Doesn't sound probable to me. Unless he was flying around with $1005 and all his ID cards laying in the passenger seat of his plane. I think he's still out there...Having gotten tired of all the crap going on he went into the wilderness and is now running around naked and screaming strange things at the few people he sees.

...see you in 5 years."

it all does seem a bit odd.

Until his remains are found, this will remain a rich source of speculation. Unfortunately, the buzzards and coyotes will have made off with anything edible by now.

It's possible things like ID cards and cash could be blown away from the crash site, but it's also odd they ended up in the same place. Maybe they were in the pocket of the Nautica fleece found in nearby.

The BBC reports a new aerial search has spotted some more plane wreckage, and a ground team will be dispatched to the area.

Something doesn't add up here.

First they find ten $100 bills and think it's trash.

Second, they discover the significance of their find but rather than call the authorities, they go back out themselves first. Glory hunters?

It says a lot about the value of the dollar these days when you can find a load of stuff including 10 x 100 dollar bills and regard the whole lot as "trash".

Also, I don't see the alleged mystery here. When I get into my car, the first thing I do is put my jacket (including wallet, cards n' stuff) in the back. If Fossett did something similar on getting into his 'plane, that would account for the apparent anomaly quite nicely.

It'd be one thing if you hadn't spelled it wrong four or five times and then spelled it right. Seriously, can the Reg not afford spell check? D-E-C-A-T-H-L-O-N. How bloody difficult is that?

<<And who goes around with that much cash anyway, unless it's for questionable goods>>

Possibly a bloke who might need to drop down and refuel? That aint questionable. Anyway, a report (BBC, Sky?) mentioned he was known for carrying a wodge of bills.

Small change to a billionaire, don'tcha think?

Tinfoil Hat icon, Silver Plate!

Those buzzards and coyotes must have been other-worldly hungry to have licked every last blood cell from the plane's cockpit and potential evacuation route, or capable of dragging a dead body in one piece without leaving a trace. The site is reported to be surrounded with wet areas, so perhaps foot or paw prints can be identified.

If there are no forensically-identifiable traces, what are the chances that Fossett deployed a parachute (no need to "walk away" from a crash) and was not in the aircraft at impact?

.....if you crash your plane into the side of a mountain, doesn't that leave at least traces of blood on the instrument panel etc? Also, if the local wildlife does try to eat any remains, surely they don't crunch the bones up and eat them too?

This does have all the hallmarks of a mystery.

OK, so I just read a story from USA Today (http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-10-02-fossett_N.htm)

The NTSB says that Mr. Fossetts' plane crashed head on into a mountain - which doesn't sound very much like the actions of a world famous pilot: and it certainly doesn't fit with the consolidated location of the "found items" (ID, cash, clothes). Sounds even more fishy than before. (plus I like adding to the making of the fucker immortal)

@Gary: I carry that much cash all the time. Plastic money is super gay and only for high-value purchases (and silly French types). I convert all my money into doubloons and bury them in the back yard to keep them safe from shady Banker Types.

Don't forget that the wreckage has been there for a year. It would have seen a number of good mountain storms and likely have been under many feet of snow all last winter ;-)

Blood is pretty persistent stuff.

In 1985 got some blood on lanyard attached to a pocket knife that I was using to gut a pig. I washed the knife + lanyard with water a few hours later but the blood had soaked into the fibres and resisted some hard scrubbing. The blood is still there.

Human remains have now been found.

@Charles Manning - yuk!

"The NTSB says that Mr. Fossetts' plane crashed head on into a mountain - which doesn't sound very much like the actions of a world famous pilot"

But if that mountain and Steve's plane were shrouded in cloud, even the best pilot cannot see through the clouds with the naked eye. And before you respond saying that he should have seen the clouds coming... any mountaineer or any pilot who's flown in mountainous regions (such as myself) can tell you that mountain weather changes VERY quickly. The conditions for "sudden" cloud cover exist daily, even in good weather conditions. Steve could have been forced down below the clouds to try to find a safe passage...

And at the end of the day, even the best pilots make mistakes