US military officials have reported the discovery of debris in the search for an F-35 military jet that went missing following the pilot's ejection over South Carolina.

Authorities have located remnants of the $100 million (£80 million) aircraft, which vanished on Sunday afternoon, in a rural area of Williamsburg County.

After ejecting from the cockpit, the pilot safely descended via parachute in a North Charleston neighborhood. The public had been enlisted to assist in locating the missing jet.

In a statement released on Monday, military authorities indicated that the debris was located "two hours northeast of Joint Base Charleston."

Search efforts had been primarily concentrated in the vicinity of Lake Moultrie and Lake Marion, situated to the north of the city of Charleston, representing the aircraft's last known position.