Newly discovered dating back to 1938 could reveal what happened to Amelia Earhart 's plane - with a mysterious object on a remote island pointing to a possible sighting of the aircraft . Researchers claim the anomaly provides "very strong" evidence that it may be Earhart's missing plane. The pilot vanished over the central Pacific Ocean on July 2, 1937, while attempting to circumnavigate the globe along with her navigator, Fred Noonan. The pair were on their way to Howland Island when their