One was on a cross-country trek in the Ansel Adams Wilderness in the Inyo National Forest east of the Minarets.

But today, the three adventurers tell tales of their adventures that will forever change their lives.

In both cases, their outdoor trips were interrupted with tragedy that befell someone else, but unavoidably and by fate, they became linked to it.

Lisa Bock and her roommate were walking along Marine Street Beach, north of Windansea, last Friday night on the first night of the state's spiny lobster season. They were checking the beach and tide pools for lobsters and having fun watching divers in the shallow reefs.

As they approached an area south of White Sands, they spotted the body of a young man, face down in the sand, tangled in kelp on the beach. They immediately called 911 and within minutes, police, lifeguards and Engine 13 responded. After giving statements to the police and standing by at the police's request, Bock and her roommate finally were permitted to go home just after 2 a.m.

“We walked home somewhat shaken from the whole incident,” Bock wrote in an e-mail.

Curious about the deceased man's identity and the story behind it, Bock asked if the Union-Tribune could find out what happened.

Debbi Baker on the Union-Tribune's breaking news team reported back quickly that the Medical Examiner's Office said the body was that of a man who committed suicide. It's the Union-Tribune's policy not to report the name of suicide deaths, so nothing had been written.

That's not the case with the second incident, one that continues to make national headlines.

Preston Morrow, manager of Kittredge Sports Shop in Mammoth Lakes, was hiking near the Minaret Trail in the Ansel Adams Wilderness on Monday. He said he was “way, way off” established trails when he found $1,005 in cash among other personal items and ID cards that were determined to belong to millionaire adventurer Steve Fossett.

Fossett had been missing since Sept. 3, 2007, after flying solo from the Flying-M Ranch near Yerington, Nev. He was declared dead in February.

Morrow said he first saw several $100 bills in the dust and pine needles.

He said his first thought was: “Wow, hundred dollar bills.”

He scooped up 10 of the $100 bills and a $5 bill. Other items included Fossett's pilot license, a membership card in his name for the Soaring Society of America, a driver's license and a fleece.

Morrow said he thought he'd found money belonging to a backpacker. When he realized the money and ID cards belonged to Fossett, he made contact with the Fossett family through his attorney. He later helped authorities do a more thorough search. And Fossett's plane was found a half mile southeast of where Morrow discovered Fossett's belongings.

Authorities said they believe they also have enough human remains – a small piece of bone – for DNA testing.

Judging from the wreckage, Fossett died in a horrific crash.

“It was a head-on crash into the side of a mountain, into a rock,” said Madera County Sheriff John Anderson. “The plane disintegrated. We found the engine 300 feet from the fuselage.”

Fossett, who was 63, was an experienced survivalist and the first person to fly solo around the world without refueling. He also swam the English Channel, completed an Ironman and competed in the Iditarod dog sled race. He set 93 aviation world records and had 23 records in sailing.

Hotel mogul Barron Hilton was a close friend of Fossett's. He owned the Flying M Ranch that Fossett flew from the day he disappeared.

“Of the nearly seven billion people in this world, Steve Fossett had to be the greatest adventurer of them all,” Hilton said in a statement.

Two bizarre deaths, three adventurers' discoveries and many questions that will never be answered.