New Twist in South Carolina Governor Drama: Sources Claim Feds Found Sanford Boarding a Plane in Atlanta -- Not Hiking in the Appalachian Trail

A previous Dissenting Justice blog entry covered the bizarre story of South Carolina's missing governor Mark Sanford. Until yesterday, Sanford was last detected last Thursday in Atlanta, Georgia. Since that time, he apparently lost all contact with his family (including his wife and children), security detail, and staff.

Late yesterday, however, Sanford's staff said that he was hiking in the Appalachian Trail. But sources for WYFF, an NBC affiliate in Greenville, tell a completely different story. WYFF's sources say that a federal agent located Sanford boarding a plane in Atlanta, not hiking in the Appalachian Trail:

On Tuesday, sources told News 4's Nigel Robertson that a state vehicle is missing and was tracked down, not to the Appalachian Trail, but to the Hartsfield-Jackson Airport in Atlanta.

Sources told Robertson that a federal agent spotted Sanford in the airport boarding a plane. Robertson was told that the governor was not accompanied by security detail.

Once the facts of this bizarre story are confirmed, I suspect that they will either reveal a strange but innocent series of events or they will show that Sanford vanished in order to engage in improper behavior (or perhaps that he was suffering from some mental distress). Until then, stay tuned.

See also:

Major Update in Missing Governor Case: Sanford Says He Was in Argentina -- Not Hiking on Appalachian Trail

Did South Carolina Governor Disappear for Nude Hiking Trip?