South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford (Rep.) had vanished from work for several days and his office had not been in touch with him. Lieutenant Governor Andre Bauer (who is responsible for the state in the Gov.’s absence), other fellow lawmakers and even the Govenor’s wife said they had no idea where he was, naturally leading critics to question who was in charge of South Carolina.`
“I cannot take lightly that his staff has not had communication with him for more than four days, and that no one, including his own family, knows his whereabouts,” said Lt. Gov. Bauer who had been rebuffed by the Governor’s staff when he tried to find out where Sanford was.
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But late Monday night, all was well when Gov. Sanford returned as mysteriously as he had disappeared, saying he had been hiking along the Appalachian Trail, which perplexed his fellow state leaders. Can a sitting Governor disappear and return at will without any consequences? Is this sort of 4 day long absence acceptable in modern politics?
Apparently they've finally located the Gov but as per local news WYFF Channel 4:"Sources Question Governor's Story"Sanford Says He Disappeared To Go HikingJoel Sawyer, communications director for the governor's office, then said the governor had been on the Appalachian Trail. Sawyer said staffers heard from Sanford on Tuesday morning and the governor plans to return Wednesday. Sawyer said the governor is surprised by all the attention. 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. Sanford has been out of reach for more than four days, including Father's Day. Sawyer has emphasized that the governor was hiking on the Appalachian Trail and that it wasn't something the staff or Jenny Sanford were concerned about. But sources told WYFF News 4 that the federal agent who spotted Sanford saw him at the Atlanta airport, which is about 80 miles from the start of the trail. WYFF News 4 has not yet confirmed where the plane was going or how the governor got to the airport, but it is clear there are two very different stories. News 4 called the governor's office, and was told again by staffers that they stand by their original statement that the governor is hiking the Appalachian Trail. They did not want to comment on this story.Full story: http://www.wyff4.com/news/19837234/detail.html
UPDATE Wed, 6/24/09Huff Post:Sanford Retunes: “I Was In Argentina”South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford has returned and told a local paper that he was in Argentina, not on the Appalachian Trail.Gov. Mark Sanford arrived in the Hartsville-Jackson International Airport Wednesday morning, having wrapped up a seven-day visit to Buenos Aires, Argentina, he said. Sanford said he had not been hiking along the Appalachian Trail, as his staff said in a Tuesday statement to the media. […] Sanford, in an exclusive interview with The State Media Company, said he decided at the last minute to go to the South American country to recharge after a difficult legislative session in which he battled with lawmakers over how to spend federal stimulus money. Sanford told the paper that he didn't know why his staff told reporters he was on the Appalachian Trail. Later he said that "in fairness to his staff" he had told them he might go hiking before he disappeared. News reports on Tuesday raised questions about Sanford's recent disappearance, with evidence that he did not go hiking in the Appalachian Trail as his staff claimed. According to a local news station, a missing state vehicle was tracked to the Atlanta airport. Story: <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.comhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com<br />Hmmm_might this mean that the "Guv" CAN'T really hande pressure???Well, depending on how much more ridicules this story gets_none of it is "good" news for the Grand Old "we're SO confused" Party_smh.