Bone fragments found near the wreckage of the plane
flown by the adventurer Steve Fossett in the Sierra Nevada were
confirmed to be his, officials said Monday.
A California forensics laboratory matched DNA found in the
bones to that of Mr. Fossett, 63, who took off from a northern
Nevada ranch in a two-seat light plane on Sept. 3, 2007, and
never returned.
Hundreds of planes and searchers on foot scoured 17,000 square
miles in the most extensive search for a missing aircraft in
American history for signs of Mr. Fossett or the aircraft. Last
month, a hiker in a remote area of the Inyo National Forest
in east-central California came across some of Mr. Fossett’s
belongings, leading searchers to the crashed plane.=2 0The bones
that were tested were about a half-mile from the crash site,
said Sheriff John P. Anderson of Madera County.
“What his family has wanted for over a year now, what his
family has needed, is closure,” Sheriff Anderson said Monday
in a statement.
Mr. Fossett’s wife, Peggy V. Fossett, issued a statement saying
she was “hopeful that the DNA identification puts a definitive
end to all of the speculation surrounding Steve’s death.” When
neither Mr. Fossett’s plane nor his remains turned up for more
than a year, some Nevada officials speculated publicly that
the wealthy aviator might have faked his own death.
“This has been an incredibly difficult time for me, and I
am thankful to everyone who helped bring closure to this tragedy,”
said Mrs. Fossett, who had a judge declare her husband legally
dead in February.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating
the crash’s cause and is expected to release findings next year.
Mr. Fossett held numerous world records in land and air travel,
and was best known for being the first person to circumnavigate
the world in a hot-air balloon. His close friend Richard Branson
said Mr. Fossett might have been searching the area for dry
lake beds in which to challenge the world’s land-speed record,
his latest quest.
