Steve Fossett Update

Chicago, Illinois- November 30, 2007 – The wife of millionaire adventurer Steve Fossett went to court on Monday to ask that her husband be declared legally dead. Fossett has been missing for nearly four months after taking off in a fixed-wing airplane Sept. 3 from hotel magnate Barron Hilton’s ranch. It was to be only a short flight over western Nevada. According to the Chicago Tribune, Peggy Fossett asked a Cook County (Illinois) probate judge to begin the process of distributing his assets according to his will, which stated that his wealth exceeded eight figures. "As anyone can imagine, this is a difficult day for our family," Peggy Fossett said in a written statement. "We will continue to grieve and heal, but after nearly three months we feel now that we must accept that Steve did not survive." Thousands of officials and volunteers searched for weeks for Fossett by foot, by air and by the Internet using satellite and radar images. While the search found wreckage from eight other crashes, including one from the 1960s, Fossett and his plane were not located. According to the Chicago Tribune, Peggy Fossett and others contributed more than $1.2 million in private funds to the search effort, which was scaled back in mid-September and suspended in early October. "Although an ongoing recovery mission continues, all involved have accepted the inevitable conclusion that Mr. Fossett did not survive," Mary Downie, one of Peggy Fossett's lawyers, said. The court petition clarified some details of the disappearance: Fossett was on a pleasure flight, and not scouting for sites for a land speed record attempt as was first reported; he did not take along his watch that could send out distress signals if he was in trouble; no parachute was onboard the Bellanca Super Decathlon he was flying. At the time of his disappearance, Fossett was planning to break more world records, building a 4.5-ton, 47-foot long jet racer capable of going 800 mph.

Peggy and Steve Fossett

• 2008 - 09/03 - Wings Across America Flight
• 2008 - 08/27 - Flying Man to Challenge Channel
• 2008 - 08/26 - Wingwalking Wedding
• 2008 - 08/25 - Homebuilt Spacecraft To Fly In October
• 2008 - 08/22 - Grand Adventure breaks speed record