Nevada now home to a great mystery

Who would have thought that Northern Nevada would become home to one of the deepest aviation mysteries in history?

But the disappearance of Steve Fossett is in that category after an extensive month-long search using everything from satellite imagery to old-fashioned foot power turned up not a clue about his fate. The official search, one of the largest in history, was called off this week.

With hope gone that Fossett could have survived a crash and the subsequent passage of time, it was the correct decision to not spend any more time or money on the search, but we hope that answers will be found. Surely, private searches will continue for a man of Fossett's stature and connections. And there's also hope that hunters who go afield this fall will stumble on some trace of his plane.

Along with the sadness that comes with such a catastrophe there is an awe about the vastness of this state and its ability to hold its secrets. This search did not find Fossett, but it did find wrecks from previous crashes that had never been discovered.

Washington has D. B. Cooper, the hijacker who parachuted from a Boeing 727 in 1971 with $200,000 in ransom. The Pacific has Amelia Earhart, who disappeared in 1937 on a quest to be the first woman to fly around the world.

And Nevada, at least for now, has the mystery of Steve Fossett.