Nevada to bill widow for Fossett search

CARSON CITY, Nev., May 1 (UPI) -- Nevada will be sending a bill to the widow of adventurer Steve Fossett for the cost of the unsuccessful search for his missing plane.

A spokesman for Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons, said Wednesday that Peggy Fossett would be asked to pay $687,000 to offset the cost of aircraft and other expenses stemming from last fall's 20,000-square-mile search.

Fossett was flying solo when he disappeared in a small airplane, leaving his wife an estate of several million dollars.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal said state officials only recently were saying they didn't expect to charge Peggy Fossett for the search; however a budget shortfall and looming cuts led Gibbons to decide to send the bill to someone other than the taxpayers.

Fossett was never found and investigators concluded there was no evidence that he had staged his disappearance.