Carter Roy

September 3rd, 2007, Steve Fawcett entered his sleek single-engine plane, the Belonka Super Decathlon, the aircraft equivalent to a millionaire's Bugatti, a billionaire in Fawcett's case.

When the 63-year-old wasn't making a fortune in finance, he ruled the skies.

He was the first to complete a solo global flight around the world in a balloon.

Then he was the first to do it in a plane without stopping to refuel.

In February 2006, Guinness awarded him another record, the world's longest nonstop flight.

That one wasn't easy.

He flew nonstop for 76 hours, only sleeping for 10 minutes at a time.

During the nearly 26,400 mile flight, not only did his fuel tank leak, but his ventilation system broke.

He unexpectedly had to burn through his water supply to cope with the resulting 130 degree cockpit.

Despite his skill, he usually wore his Breitling emergency watch while flying.

It's a consumer wristwatch that contains a small transmitter that can pinpoint your location in the case of, say, a plane crash.

But on this fateful September day, he did not wear his watch.

He likely didn't think he'd need the Breitling for this flight.

It wasn't one of his death-defying stunts.

It was just a short jaunt, setting out from a Nevada airstrip and circling the Sierra Nevada mountains.

According to his wife, it was his equivalent of a Sunday drive.

He was expected to return to the takeoff site by 11 a.m.

However, by about noon, the airstrip crew began to worry.

Fawcett took off six hours ago and his plane only had a flight endurance of five hours.

Where was he?