Wednesday, October 1, 2008

AVIATION: Has Steve Fossett been found?




Has Steve Fossett been found?
by Adam Housley
BREAKING NEWS ABOUT AVIATOR STEVE FOSSETT

The call came last night. A story from a friend about a ski shop owner hiking in the mountains off trail above Mammoth Lakes California near the area of Minaret Lake and Minaret Mine. Apparently the man came across what appeared to be some papers lying in a remote path, but what he may have found wasn’t some wayward trash left by a careless camper.

Tattered and crumpled on the ground, the Mammoth Lakes local found what appears to be two FAA cards that listed the name Steve Fossett, both were apparently either issued or had some sort of connection to the State of Illinois. The two cards were found with a small amount of money and not far away, a sweat jacket, also a bit worn and beaten up from the weather.

The Mammoth man went and told his wife, who happens to be a local firefighter, and then the couple and a few close friends searched the area all yesterday afternoon, after the find and then got back into range and called local authorities, who then contacted the lawyers involved in this case. Will this find lead to a lost crash site of the missing millionaire aviator? More information about a possible renewed search effort to come. I did speak with a police sergeant in Mammoth Lakes and he confirms that the items have just been brought to the station and they are looking very closely at the papers and will be getting back to us shortly.

THE BACKGROUND: Steve Fossett has been missing since September 3, 2007, and was declared legally dead February 15, 2008. A good friend of fellow daredevil Sir Richard Branson, he was an avid American aviator, sailor, and adventurer who became the first person to fly solo nonstop around the world in a balloon.

Fossett was a fellow at the Royal Geographic Society and set 116 records (60 still stand) in 5 different sports. He originally made his fortune in the financial services industry and had dedicated his later years in life to challenging these various world records.

Fossett was reported missing after the plane he was flying over the Nevada desert failed to return back to the airport. Searches by a variety of volunteers on the ground and in the air, including help from the Civil Air Patrol, turned up nothing. Even after the official search and rescue was called off, people continue to look for the missing aviator.

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