Bizarre Political News of the Day

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The whereabouts of South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford are unknown … to his wife:

Sanford’s last known whereabouts had been near Atlanta because a mobile telephone tower picked up a signal from his phone, authorities said. His office now knows where he is, Adams said.

First lady Jenny Sanford told The Associated Press earlier Monday her husband has been gone for several days and she did not know where.

She said she was not concerned.

The governor’s state and personal phones had been turned off and he had not responded to phone or text messages since at least the weekend, a source familiar with the situation said.

Most mobile phones cannot be tracked if they are turned off.

Jenny Sanford said the governor said he needed time away from their children to write something.

UPDATE: You (and Mrs. Sanford) can follow the Governor on Twitter, where he continues to send out updates.

UPDATE2: I just received the following statement by email from Joel Sawyer, the Governor’s communications director:

The governor put in a lot of time during this last legislative session, and after the session winds down it’s not uncommon for him to go out of pocket for a few days at a time to clear his head. Obviously, that’s going to be somewhat out of the question this time given the attention this particular absence has gotten. Before leaving last week, he let staff know his whereabouts and that he’d be difficult to reach. Should any emergencies arise between the times in which he checks in, our staff would obviously be in contact with other state officials as the situation warrants before making any decisions.