Inside abandoned ghost island in the Pacific that once had a single inhabitant – and it hides a tragic secret
PACIFIC islands are typically places of paradise but this eerie one is abandoned with a tragic secret.
Located in the middle of the huge ocean about halfway between Hawaii and the Cook Islands, it was once home to a single inhabitant – whose time there ended in heartbreaking fashion.
Jarvis Island was first discovered in 1821 by British explorers before the Americans claimed it in 1857.
But no-one settled there with a lack of harbours, fresh water and plant life making it uninhabitable.
What it did have was guano – remains of birds and bats converted into fertiliser – attracting a flurry of ambitious miners in the late 1800s.
A grave remains there today commemorating one of its rare locals, who took up the role as an island caretaker.
But according to the grave, he committed suicide due to “gin-fuelled despair”.
By 1935 the US attempted to settle the small 1.7 square mile island without success.
Then came the Second World War and the island’s tough luck continued as it was bombed by both the US and Japanese forces.
These days the island’s rare visitors only include the Coast Guard and US Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Sailing in without permission of the latter authority could land explorers in hot water.
But sometimes scientists are granted that permission, with the island still considered a haven for studying biological diversity.
Unfortunately, in 2016, researchers found much of the island’s coral had dramatically eroded away.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration scientist Bernardo Vargas-Angel at the time said the reefs resembled “a coral graveyard”.
He added: “One would have never believed that just a year before this was a vibrant and colourful coral reef.
“Coral mortality was widespread across all reef habitats and depths.”
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution scientist Anne Cohen previously told Associated Press the island had been the pinnacle for coral reefs.
She said: “It’s like the Super Bowl of coral reefs, this place.
“The coral cover is astronomical.
“The amount of life that it supports is just sky high: fish, turtle, dolphins, sharks. You name it, you find it there in large numbers.”
Vargas-Angel blamed warming water on the coral decline.
He said: “about 95% of the coral colonies died from coral bleaching caused by high and prolonged water temperatures