Fossett disappearance echoed that of another moneyed adventurer

By Marek Warszawski • McClatchy Newspapers • October 12, 2008 FRESNO, Calif. — Steve Fossett isn’t the only renowned adventurer to meet his end in this pristine slice of Sierra Nevada wilderness. Two miles west of where Fossett’s plane went down stands a ridge of serrated peaks known as the Minarets, which 75 years ago witnessed perhaps the most famous search-and-rescue operation in Sierra history. Born into an influential Bay Area family, Walter A. Starr Jr. was a track star at Stanford who went on to become a prominent San Francisco attorney. But “Pete,” as he was known to friends and family, was obsessed with mountains. He spent weeks each summer surveying the recently completed John Muir Trail and climbing nearby peaks for a guidebook he one day hoped to write. At 33, he was one of America’s leading alpinists. When Starr... [read full story]