Earhart Search Group Wants Lawsuit Dismissed

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — An aircraft recovery group seeks dismissal of a Wyoming man's claim that the group secretly found wreckage of aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart's missing airplane in the South Pacific but kept it quiet to continue raising funds for the search.

District Judge Scott Skavdahl of Casper in July rejected a lawsuit that Timothy Mellon of Riverside, Wyoming, had filed against the Pennsylvania-based International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery and its director, Richard Gillespie.

Mellon claimed the group found Earhart's plane in 2010 but kept it secret to collect $1 million from him for the search. He is the son of the late philanthropist Paul Mellon.

Mellon has asked a federal appeals court in Denver to reverse Skavdahl's decision dismissing his case. The group has asked the appeals court to uphold Skavdahl.