Bone fragments may belong to Amelia Earhart

THE three bone fragments turned up on a deserted South Pacific island that lay along the course Amelia Earhart was following when she vanished.

Nearby were several tantalising artifacts: some old makeup, some glass bottles and shells that had been cut open.

Scientists at the University of Oklahoma hope to extract DNA from the bone chips in tests that could prove Earhart died as a castaway after failing in her quest to become the first woman to fly around the world.