Bill Warren makes his living searching for shipwrecks. But, now, the California man has decided to turn his attention to the Arabian Sea, where he will search for the body of Osama bin Laden.
The BBC World Service reports:
... Warren says that he wants to establish once and for all whether the al-Qaeda leader was killed by US forces in May, and then buried out at sea.
Mr Warren, 59, says his search will begin in about four weeks time, and will cost around $400,000 (£245,000).
He admits it will be like looking for a needle in a haystack, but maintains it is not an impossible mission.
Warren told the North County Times that he had "tips" on where the U.S. aircraft carrier was sitting when bin Laden's body was buried at sea.
"It's just the weirdest, most bizarre sea search I've ever been involved in," Warren told the paper.
ABC News reports that Warren will attempt to use sonar to pinpoint the body. And if he retrieves it, he will try to claim a reward:
"There is still a $25 million reward that no one has collected, and the reward says dead or alive, well, if — in fact — he is dead, then I could collect the $25 million reward. Why not?"
Unfortunately for Warren, the reward is no longer being offered. Though this was explained to Warren, he insisted that he's going to continue his hunt.
ABC adds that the bin Laden hunt isn't the first quixotic search Warren has embarked on. He's searched for the wrecks of the San Francisco Xavier, which wrecked in 1705, and the Trinidad, which dates back to the 1500s.
The North County Times also reminds us Warren also has a streak of seeking the spotlight:
The host of two cable television shows in the 1980s, Warren has a knack for media attention. He has been featured on local television news for past shipwreck hunts, was in the North County Times and other publications last year after discovering what might have been a rare Tasmanian tiger pelt, and last month was a guest on the "Dr. Phil Show" to discuss his online hunt for a Russian bride.
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