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Fossett Search Organizers Asking Public To Help By Using Google Earth

Washington Post   |  Karl Vick   |   September 14, 2007 10:51 AM

Read More: Google, Google Earth, Steve Fossett, Steve Fossett Missing, Breaking Home News
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The emptiness that adventure pilot Steve Fossett disappeared into at 10:30 a.m. on Labor Day appears almost endless from the air, a rugged moonscape of mountain ridges that deepen from brown to purple before dissolving into the horizon itself. There are mountains and more mountains and, between them, canyons that hide whatever may have fallen in.

"The perspective from outside is Nevada is flat, hot, with cactus and sagebrush," said Trooper Chuck Allen, a member of the highway patrol in what, in fact, is the most mountainous state in the union. And one so empty that official highway maps warn motorists to stock up on water and fuel before venturing into the interior.

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- loki I'm a Fan of loki permalink
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I doubt google earth will be much help. I can look up my house, and the google earth shows the way it looked 6 years ago before I had an extension and landscaping work done.
So unless they are looking for things like the plane they finally found which was missing for 40 years, I cant see this being anything more than a PR event for google.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 11:57 PM on 09/14/2007
- loki I'm a Fan of loki permalink
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I wonder what the search response would have been if this was a Middle Class Black Man who's plane disappeared? You think it would have even gotten a mention in the paper, much less national and world news?

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 10:52 PM on 09/14/2007
- BeerHolder I'm a Fan of BeerHolder permalink

I wonder what the search response would have been if it were a gay, black, transvestite, serial killer, cannibalistic O.J. Simpson/Bin Laden/Dick Cheney type who was also a pedophile, bipolar and loved rap music?

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 11:03 PM on 09/14/2007
- Paul I'm a Fan of Paul permalink

Maybe someone should check his bank account and his creditors.

He may not be as rich dead as he was supposed to be when alive...

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 04:45 PM on 09/14/2007
- ecotopian I'm a Fan of ecotopian permalink
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Ain't it great being a filthy rich pilot? Think they'd do this for just anyone? Neither do I.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 03:04 PM on 09/14/2007
- GetoffMylawn I'm a Fan of GetoffMylawn permalink

Why yes "they" do. The one good thing I like about "they" is, when you get lost in the wilderness "they" come to save you. No matter who you are.
Three cheers for "they"!!!

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 03:25 PM on 09/14/2007
- wm1066 I'm a Fan of wm1066 permalink
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Ya but now 'they' send you a bill for your rescue.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 06:01 PM on 09/14/2007
- ecotopian I'm a Fan of ecotopian permalink
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They don't use Google Earth generally. They do, however, employ the Civil Air Patrol (that's the "they" you're thinking about). Who still haven't found him. It was Branson's idea to use Google Earth (the "they" I'm talking about). You know, the founder of Virgin Airlines? Another filthy rich pilot? If the person who was lost wasn't Fossett, they would have stopped the search already. The fact they have found other planes just shows that they really are pulling out all the stops to find him.

There was a woman who was lost in the Oregon wilderness, recently, for two weeks before she was found. The search had scaled back to the point of being almost ended by that time and it was amazing luck she was found at all. There was no talk of using anything special to find her. Just a searcher who decided to recheck an area he had searched before and found her by a creek. The family canceled the memorial service they had planned when they heard the news. Yes, they had given up hope finding her alive.

So, yes three cheers for the folks who look for the lost. But they should search the way they are for Fossett for everyone.

Hers' the article for reference:
http://www.oregonlive.com/oregonian/stories/index.ssf?/base/news/1189187730114610.xml&coll=7

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 06:04 PM on 09/14/2007
- thebanana I'm a Fan of thebanana permalink

Apparently they're just now finding some poor schmucks who crashed in the 60's.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 07:55 PM on 09/14/2007
- JulieSA I'm a Fan of JulieSA permalink
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No, but google purchased new up-to-date images for this search.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 02:47 PM on 09/14/2007
- JulieSA I'm a Fan of JulieSA permalink
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Oops. This was supposed to be a reply to tx.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 02:48 PM on 09/14/2007
- JulieSA I'm a Fan of JulieSA permalink
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What Google is doing here is fascinating. This article doesn't explain it well, but Google is working with amazon.com to make these new images available to the public so that more eyeballs can be put to work on the search, sort of a distributed intelligence project.

