TIGHAR is done with South Seas trips

Ric Gillespie has now bluntly stated that “TIGHAR has no plans to return to Niku.” – meaning he is, for all intents and purposes, writing off any further efforts to prove that Nikumaroro Island in the Pacific is the final resting place of Amelia Earhart. See https://tighar.org/smf/index.php/topic,2203.msg44495.html#msg44495 .

I would consider this a major development in the TIGHAR/Earhart saga, and a profound retreat from Gillespie’s adamant, at all times single-minded, belief that Earhart landed there and subsequently died. It also appears to be an admission that his self-described “faucet of fame” regarding funding for his Earhart expeditions has been fully and finally turned off. This became very apparent after the last “expedition” had to be greatly reduced in size and scope before finally being piggybacked onto existing trips that other groups were already planning.

Is it Twilight for TIGHAR?