- Sponseller, pictured here in a flyer distributed on a Facebook page set up for his search, was last seen at his office in downtown Columbia on Saturday.
A
well-known South Carolina restaurant industry lobbyist whose body was
found Tuesday appears to have killed himself with a gunshot to the head,
authorities said.
The body of
Tom Sponseller, who disappeared more than a week ago, was discovered
Tuesday morning by investigators inside a double enclosed room in the
lower level of a parking garage near his office in Columbia, according
to police.
Richland County Coroner Gary Watts
said during a press conference that it appears Sponseller, president
and CEO of the South Carolina Hospitality Association, suffered a
"self-inflicted gunshot wound to his head." A weapon was recovered at
the scene.
An official autopsy is under way as authorities investigate the circumstances surrounding his death, Watts said.
Scott said a note penned by Sponseller was
also found Tuesday, though he declined to provide many details. The
letter, discovered by Sponseller's co-workers, referenced a federal
probe into missing funds at the association he headed.
Sponseller, 61, was last seen Feb. 18 at his
office in downtown Columbia. He was reported missing by his wife later
that night after friends and family tried repeatedly to contact him by
phone.
Sponseller was last seen by his colleagues
at around noon at the office. His Mercedes sedan was found parked in the
garage near his office and no signs of a struggle were evident. His
cellphone and wallet were missing.
Federal authorities investigating
Sponseller's disappearance told the State newspaper last week that as
much as $900,000 may be missing from the association.
Law enforcement officials reportedly said
that Sponseller's accounting director, Rachel Duncan, 41, is a person of
interest in the missing money investigation, which involves allegations
of "gambling."
"Ms. Duncan has been interviewed, and she is
a target of our financial crime investigation," U.S. Secret Service
Special Agent in Charge Michael Williams told the newspaper.
Duncan had no comment Friday when approached by Fox News outside her home in Lexington.
A family friend who answered the door at
Sponseller's home last week said she did not believe the money
investigation was related to his disappearance.
Sponseller is a Citadel graduate and a
former Air Force officer, according to his biography on the South
Carolina Hospitality Association's website.
He has been lobbying for the state's
hospitality and tourism industry for more than 20 years. He is married
and has three adult children, all of whom have worked in the hospitality
industry, according to the bio.
Fox News' Mary Quinn O'Connor contributed to this report.
No comments:
Post a Comment