a person may be legally declared dead , i.e. a legal presumption of death may be declared, despite without proof of the person's death, such as the finding of remains (e.g., a corpse or skeleton) of that person. such a declaration is usually made when a person has been missing for a long amount of time. if there is lack of evidence that the person is still alive after a period of time, then they could be legally declared dead. amelia earhart was declared dead "in absentia".