What happened to Amelia Earhart? Catch up on your history

An old photo has surfaced that may help us solve the mystery of Amelia Earhart's disappearance.

The American aviator vanished over the Pacific Ocean in July 1937 on a flight around the world. Did she crash into the ocean, as the U.S. government concluded long ago? Or did she crash-land her plane in the Marshall Islands and get captured by the Japanese?

A photo may prove she was captured alive, according to a two-hour special that airs Sunday on the History Channel. The photo, which was tucked away for decades in the National Archives, shows a woman who appears to be Earhart sitting on the dock with a group of other people. Nearby is a barge with an airplane on it that could be hers.

Photo: A+E Networks, TNS This photo shows a woman believed to be Amelia Earhart; she's...

The History documentary makers believe Earhart was taken to Saipan, where she died in Japanese custody. But of course, this is just one piece of an 80-year-old puzzle. We'll never stop wondering exactly what happened.

"Amelia Earhart: The Lost Evidence" airs at 8 p.m. Sunday. In the meantime, here are five ways to catch up on your Earhart history:

1. Old newsreels and clips: Thanks to the Internet, you can go back to the source - and follow along with the horror story as it unfolded. Search YouTube for "Amelia Earhart newsreel" and watch the old news reports about Earhart's flight, her disappearance and the search for her plane. And the Amelia Earhart Birthplace Museum offers a solid selection of newspaper stories about Earhart from 1928 to 1937.

2. 'The Sound of Wings': There are plenty of biographies. But Earhart buffs like this one by Mary S. Lovell, which offers a deep look at Earhart's life before that final flight - including her marriage to the publisher George Putnam.

Photo: Courtesy

3. 'Amelia Lost: The Life and Disappearance of Amelia Earhart': This book by Candace Fleming is designed for middle-graders, but it's a good read for anyone. In alternating chapters, Fleming tells the story of Earhart's life and gives a white-knuckle account of her final flight and the search after she vanished. The book points out that Earhart wasn't perfect - her flights were often dangerous and her public persona was self-aggrandizing. It also offers maps, photos and fascinating details - including the fact that Earhart's meal of choice in the cockpit was tomato soup.

Photo: New York Times Co., Getty Images American aviator Amelia Earhart sitting in the cockpit of her...

4. 'The Clues Behind Amelia Earhart's Last Radio Transmission'; In a 2013 episode of public radio show 'The Story,' a woman named Betty Brown tells a remarkable Earhart story. She was a 15-year-old girl in Florida listening to her dad's shortwave radio when she picked up Earhart's voice. "I heard her say, 'This is Amelia Earhart ... Please help me, please hear me." For two hours the signal faded in and out, and Brown took notes as the aviator pleaded for help and eventually abandoned her plane. It's absolutely haunting.

5. The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery: Want to get lost in an Internet wormhole? Go to tighar.org and click on "What Happened to Amelia Earhart?" Here, you'll read about an ongoing project to test the well-known theory that Earhart and her navigator crashed on Gardner Island, now called Nikumaroro, and died as castaways.