Bones Found Near Fossett Crash Site
Investigators Say Shoes, Driver's License Of Missing Adventurer Also Recovered
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Madera County Sheriff John Anderson discusses the location of bones found believed to be those of Steve Fossett, Oct. 30, 2008. Anderson said an extended search of the crash site on Wednesday yielded additional findings, including a pair of tennis shoes, credit cards and Fossett’s Illinois State driver’s license. (AP Photo/Kurt Hegre, Fresno Bee)
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A photo of wreckage from the fuselage of Steve Fossett's plane near Mammoth Lakes, Calif., taken Oct. 3. (AP/Madera County Sheriff's Dept.)
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Fossett photographed at the Salina Municipal Airport in Salina, Kan., Feb. 28, 2005. The adventurer vanished in September 2007, prompting a search of 20,000 square miles for his plane, which lay undetected for over a year. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
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Play CBS Video Video Fossett Found? Traces of human remains were found at the aircraft wreckage site of missing aviator Steve Fossett. As John Blackstone reports, DNA tests will be done to determine if the remains are Fossett's.
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Video Fossett Wreckage Found The wreckage of a plane belonging to famed adventurer Steve Fossett, who disappeared over year ago after taking off for a sightseeing trip, was found in the Sierra Nevadas. John Blackstone reports.
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Video Fossett Plane Possibly Found A helicopter flying over California's Minaret Mountains is believed to have spotted aircraft wreckage that may likely belong to missing aviator and world record-holder Steve Fossett.
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Photo Essay Adventurer Steve Fossett A look at some of the millionaire entrepreneur and adventurer's feats.
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Photo Essay Fossett In Flight Pilot Steve Fossett and fellow adventurer Sir Richard Branson attempt an around-the-world aviation first.
Madera County Sheriff John Anderson said at a news conference that the bones were found Wednesday about a half-mile east of the crash site. Investigators have sent them to a Department of Justice testing lab and should know in about a week whether they are Fossett's.
Anderson said searchers also found Fossett's tennis shoes, his Illinois driver's license and credit cards. The shoes and driver's license had animal bite marks on them.
"This reinforces our theory that animals dragged him away," Anderson said.
Previous bone fragments discovered near the wreckage were either found to be not human or too small for DNA tests. Investigators have completed their work on the ground and do not plan to resume search efforts, Anderson said.
Fossett's widow, Peggy, said in a statement Thursday that the discovery of bones was "another step in the process of completing the investigation into the tragic accident that took Steve's life."
Fossett, who lived part-time in Beaver Creek, Colo., vanished in September 2007 after taking off from a Nevada ranch owned by hotel magnate Barron Hilton during what was supposed to be a short pleasure flight.
His disappearance spurred a huge search that covered 20,000 square miles, cost millions of dollars and included the use of infrared technology.
For a while, many of Fossett's friends held out hope he survived, given his many close scrapes with death over the years. But a judge declared him legally dead in February, and his plane wreckage was found this month after a hiker came across his pilot identification cards amid a pile of weathered $100 bills west of Mammoth Lakes in the eastern Sierra.
Authorities have said Fossett slammed into a mountainside at about 10,000 feet and probably died instantly. The cause of the crash is still under investigation.
Fossett made a fortune in the Chicago commodities market and gained worldwide fame for setting records in high-tech balloons, gliders, jets and boats. In 2002, he became the first person to circle the world solo in a balloon.
© MMVIII The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
- Thank God my autopilot has flying object and land feature avoidance options.
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- He probably killed himself knowing the Chicago commodities market was going to take a diver along with all the rest and the truth would all come out.
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- He is alive living in South American with a honey and plenty of cash that he had stashed. The bones will be inconclusive.
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- Why didn''''t he beam him up to sickbay??
Posted by Questionnews at 01:16 PM : Oct 31, 2008
Super Decathlons don''t come equipped with sickbays.
It''s been a chronic gripe with pilots, one of the big reasons Cessnas are more popular. A Cessna sick bay is REALLY nice. The nurses are polite and friendly, and the doctors are quick and efficient. They get you flying again in NO TIME.
No wait, what am I thinking. CESSNAS DON''T HAVE SICK BAYS, EITHER. - Reply to this comment
- Bones Found Near Fossett Crash Site
Why didn''t he beam him up to sickbay?? - Reply to this comment
- This is an unbecoming end to a great legion of aviation. In this scenario, imagine him suffering a medical emergency and turning on the autopilot for straight and level flight before loosing consciousness.
His legacy as a aviation pioneer will be honored and respected as one of the greats.
Peace. - Reply to this comment
- lambofgoth: He was already EXTREMELY wealthy. What possible reason could he have for faking his death? You have to know his remains would have been in pieces.
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- Am I the only person who wonders if this guy is actually dead?
Posted by lambofgoth at 09:21 AM : Oct 31, 2008
At this point, it would be VERY DIFFICULT to believe that anyone could have faked this much evidence.
He lived a very conspicuous life. VERY DIFFICULT to believe that he would want to disappear. - Reply to this comment
- Cool. I''m a Maverick! :P
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- Yes...you are the only person!
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- Am I the only person who wonders if this guy is actually dead?
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- "Authorities have said Fossett slammed into a mountainside at about 10,000 feet and probably died instantly. The cause of the crash is still under investigation."
At his age, he was a prime candidate for stoke or heart attack. He probably died in flight, and the plane continued on flying straight and level to impact.
Steve Fossett would have trimmed the plane to fly straight and level, as any good pilot does. If he lost consciousness in flight, the plane would have flown itself indefinitely. Then a mountain got in the way.
It''s good that we''re finally getting the closure this story needs. - Reply to this comment
