Where's Sanford? South Carolina governor vanishes for one week

Jun 24, 2009, 15:56 GMT

Washington - For nearly a week, even his wife didn't know where he went. South Carolina's Governor Mark Sanford, a possible presidential candidate, had pulled off the ultimate disappearing act.

The bizarre mystery was finally cleared up Wednesday: He went to Buenos Aires in Argentina to get 'a break' after a hectic legislative session, according to an interview with South Carolina's The State newspaper.

'I wanted to do something exotic. ... It's a great city,' the Republican governor told a reporter from The State, who caught him returning Wednesday morning at the airport in Atlanta, Georgia.

'I don't know how this thing got blown out of proportion,' said Sanford, who has been considered a contender for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012.

His disappearance since on June 18 attracted national media attention and sharp criticism from politicians in the state. Broadcaster CNN on Tuesday interviewed Sanford's wife Jenna, who said she, too, did not know his whereabouts.

'I am being a mom today. I have not heard from my husband,' she told CNN.

Sanford's staff, in a statement Tuesday, said he was hiking the Appalachian Trail, which runs along the East Coast of the United States. Sanford on Thursday said 'in fairness,' he had told the staff he might hike the trail.

Opposition Democrats in the state had jumped on the story, soliciting questions for Sanford from constituents on their website.

'They have a right to ask the governor about our state's unemployment rate, the stimulus and his reasons for abandoning the state,' said Carol Fowler, who heads the Democratic Party in South Carolina.