Jaunted

NV Governor Asks Fossett Widow to Pay the Bills

5/02/2008 at 1:30 PM
Tags: Adventure Travel, Light Aircraft, Bellanca Citabria Super Decathalon, Flying-M-Ranch-Map, Steve Fossett (all tags)

After a lengthy and ultimately unsuccessful hunt for adventurer Steve Fossett last year, Nevada was left holding a search-and-rescue bill for $687,000. Now the governor wants his family to chip in for some of those costs. Barron Hilton, whose Flying M Ranch was the setting-off point for Fossett's fateful flight, has already sent the state a check for $200,000.

The Governor Jim Gibbons' press secretary says any contribution would be voluntary, but added:

We are going to request that they help offset some of these expenses, considering the scope of the search, the overall cost as well as our ongoing budget difficulties.

The search for Fossett was indeed a massive one, involving multiple agencies and covering 20,000 square miles. Ultimately, though, rescuers found no trace of the world record holder, and he was declared legally dead on February 15, 2008.

Related Stories:
· Nevada Governor to Ask Fossett Widow to Help Pay [AP, via Google]
· Steve Fossett Search Map [Jaunted]
· Search for Steve Fossett Scaled Back [Jaunted]