Several years ago, I started hearing about a man making his way through the Amelia Earhart/Fred Noonan disappearance case. What caught my attention wasn’t just his research—it was the way his name kept coming up.

From the moment I became involved in this story, I’ve been drawn to the lesser-known nuances that make up the towering mystery of Amelia Earhart. As I got to know people in the field, one name surfaced repeatedly. No matter the theory, no matter the angle, everyone seemed to be talking about the same guy. He’s written books, published papers, and contributed to nearly every version of this story—including his appearance on Vanished: Amelia Earhart, where he explored a well-known collection of bones discovered on Nikumaroro. That discovery, made by British colonial officer Gerald Gallagher, remains one of the most hotly debated pieces of evidence in this case. Were those bones the final remains of Amelia and Fred, stranded castaways on a remote Pacific island? Or is the truth something else entirely?

When I looked into his work, I immediately understood why he was so widely respected. He doesn’t care about being right. He thinks bigger. His neutrality has allowed him to move freely across this story, collaborating with some of the most prominent figures in the investigation—people who sit in opposing camps, defending starkly different theories.

How does someone do that? How do you keep an open mind in a case that seems determined to pull you down an endless rabbit hole? Tonight, we find out. It’s time to open your ears and your mind. We’re making stops on Nikumaroro, Orona, and Buka—by way of St. Paul, Minnesota.

Welcome back to Chasing Earhart. This is Kenton Spading.

A Lost Sailor or Amelia Earhart? Lost Norwich City Crewmen: Potential Sources of the Human Remains Discovered on Gardner Island (now Nikumaroro Island) in 1940 @ Academia.edu

St. Paul employee part of team searching for Amelia Earhart @ US Army Corps of Engineers

Amelia Earhart's Shoes: Is the Mystery Solved? @ Amazon

Vanished: Amelia Earhart "Left for Dead" (Part Two) @ Spotify

The Chater Report @ TIGHAR's Official Website