On Wed, 21 Apr 2004 22:02:26 -0400, vincent p. norris
wrote:

I got involved with TIGHAR a few years ago. They sent me to
Fiji and New Zealand last summer to search for some bones
that were found on Gardner Island (now Nikumaroro) in
1940. There is a chance that they may have been hers,....

I gather that an expert can tell a few things from bones, such as sex,
height, age, etc.; but would there be any way to know they were AE's
and not those of some local resident?

IF the bones found on Gardner/Nikumaroro in 1940 could be
relocated, they could be tested for DNA, according to the
forensic anthropologist who works with the group.

The doctor who measured the bones in Fiji in 1941 was not
a forensic specialist by any stretch of the imagination.
His judgment was that they were from a European or
part-European male. Dr. Burns ran his numbers through
FORDISC, a contemporary database, and they suggested
that the bones may have been from a female of Northern
European descent.

May I ask why TIGHAR sent you? I know what "S.J." means, but are you
also an antropologist, archaeologist, paleontologist, or something
like that?

I'm essentially a very good typist and had the necessary free
time to make the trip. A retired seargent from the LA County
Sheriff's Department went with me. Here's our final report
on what we did with our summer vacation:
http://www.tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Bulletins/42_FijiBoneSearch.html

Marty