She thought finding a stolen Amelia Earhart statue would come with a hefty reward. It only damaged her reputation

By Andy Rose, CNN

(CNN) — It seemed like the solution to Elaine Traverse’s financial problems, and a dog desperately needing a potty break led her to it.

“I saw this trail, so I went up there and parked, and he took off running,” Traverse said.

Traverse, who is disabled and can’t walk long distances, says she called her adult son to come and see what had upset her pet in a secluded area of Canada’s Heart’s Content, Newfoundland.

They had found the remains of Amelia Earhart. Or at least, the remains of a statue that had been the talk of the small neighboring town of Harbour Grace for months.

“Oh my God,” Traverse said to herself.

The statue of Earhart – the Kansas native who disappeared without a trace while flying over the Pacific Ocean in 1937 – had a mysterious disappearance of its own.

It had been standing proudly in a Harbour Grace 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 Ocean 75 years earlier, which began right there in one of Canada’s easternmost communities.

When the bronze figure disappeared on the morning of April 24, town officials thought someone most likely stole it to sell the metal for scrap, and they put together private donations for a $25,000 reward to find it.

Traverse, who said she had fallen on hard times, saw an opportunity in August as she found herself standing several miles away from Harbour Grace and looking over Earhart’s figure cut into five pieces, still intact.

“I called … the mayor at that time, and I said, ‘I was wondering if the reward was still being offered,’” Traverse told CNN.

It was, but Traverse said the mayor declined her offer to deliver the statue’s pieces herself. Several days later, she was referred to an investigator with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, who made it clear she shouldn’t expect a fast cheque.

“First thing she said was, ‘Do you want to speak to a lawyer? Because you could be arrested for this,’” Traverse said, still shocked by the implication.

Earhart is part of town’s much larger aviation history

The statue of the famous aviator – wearing a leather flight jacket and thigh-high laced boots – stood proudly in the Spirit of Harbour Grace Park, a roadside pull off overlooking the bay. The park also features a retired World War II-era DC-3 passenger plane named after the town.

The park is a visible sign of the community’s pride in its unique place in aviation history. Earhart’s voyage was one of 20 transatlantic flights attempted from the town’s bucolic airstrip.

The disappearance of the statue was a shock for locals and aviation buffs from around the world.

“It’s heartbreaking to share that someone, under the cover of darkness, has stolen the statue of Amelia Earhart and one of the plaques commemorating her achievement,” The Ninety-Nines, an international organization of women pilots, wrote in a Facebook post. “Who would do such a thing?”

The only evidence of the theft that has been made public is surveillance video from a gas station next to the park.

In the footage, distant headlights can be seen pulling up to the statue’s location, followed moments later by screeching tires and a metallic clang. A minute later, the vehicle hurriedly pulls away. Although muffled voices can be heard, the video is too dark to identify people.

Statue’s return turns into suspicion

The discovery of the statue was a relief to town officials who had been trying to figure out if they could even afford to replace it.

“We are thrilled to welcome Amelia home to Harbour Grace, and appreciate the public’s assistance in finding this iconic statue,” said then-mayor Don Coombs in a news release from the RCMP.

But Traverse herself has not been mentioned in multiple announcements about the statue. In news releases since the discovery, the town and RCMP have referred only to “a tip from the public” that led Mounties to the statue.

When Traverse called to report the statue, she was advised not to move it and wait for law enforcement, a process she says took several days.

“I used to go back twice a day to make sure she was still there,” said Traverse, adding she was worried someone else might discover Earhart’s statue and either take it or try to claim the reward.

“So, when I got the call on August 8 to go to the RCMP building – yes, I had a big relief when the officers took her,” she said.

That relief didn’t last long once it was suggested she might be a suspect. Traverse was shocked, but thinks she knows the reason for the suspicion.

Her son, who she said was previously convicted of stealing copper, was with her when they spotted the statue. He has denied any involvement in the theft and declined to be interviewed or named by CNN.

“But he had nothing to do with (the statue’s disappearance). He’s innocent, and I’m innocent,” said Traverse.

“We both passed a lie detector test saying we had nothing to do with stealing the statue or knew anything about it, and I’m still no further ahead,” Traverse said.

Ironically, Traverse says her son’s record should prove he didn’t take the statue.

“He was in jail at the time,” Traverse said. “They’re just saying that he may have gotten somebody else to do it.”

The photos they took when they first found Earhart’s statue showed the pieces surrounded in thick vegetation growth and around trees, a fact she argues should dissipate the theory that they were planted there to be “found” for the reward.

Representatives of the RCMP and the town of Harbour Grace have declined to comment on the specifics of Traverse’s account of what happened.

“To protect both the privacy of all parties and the integrity of this active police investigation, we are not able to provide any additional details at this time,” a spokesperson for the RCMP of Newfoundland and Labrador told CNN.

Without arrests, the mystery goes on

In the four months since the statue was recovered, the community along the province’s narrow Conception Bay has celebrated its return. And a local artist has been commissioned to reassemble and reinforce it before a rededication ceremony planned for next spring.

“Fortunately, the Town’s insurer covered the statue and base restoration costs, excluding the deductible,” the local government said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Traverse has neither received a reward, nor faced criminal charges. Instead, she was left with a damaged reputation as rumors spread in the community.

“A lot of people are blaming me for stuff that I’m not doing, and they’re posting all kinds of stuff about myself and my family, and it’s not right,” she said.

For now, Harbour Grace officials have said little about how they think the statue was stolen in the first place, ensuring updates on the matter will be shared “as appropriate” while the investigation continues.

“At this time, the identity of the person or persons responsible for the theft remains unknown,” the RCMP said.

Noting the allocation of the reward is not the town’s call, Harbour Grace Councilor Christina Hearn told CNN there was an “expectation” from those who donated funds for it that it would lead to an arrest or conviction.

But Traverse disputes that, pointing to statements on the original reward announcement.

“There was two options,” she said, “Information leading to either the arrest and conviction of the perpetrators or the return of the statue. So, I can’t get no further. I can’t get no answers.”

Like the answers to Earhart’s mysterious final flight, Traverse’s story remains in limbo. At least until someone else is found and charged.

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