Trump Orders His Administration to Declassify Amelia Earhart Files Nearly 90 Years After She Disappeared Over the Pacific

President Donald Trump has directed his administration to declassify and release every available file tied to Amelia Earhart’s disappearance.

Earhart vanished on July 2, 1937, while attempting to become the first woman to fly around the world.

“I have been asked by many people about the life and times of Amelia Earhart, such an interesting story,” President Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on Friday, Sept. 26.

“Amelia made it almost three quarters around the world before she suddenly, and without notice, vanished, never to be seen again. Her disappearance, almost 90 years ago, has captivated millions,” he continued, reflecting on the aviator’s legacy.

He concluded, “I am ordering my Administration to declassify and release all Government Records related to Amelia Earhart, her final trip, and everything else about her. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

In early July, Kimberlyn King-Hinds — a Republican delegate representing the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands — urged Trump to declassify records on Earhart. She pointed to earlier releases of government files tied to the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Senator Robert F. Kennedy, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., stressing that Earhart’s story “carries particular weight” in her region.

“A number of elderly residents still recall her presence in the Pacific, with some sharing credible, firsthand accounts of having seen her on the island of Saipan. These memories, passed down through generations, continue to fuel interest in uncovering the full story of her fate,” King-Hinds wrote.

“Despite these recollections, her disappearance and the possibility that she may have died on our islands remain matters of unresolved historical inquiry,” she added. “In pursuing clarity for my constituents, I have become aware that the U.S. government may still hold documents or records related to Earhart’s journey and final whereabouts that have not yet been made public.”

According to CBS News, FBI files previously released under the Freedom of Information and Privacy Act — once marked “confidential” — confirmed that Earhart was neither a spy nor held as a prisoner after a crash landing in Saipan, countering some long-circulating theories.

Earhart was accompanied by her navigator, Fred Noonan, flying a twin-engine Lockheed Electra on the leg from New Guinea to Howland Island. Before vanishing, she radioed the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Itasca, stationed near Howland, reporting that she was low on fuel. Despite an extensive Navy search, no trace was found, and after two weeks, both Earhart and Noonan were declared lost at sea.

“It’s one of the greatest mysteries of the 20th century,” said Dorothy Cochrane, curator of general aviation at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, in a 2007 editorial.