Fossett estate turns down Nevada request for money to help cover search costs

The estate of Steve Fossett won't contribute funds to help pay Nevada's $687,000 tab in the unsuccessful search for the famed adventurer last fall.

The state Board of Examiners was advised by Josh Hicks, Gov. Jim Gibbons' legal counsel, that the estate wrote the governor last month to say the state doesn't have a valid claim.

The disclosure followed numerous questions from Secretary of State Ross Miller, a board member, about the search costs. The panel ended up delaying action on a plan to seek nearly $486,000 from a contingency fund overseen by state lawmakers.

The letter from the estate says that Peggy Fossett, Fossett's widow, while "very grateful" for the search, spent more than $1 million of her own money to help fund private efforts to find Fossett.