BBC News is reporting that the wood cross made from Titanic wood was sold for £10,000 ($12,969). The cross was made by Samuel Smith, one of the crew of the SS Minia that went out to retrieve bodies from Titanic.  It was expected to fetch £12,000. The name of the purchaser was not released.

Source: Titanic Wreckage Cross Sells For £10k At Auction (BBC, 19 Oct 2019)

LiveScience is reporting the famed explorer Robert Ballard has ended his search for Amelia Earhart’s plane in the coral reefs of Nikumaroro.

The team mapped the island with sonar and a floating surface vehicle — and they employed remotely operated vehicles to explore the deeper crevices of the underwater mountain that Nikumaroro is a part of. The team even searched 4 nautical miles out and came up with nothing remotely linked to Earhart. They did, however, find a bunch of rocks that were the same size and shape as the supposed landing gear from the photo, according to the Times.

One expert consulted for the article was not surprised given the plane’s composition and that so much time has passed.  There have been many theories about what happened to Amelia Earhart and her co-pilot Fred Noonan. Most have concluded the plane must have crashed in that area but evidence has been scant but it is the most promising. Bones found in a Tarawa museum are being checked and a temporary campsite found on Nikumaroro is being tested for DNA.

National Geographic funded the expedition and will release a documentary on it.

Source: The Man Who Found the Titanic Just Ended His Search for Amelia Earhart’s Lost Plane (Livescience.com, 17 Oct 2019)