DNA tests confirm bones found are Steve Fossett's

November 4, 2008

According to California's Madera County Sheriff's office, DNA tests performed on bones found at the site of a plane crash in October, are confirmed to be those of adventurer Steve Fossett.

The last known whereabouts of Fossett was on September 3, 2007. He had taken a small plane from a ranch in Minden, Nevada to search for a site to try and break the land-speed record. He had not been seen since and authorities feared his plane had crashed and he had died.

"A California Department of Justice Forensics lab has determined that items containing DNA - discovered last week - match James Stephen Fossett's DNA," said the Sheriff's department in a statement.

Items were found last week at his crash site in the Sierra Nevada Mountains along with his identification card, a one-hundred dollar bill, and a pair of shoes. A few bones believed to be his were found a short distance from the crash. Teeth marks were found in his ID card, leaving authorities to believe his body was moved by animals. Forensic investigators say Fossett would have died immediately on impact.

In September, a hiker found other identification cards and money just under a mile from where authorities later found the wreckage of his plane on October 1.