She 'captivated millions.' Now Trump wants Amelia Earhart records released

President Donald Trump is wading into one of the country’s great unsolved mysteries, promising to release government records about famed aviator Amelia Earhart.

Earhart disappeared over the Pacific Ocean in 1937.

“Her disappearance, almost 90 years ago, has captivated millions,” Trump wrote in a social media post. “I am ordering my Administration to declassify and release all Government Records related to Amelia Earhart, her final trip, and everything else about her.”

Earhart is described by the Smithsonian as “probably the most famous female pilot in aviation history.” In 1932 she became the first woman, and the second person, to fly solo nonstop across the Atlantic Ocean. She was attempting to fly around the world when she disappeared.

“Earhart’s disappearance spawned countless theories involving radio problems, poor communication, navigation or pilot skills, other landing sites, spy missions and imprisonment, and even living quietly in New Jersey or on a rubber plantation in the Philippines,” according to the Smithsonian, which says the most likely theory is that she ran out of fuel “and ditched into the Pacific Ocean.”

It’s not clear what records the federal government may have on Earhart.

Trump has ordered records released from other big moments in history. He signed an executive order in January ordering the release of classified documents related to the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. His administration has been criticized for not releasing records related to Jeffrey Epstein, who died in prison in 2019 awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.