DNA Links Bones Near Plane Crash Site To Fossett

MADERA, Calif. (AP) – Authorities say they’ve positively identified some of Steve Fossett’s remains: two large bones found a half-mile from where the adventurer’s plane crashed in California’s Sierra Nevada.

Madera County Sheriff John Anderson said Monday that DNA tests conducted by the state Department of Justice positively identified the bones as the remains of the millionaire aviator who disappeared last year.

Authorities found the bones last week. They also discovered Fossett’s tennis shoes and Illinois driver’s license, both with animal bite marks on them.

Anderson says Fossett would have died on impact and that it’s not unusual for animals to drag away remains.

Fossett vanished in September 2007 after taking off from a Nevada ranch owned by hotel magnate Barron Hilton.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)