DNA tests on remains confirm Steve Fossett dead

By Jim Christie

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Genetic tests on two bones found near the wreckage of Steve Fossett's airplane in the California mountains confirm the missing multimillionaire adventurer is dead, local authorities said on Monday.

"A California Department of Justice Forensics lab has determined that items containing DNA -- discovered last week -- match James Stephen Fossett's DNA," the Madera County, California, sheriff-coroner's office said in a statement.

Office spokeswoman Erica Stuart said the match of the DNA in the bones discovered last Wednesday brings her office's investigation to an end.

"The coroner's case is closed," Stuart said.

Fossett widow Peggy Fossett said in a statement she welcomed the news of the DNA match and awaits the conclusion of the National Transportation Safety Board's probe into her husband's crash.

"I am hopeful that the DNA identification puts a definitive end to all of the speculation surrounding Steve's death," she said in a statement provided to Reuters.

"This has been an incredibly difficult time for me, and I am thankful to everyone who helped bring closure to this tragedy," she said. "I now await the conclusion of the NTSB investigation and findings into the cause of the crash."

Fossett, 63, vanished after taking off in a single-engine Bellanca Citabria Super Decathlon on September 3, 2007, from the airstrip of hotel magnate Barron Hilton's ranch in Nevada, sparking a long and massive search.