It's extremely cool. Even if nothing comes of this particular search, this project can be a model for future ones.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 02:38 PM on 09/14/2007
- amanda85 I'm a Fan of amanda85 permalink

Oh yeah, extremely "cool" in a very "big-broterish" way... But fascism is what you want, right Julie?

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 05:25 PM on 09/14/2007
- JulieSA I'm a Fan of JulieSA permalink
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Is it possible for you to write a comment that doesn't include the word "fascist"? And "Nazi" doesn't count as a substitute. No offense, but you've become pretty one-note, and you used to sometimes have an interesting comment. It's impossible to discuss anything with you, because you declare anyone with a different POV to be a fascist. That's not only boring, but it's also--fascist.

I'm surprised there aren't more people on this thread interested in the technology. I'm beginning to perceive a strong Luddite streak in leftists. This rejection of technology and change seems very "conservative" to me.

I like things that put more power in the hands of ordinary citizens, and Google Earth does this. I've used it quite a bit in my volunteer environmental work. SAR is a great potential use for this.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 06:43 PM on 09/14/2007
- tx I'm a Fan of tx permalink

Good luck on that, Google earth is not real time imagery.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 02:35 PM on 09/14/2007
- epmahc I'm a Fan of epmahc permalink

Here'e a thought, follow the coyotes and look to where the vultures are circling.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 02:27 PM on 09/14/2007
- geobushono I'm a Fan of geobushono permalink

It's absolutely about the vultures. They'd be flying in those lazy circles by the 2nd day.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 03:43 PM on 09/14/2007
- ProudPrimate I'm a Fan of ProudPrimate permalink
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Not only that, but Google Earth is years out of date in some cases. When it first came on line, I was disappointed to see that the new interchange on my way to work was not in there -- the old one was shown. But soon, they updated it to show the new one, with the stop-lights, and the spur to connect with 295.

That was a year ago. Guess what? They now proudly display this message at the bottom of the screen:

"Image © 2007 Maine Office of GIS
_____© 2007 Europa Technologies"

And with this new supplier of images?

The old pic of the interchange, before the new construction!

Hey, it was cheaper. What would you do?

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 02:09 PM on 09/14/2007
- AmericanScream I'm a Fan of AmericanScream permalink

Very true. A week after the bridge collapse here in MPLS I checked google satelite and the bridge was still there.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 04:53 PM on 09/14/2007
- BeerHolder I'm a Fan of BeerHolder permalink

So it never really happened. Great!

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 10:55 PM on 09/14/2007
- loki I'm a Fan of loki permalink
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Somewhat out of date ??? Ive tried looking at places I know all over the world. Places Ive been to, and some places I would like to. But as for the places Ive been to, I havent seen one yet on google earth that was current. All were pictures at least over 5 years old.

Its just a PR move, nothing more.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 12:02 AM on 09/15/2007
- skatscan I'm a Fan of skatscan permalink

I'm wondering what the heck are all the plane wreckage they ARE finding?

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 01:49 PM on 09/14/2007
- Captain EdwardGraham I'm a Fan of Captain EdwardGraham permalink



Isnt Prostitution legal in Nevada? Has anyone thought of looking for him at one of the legal Brothels?

Legal Prostitution in Nevada
Prostitution is not illegal everywhere. In particular, in the United States, prostitution is legal in certain counties of Nevada.

State law forbids counties with high populations from legalizing brothels, so prostitution is illegal in Las Vegas, Reno, Carson City and Lake Tahoe. Other counties may license brothels; street solicitation is illegal.

Prostitutes are required to use condoms for all types of intercourse, and must undergo regular medical checkups. The rate of AIDS infection is nearly zero. Where prostitution is illegal, AIDS rates are often over 25 percent among prostitutes.


http://www.boogieonline.com/revolution/body/repro/nevada.html




    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 03:27 PM on 09/14/2007
- Irons I'm a Fan of Irons permalink

Who IS Steve Fosset, anyway? Is he, like, Mother Teresa, or something?

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 01:45 PM on 09/14/2007
- BLOGGINGBITCH I'm a Fan of BLOGGINGBITCH permalink

This is Bullshit! He didn't help Bush find that leaker!


.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 01:50 PM on 09/14/2007
- loki I'm a Fan of loki permalink
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He is a very rich spoiled guy who likes to try to beat world aviation records mostly. This time I think he was looking for a place to beat a land speed record. In the past he had competed with Richard Branson to fly a balloon around the world.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 12:00 AM on 09/15/2007
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