Three Months Have Passed Since He Disappeared Over Nevada

It is a painful end to the latest chapter in the story of missing millionaire adventurer Steve Fossett... but, sadly, it's also a realistic one. On Monday, Peggy Fossett, Steve's wife, filed a petition before Cook County Circuit Court in Illinois asking that her husband be declared legally deceased.

"As painful as it is for Mrs. Fossett, other members of his family and his many friends, the time has come to initiate this process," Michael LoVallo, an attorney for Peggy Fossett, told Reuters.

As ANN reported, Steve Fossett, 63, disappeared September 3 while on what was to be a short scouting flight over western Nevada. He took off from a private airstrip near Yerington, NV that morning in a Bellanca Decathlon, to survey locations in the area for a planned attempt to break the world land speed record.

When Fossett failed to return to the airport, a massive search effort was launched -- involving military and civilian aircraft, the Civil Air Patrol, and volunteers from around the nation who traveled to the region to join in the search effort, or poured over satellite images of the search grid, provided by Google Earth, on their computers.

Crews searched for a month... but the trail went cold, and CAP suspended the official search October 3.

A declaration of death is a necessary step in settling the adventurer's estate.

"Although an ongoing recovery mission continues, all involved have accepted the inevitable conclusion that Mr. Fossett did not survive," said Mary Downie, another attorney for Peggy Fossett.

FMI: www.stevefossett.com