satellites. >> reporter: radar picks up the plane's track along the crest of the sierra, nevada mountains. following a trail fossett hiked as a teenager. colleen keller volunteered in the search. >> before they could really pursue the evidence, they were distracted by another piece of evidence that popped up which was a visual sighting out in the desert. that was tempting because whenever somebody says they see a plane people put credence in that. >> reporter: that came from a ranch hand in the area who tells authorities the plane flew over him while he was standing on his porch, 15 miles from where fossett took off. he said the plane was flying pretty low, just about 1,000 feet. the tip changes everything. >> it was terribly distracting. they never went back and looked at the previous evidence they had. they focused everything on the few new piece. >> reporter: the search area suddenly shifts dramatically from the mountains, about 60 miles northeast to the desert.