Oct 2, 2008 8:36 pm US/Pacific
Remains Found Among Fossett Plane Wreckage
MAMMOTH LAKES, Calif. (AP) ―
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Officials say a plane found in the Sierra Nevada mountains belonged to Steve Fossett.
Mono County Sheriff's Search & Rescue/CBS
Searchers have found the wreckage of adventurer Steve Fossett's plane in the rugged Sierra Nevada along with a bone fragment suitable for DNA testing.
National Transportation Safety Board officials say the oblong piece of bone was discovered by a sheriff's department investigator amid a stretch of debris. They say the remains are human.
But Madera County Sheriff John Anderson says the bone fragment has not yet been confirmed as human. He says it will be sent to a California Department of Justice lab for testing.
Officials confirmed this morning that the plane wreck on the side of a mountain near Mammoth Lakes was Fossett's single-engine plane.
The search for the wreckage began after a hiker stumbled upon three identification cards and cash apparently belonging to Fossett in the area.
Fossett disappeared in September of 2007, after taking off from a Nevada ranch owned by hotel magnate Barron Hilton.
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