Enlarge Discovery Channel/LMNO Productions via AP A pilot's license and a torn $100 bill found Monday by hiker Preston Morrow in California appear to belong to Steve Fossett, the adventurer who vanished on a solo flight more than a year ago, authorities said Wednesday. MAMMOTH LAKES, California  Search teams have found the wreckage of the plane piloted by missing adventurer Steve Fossett, who vanished more than a year ago, Madera County, Calif. Sheriff John Anderson said Thursday. An aerial search late Wednesday spotted the wreckage in the Inyo National Forest near the town of Mammoth Lakes, Anderson said at a news conference, and searchers confirmed it was Fossett's single-engine Bellanca plane. It was the first development since authorities announced Wednesday that a hiker in rugged mountain wilderness found items belonging to Fossett. A pilot license and a membership card in the Soaring Society of America found off a trail in eastern California belonged to the multimillionaire, said Erica Stuart, a spokeswoman for Madera County. Preston Morrow also found other IDs, ten $100 bills and a $5 bill on Monday. Morrow, 43, said he was hiking off regular trails when he spotted money on the ground on a steep ridge at about 10,000 feet. "Wow, hundred dollar bills," Morrow recalled. He did not realize initially that the items, which bore the name James Stephen Fossett, were linked to the famous aviator and adventurer. He turned them over to police Wednesday after unsuccessfully attempting to contact the Fossett family. He returned to the area with his wife and three friends in search of other items and the wreckage. His wife found a pullover fleece, but they saw no sign of a plane or human remains, Morrow said. Fossett's widow, Peggy, said she was aware of the discovery. "I am hopeful that this search will locate the crash site and my husband's remains," she said in a statement. The discovery prompted a renewed effort to locate Fossett and the single-engine plane he borrowed Sept. 3, 2007, from a Nevada ranch owned by hotel magnate Barron Hilton. A search team headed into the wilderness about noon Wednesday. Jeff Page, emergency manager of Lyon County, Nevada, who worked on the original search, said a California Highway Patrolman and a commercial pilot had both reported seeing what they thought was Fossett's plane in the Mammoth Lakes area. An extensive effort to locate Fossett included aerial searches over this area, about 90 miles south of Hilton's ranch. The most intense searching was in areas to the north. Fossett, who made a fortune trading futures and options on Chicago markets, gained worldwide fame for more than 100 attempts and successes in setting records in high-tech balloons, gliders, jets and boats. In 2002, he became the first person to circle the world solo in a balloon. He was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in July 2007. He also swam the English Channel, completed an Ironman Triathlon and climbed some of the world's best-known peaks. Lufrano reports for the Reno Gazette-Journal. Levin reported from Washington, D.C. Contributing: The Associated Press Guidelines: You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. Read more