The US National Archives has released new sets of documents related to the 1937 disappearance of Amelia Earhart, following an order from President Donald Trump to completely declassify the available material. The publication includes 4,624 pages with archives, including the logbooks of ships that took part in the gigantic operation to locate the famous aviator.

Secret Service Director Tulsi Gabbard announced that the new data was posted online, at a time when Trump was facing growing criticism for his handling of documents related to Jeffrey Epstein.

Earhart and her navigator, Fred Noonan, had taken off from Papua New Guinea on July 2, 1937, heading for remote Howland in their attempt to complete a circumnavigation of the globe. Their last communication indicated that they were running low on fuel, shortly before they were lost over the Pacific.

Despite the largest naval research to date, the aircraft was never found and the case remains one of the most persistent mysteries of the 20th century.

The new documents include Navy and Coast Guard reports, newspaper clippings, telegrams and letters sent early in the period. The material also records bizarre reports from citizens, such as a woman who claimed to have "telepathically" spotted Earhart alive and a man who claimed the aviator was buried in Spain.

Of particular interest is the correspondence of the American services, which refutes rumors of Earhart's capture by Japanese forces, considering them unfounded.

The Archives Authority notes that the material will continue to be digitized and published gradually. At the same time, researchers from the International Group for Historical Aircraft Research (TIGHAR) argue that the available evidence leads to the conclusion that Earhart and Noonan ended up castaways on the uninhabited island of Nikumaroro of Kiribati.

Expeditions in previous years have found items that may be associated with the crew, such as an old jar of anti-freckle cream, pieces of clothing, metal pieces and a knife similar to the one Earhart carried. In addition, sonar image appears to show part of a wing or fuselage from the lost Lockheed Electra just beyond the island's coastline.

The release of the Earhart files comes just months after the release of about 80,000 documents related to the assassination of John F. Kennedy, also at the behest of Trump.