Steve Fossett declared legally dead

A Cook County probate judge on Friday declared wealthy Chicago adventurer Steve Fossett legally dead almost half a year after a plane he piloted disappeared over the Nevada desert.

After a two-hour hearing, Circuit Judge Jeffrey Malak agreed with witnesses who said Fossett had no reason to disappear intentionally and probably died Sept. 3, the day he disappeared.

"I believe the evidence is more than sufficient," he said.