The debris was discovered Monday evening about two hours northeast of Joint Base Charleston, an air base in North Charleston, officials said, without providing further details.

The base had been working with Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort to “locate an F-35 that was involved in a mishap” Sunday afternoon…

The jet was in autopilot mode when the pilot ejected from the aircraft, Jeremy Huggins, a spokesman at Joint Base Charleston, said. Authorities believed there was a possibility that it could have remained airborne for some time.