When Amelia Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan failed to reach Howland Island, a planned stop on their 1937 around-the-world flight, United States Navy and Coast Guard crews launched an intensive search effort. When the official search ended after 17 days, Earhart's husband, George Putnam, financed an additional private effort. No trace of Earhart, Noonan or their Lockheed Electra was found.