Bones found near Fossett crash site

MADERA, Calif., Oct. 30 (UPI) -- Investigators making a final search of the area in the California Sierras where adventurer Steve Fossett crashed found bones, officials said Thursday.

Other items discovered about half a mile from the place where the wreck of Fossett's small plane was found included his Illinois driver's license, credit cards and a pair of athletic shoes, the Los Angeles Times reported Thursday.

Madera County Sheriff John Anderson said the bones appear to be human. They were sent to a state lab for DNA testing and Anderson said authorities hope to know by next week if they are Fossett's remains.

Volunteers and sheriff's deputies conducted a search Wednesday. Officials said it was done because snow is expected to close off the high country soon.

Fossett, who set scores of aviation and balloon records, vanished in September 2007 while staying at a ranch in Nevada. He left on a solo flight in a Bellanca Citabria Super Decathlon.

He had already been declared dead by a court when a hiker in September stumbled on some identification and 10 $100 bills almost 10,000 feet up in the Sierras. Searchers found the plane a few days later.