desert. that one was very tempting because whenever somebody says they saw the plane, people tend to put a lot of credence in that. >> that visual sight came from a ranch hand in the area, who said the plane flew over him when he stood on his porch just about ten to 15 miles from where the plane took off. he said the plane flew low. >> it was very distracting, they never looked back at the previous evidence they had. they focused everything on this new piece. >> reporter: the search area suddenly shifts dramatically, from the mountains, about 60 miles northeast to the desert. the search continues for months. still, no sign of steve fossett or his airplane. that is until a hiker finds some of fossett's personal belongings. it is now october 2008, more than a year after he disappeared. >> i came across the card, the