Harbour Grace Councilor Christina Hearn informed NCS there was an “expectation” from those that donated funds for it that it would result in an arrest or conviction.
But Traverse disputes that, pointing to statements on the unique reward announcement.
“There was two options,” she mentioned, “Information leading to either the arrest and conviction of the perpetrators or the return of the statue. So, I can’t get no further. I can’t get no answers.”
Like the solutions to Earhart’s mysterious ultimate flight, Traverse’s story stays in limbo. At least till another person is discovered and charged.