It seemed like the solution to Elaine Traverse’s financial problems, and a dog desperate to go potty led her to it.
“I saw this trail, so I went over there and parked, and then he started running,” Travers said.
Travers, who is disabled and unable to walk long distances, said she called her adult son to come and see what had happened to her pet in a secluded area of Heartland, Newfoundland, Canada.
They discovered the remains of Amelia Earhart. Or at least the remains of a statue that has been a hot topic in the neighboring town of Grays Harbor for months.
“Oh my God,” Travers said to himself.
A statue of Earhart, a Kansas native who disappeared without a trace while flying over the Pacific in 1937, also mysteriously disappeared.
It has stood proudly in Grays Harbor Park since 2007, built with a private donation from a prominent local family, as a monument to Earhart’s first solo flight across the Atlantic 75 years ago, a flight that began in one of Canada’s easternmost communities.
When the bronze statue disappeared on the morning of April 24, town officials thought someone had stolen it, likely to sell the metal for scrap, so they raised private donations and offered a $25,000 reward to find it.
Travers said she was in trouble and saw an opportunity in August when she found herself standing a few miles away from Grays Harbor and watching Earhart’s body cut into five pieces and still intact.
“I called … the mayor and I said, ‘I want to know if the incentives are still being offered,'” Travers told CNN.
Yes, but Travers said the mayor rejected her offer to personally deliver the statue fragments. A few days later, she was referred to an RCMP investigator who made it clear she should not expect to fast. Check.
“The first thing she said was, ‘Do you want to talk to a lawyer? Because you could get arrested for this,'” Travers said, still shocked by the implications.
Earhart is part of the town’s broader aviation history
A statue of the famous aviator, dressed in a leather flight jacket and tall lace-up boots, stands proudly in Spirit of Harbor Grace Park, a roadside park overlooking the bay. The park also houses a retired World War II-era DC-3 airliner, named after the town.
The park is a visible symbol of the community’s pride in its unique place in aviation history. Earhart’s voyage was one of 20 transatlantic flight attempts from the town’s idyllic airport.
The statue’s disappearance shocked locals and aviation enthusiasts around the world.
“It is heartbreaking that someone stole a statue of Amelia Earhart and a plaque commemorating her achievements under cover of night,” the international organization of female pilots Ninety-Nine wrote in a Facebook post. “Who would do such a thing?”
The only public evidence of the theft was surveillance video from a gas station next to the park.
In the video, distant headlights can be seen pulling towards the location of the statue, followed by the screeching of tires and the clanking of metal. A minute later, the vehicle hurried away. Although muffled sounds can be heard, the video is too dark to identify the person.
Statue return sparks doubts
Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers stand by after a damaged statue of Amelia Earhart was found abandoned on a rural road on Aug. 11. – Royal Canadian Mounted Police
The discovery of the statue was a relief to town officials, who had been wondering if they could afford to replace it.
“We are pleased to welcome Amelia back to Grays Harbor and would like to thank the public for their assistance in locating this iconic statue,” then-Mayor Don Coombs said in an RCMP news release.
But Travers himself was not mentioned in multiple announcements about the statue. In a news release following the discovery of the statue, the town and the RCMP cited only “tips from the public” that led the Mounties to find the statue.
When Travers called to report the statue, she was advised not to move it and wait for law enforcement, a process she said took several days.
“I used to go back twice a day to make sure she was still there,” Travers said, adding that she worried that others might discover the Earhart statue and either take it away or try to claim the reward.
“So when I got the call on Aug. 8 to go to the RCMP building, yes, I was relieved when the police took her away,” she said.
The relief didn’t last long when it was suggested she might be a suspect. Travers was shocked, but thought she knew the reason for suspicion.
She said her son, who had been convicted of stealing copper, was with her when they discovered the statue. He denied any involvement in the theft and declined to be interviewed by CNN or be named.
“But he had nothing to do with (the disappearance of the statue). He’s innocent and I’m innocent,” Travers said.
“We all passed polygraph tests and said we had nothing to do with the theft of the statue or knew nothing about it, and I still wasn’t ahead,” Travers said.
Ironically, Travers said her son’s record should prove he didn’t take the statue.
“He was in jail,” Travers said. “They just said he may have had someone else do it.”
Photo taken by Elaine Traverse’s son when the stolen Amelia Earhart statue was discovered. It was cut into five pieces. ——Elaine Travers
Photos taken when they first discovered the Earhart statues show them surrounded by lush vegetation and trees, a fact she believes should dispel the theory that people planted them there to “find” rewards.
Representatives from the RCMP and the Town of Grays Harbor declined to comment on the specific incident described by Travers.
A spokesperson for the Newfoundland and Labrador RCMP told CNN: “To protect the privacy of all parties and the integrity of the police’s ongoing investigation, we are unable to provide any additional details at this time.”
No arrests made, mystery continues
In the four months since the statue was recovered, communities along the province’s narrow Concepcion Bay have celebrated its return. A local artist has been commissioned to reassemble and strengthen it ahead of a rededication ceremony planned for next spring.
“Fortunately, the town’s insurance company covered the cost of restoration of the statue and pedestal, excluding the deductible,” the local government said in a statement.
Travers, meanwhile, is neither receiving an award nor facing criminal charges. Instead, her reputation suffered as rumors spread through the community.
“A lot of people are blaming me for things I didn’t do, and they’re posting all kinds of information about myself and my family, and that’s not right,” she said.
For now, Grays Harbor officials have revealed little about how they believe the statue was originally stolen, ensuring updates on the matter are shared “as appropriate” while the investigation continues.
“At this time, the identity of the person responsible for the theft remains unknown,” RCMP said.
Grays Harbor Councilor Christina Hearn noted that the distribution of the rewards was not the town’s decision, telling CNN those who donated to the effort “expected” it would lead to an arrest or conviction.
But Travers disputes that, pointing to a statement in the original award announcement.
“There were two options,” she said, “either the information would lead to the arrest and conviction of the perpetrator, or the statue would be returned. So, I couldn’t go any further. I couldn’t get any answers.”
Like the answers to Earhart’s mysterious final flight, Travers’ story remains unsolved. At least until someone else is discovered and charged.
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