Wife Believes Search Will "Eventually Produce Results"

The search for famed adventurer and aviator Steve Fossett continues into its second week.

His wife, Peggy Fossett, issued a statement Monday praising the rescue personnel dedicated to finding her husband. Read by police to reporters at Nevada's Minden Air Base the statement said Peggy Fossett was "confident the daunting search for (her) husband would eventually produce results," according to Agence France-Presse.

"The search for Steve Fossett is intense, thorough and highly professional," she said. "Our hopes are high and I am confident of a successful resolution to this search."

She also thanked the "hundreds of friends and volunteers who are looking for and the millions around the world who are praying for Steve's safe return."

As ANN reported, Steve Fossett departed Nevada's Hilton Ranch airport in a blue and white Super Decathlon, Monday morning, and has not been seen since.

The Associated Press reports Fossett took off from the Flying M Ranch southeast of Reno, NV to scout out dry lakebeds for his next record-attempt -- this one on land.

He did not file a flight plan.

The Nevada Record-Courier reports searchers have stumbled upon a half-dozen accident sites around Nevada and California since the search began in earnest, including a location near Fort Churchill Road that emergency personnel initially thought may have been connected to Fossett.

"That we're finding so many crash sites is an indication of the search we're doing," Civil Air Patrol spokeswoman Major Cynthia Ryan said. "We're putting the area under a microscope, so to speak."

Officials told reporters the search was going to remain focused on a 50-mile radius from the airstrip where he took off, reported the AFP.

"The 50-mile radius from the Flying M Ranch is still the focus," said Lyon County Undersheriff Joe Sanford.

"We're going to stick with this until we find him. As long as there's hope, as long as there are assets, we will continue. We will not rest until we bring this to what we feel is a successful conclusion."

FMI: www.cap.gov, www.stevefossett.com, http://dps.nv.gov