Sep 8, 2007 10:09 pm US/Pacific
Search For Steve Fossett Enters Fifth Day
MINDEN, Nev. (AP) ―
Teams scouring Nevada's high desert for missing adventurer Steve Fossett maintained a massive aerial search Saturday as urgency grew to try to find the multimillionaire alive.
The search included 45 aircraft, many under the jurisdiction of the Nevada Civil Air Patrol.
Others were flown by private pilots from throughout the West operating from a ranch owned by hotel mogul Barron Hilton, about 80 miles southeast of Reno.
Authorities revised the overall size of the search area today from 10,000 square miles to 17,000 -- a region about twice the size of New Jersey.
Major Cynthia Ryan of the Nevada Civil Air Patrol, which is overseeing the search-and-resuce effort, says the operation could continue for weeks.
Fossett took off in a single-engine plane from Hilton's ranch Monday morning.
The search has not turned up any solid clues about where the 63-year-old aviator's plane may have gone down.
Fossett is most notable for being the first person to circle the globe solo in a balloon but also has embarked on a lengthy list of extreme adventures since making millions as a commodities broker in Chicago.
(© 2007 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
