MAMMOTH LAKES, Calif. -- A Madera County sheriff says search teams have confirmed that wreckage found in the rugged eastern mountains of California is that of missing adventurer Steve Fossett's airplane.

Sheriff John Anderson says an aerial search late Wednesday spotted what appeared to be wreckage in the Inyo National Forest near the town of Mammoth Lakes. He says ground crews were sent to verify the sighting, and they confirmed it was Fossett's single-engine Bellanca plane.

The search began after a hiker stumbled upon three identification cards and cash apparently belonging to Fossett in the area.

The IDs provided the first possible clue about Fossett's whereabouts since he disappeared Sept. 3, 2007, after taking off from a Nevada ranch owned by hotel magnate Barron Hilton.