Authorities Believe IDs Are Authentic

In what could be a significant development regarding the mysterious disappearance of adventurer Steve Fossett -- or, an elaborate hoax -- authorities announced Wednesday a hiker found three pieces of identification and other items that may have belonged to the missing pilot along a trail near Mammoth Lakes, CA.

The Associated Press reports Preston Morrow came across an 'FAA identification card,' as well as a 'pilot's license' and an unspecified third form of identification -- all reportedly bearing Fossett's name -- as well as $1005 in cash in a bush off the trail Monday.

Morrow says he thought his finding was strange... but didn't realize the possible importance of the discovery until a coworker told him about Fossett's disappearance.

"It was just weird to find that much money in the backcountry, and the IDs," Morrow said. "My immediate thought was it was a hiker or backpacker's stuff, and a bear got to the stuff and took it away to look for food or whatever."

Morrow consulted with a lawyer, who helped him try to contact Fossett's family. "We figured if it was us, we'd want to know first. We wouldn't want to learn from the news," attorney David Baumwohl said.

Those efforts proved unsuccessful... and Morrow turned the items over to local police Wednesday morning.

As ANN reported, Fossett disappeared during a September 3, 2007 flight from a private airstrip south of Reno, NV. Following an extensive search effort -- conducted by a mix of federal agencies as well as private efforts, that covered some 20,000 square miles -- Fossett was declared legally dead in February, at the request of his widow, Peggy.

Though officials say the items Morrow found appear to be authentic, it remains to be seen whether the evidence will prove to be genuine... and even then, whether it may shed new light on what happened to Fossett.

Mammoth Lakes is about 140 miles southeast of Reno. Previous search efforts have focused on areas at least 50 miles north of the mountain community, which lies on the eastern flank of the Sierra Nevada range at an elevation of over 7,800 feet.

FMI: www.stevefossett.com