Stolen statue put Harbour Grace’s aviation history back in the headlines this past year

By Olivia Bradbury / Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

It was one of the biggest mysteries of the past year – who stole Harbour Garce’s Amelia Earhart statue, and why?

As the calendar ticks down on 2025, part of the mystery has been solved, at least in the sense that the statue has been found. But the central questions of who stole it and why remain.

The life-sized figure of the famous aviator was robbed from its display stand in the early morning hours of April 24.

The theft sparked a nation-wide search for the statue and a trail of theories and suggestions as to why it was stolen and where it might have ended up.

Then in August, the statue was found – in pieces – in a wooded area near Heart’s Content.

And that sparked further headlines. This time because the woman who said she found it, Elaine Traverse of Heart’s Delight – Islington, has had trouble collecting the $25,000 reward for its recovery.

And there has been some confusion about the reward itself, namely that the Town of Harbour Grace was putting up the $25,000. But that isn’t so. The town offered $2,000 as a reward for information leading to the idol’s recovery. Other parties apparently promised to pony up the rest, including Newco Metals which reportedly offered around $10,000, Marc Cooper Law Office in Carbonear some $3,000, and a sum promised by the Pike family and friends.

Traverse has complained that she is being investigated by the RCMP to see if she was involved in the theft.
Harbour Grace Mayor Terry Barnes said once Traverse is cleared of suspicion, the Town will be happy to reward her the $2,000 it promised, along with the amounts promised by the other contributors. The Town has written the parties to confirm if they are still willing to provide the money they promised.

Whatever the outcome of the investigation, Mayor Barnes and council are looking forward to an official unveiling of the repaired statue this coming May 20th on the 94th anniversary of Earhart’s history making flight from Harbour Grace across the Atlantic Ocean.

Barnes said he expects visitors from all over to attend.

Until then, Barnes and council are trying to unravel another mystery – the status of the $50,000 promised to the town by the area’s MHA, Pam Parsons, when she was a cabinet minister and during the leadup to this past year’s provincial election. Parsons managed to hold onto her seat in that contest, but her party lost the government, and in the aftermath it’s unclear exactly what was promised, and whether, pardon the pun, it was set in stone.

Parsons made the promise to provide $50,000 to repair or buy a new statue while the original was still missing. The Town’s insurer has since covered the cost of the repairs to the now recovered figure. Barnes is hoping the Town can still land Parsons’ promised $50,000, or at least a portion of it. Council would like to use it make the viewing area around the statue wheelchair accessible. The site is a popular tourist spot as it hosts not only the Earhart monument, but also the Spirit of Harbour Grace, a 1943 DC-3 plane that was donated to the town in 1993.

Barnes said so far council’s efforts to meet with the new provincial government, specifically Justice and Public Safety Minister Helen Conway-Ottenheimer, have been unsuccessful. “Nobody from Ms. Ottenheimer’s office contacted the Town about any of the funding that we are looking for, that Ms. Parsons promised,” said Barnes.