MINDEN, Nev. - Sir Richard Branson, the British tycoon and
close friend of missing American aviator Steve Fossett, sounded
audibly distressed via phone from Europe early Friday.
Not only had he realized that Mr. Fossett was probably not
wearing the high-tech watch that would have sent G.P.S. coordinates;
efforts to use Google Earth in the search also seem to have
failed.
Even Mr. Fossett's wife Peggy, who is helping to direct the
search, sounded "less composed" today, said Patrick Arbor, a
former chairman of the Chicago Board of Trade who has joined
Mr. Fossett on numerous adventures.
The two-seater Mr. Fossett took out on Monday is known as
an aerobatic plane, but Mr. Branson said Mr. Fossett did not
enjoy doing plane tricks and was more likely scouting for sites
for his planned run at the world record for land speed.
Sir Richard also revealed some privates moments, saying "I
don't think he'd mind if people were talking about this now."
Mr. Fossett had discussed several future adventures with him,
including a "highly secretive" plan to challenge deep-sea diving
records in a specially equipped submarine already under construction.
And last year, Sir Richard said he had urged Mr. Fossett to
complete his memoir before attempting the extremely dangerous
land-speed record. "Chasing The Wind: The Autobiography of Steve
Fossett" was published in 2006.
"If worse comes to worst, people can read about him and all
his achievements," Mr. Branson told him.
