Vigil held for missing lobbyist as police continue investigation

Tearful family and friends gathered on the Statehouse lawn Wednesday night for a candlelight vigil for Tom Sponseller, a well-known lobbyist who disappeared Saturday.

“It’s been four-and-a-half days and we miss him bad,” said Mike Johnson, a close friend and neighbor in their Lake Murray neighborhood. “We’ve all cried ourselves to sleep this week. Tom, I don’t know what happened, but I pray you return to us safely.”

Sponseller’s wife, Margaret Sponseller, and his three adult children stood in front of 300 people who sang, prayed and told stories about their husband and father.

“It’s wonderful to have all the generosity and support we’ve received,” said Thomas Sponseller Jr., 38. “He loved his family and it’s very bizarre that we haven’t been able to get in touch with him.”

People in the crowd described feelings of bewilderment over the mystery.

“We’re as baffled as everyone,” said Jody Davidson, who attends St. Mary’s Episcopal Church with the Sponsellers. “It’s scary to think something like that could happen downtown, that someone could just disappear.”

Police Chief Randy Scott continued Wednesday to describe Sponseller as a missing person and said his investigators were following all leads as they search for him. Investigators have tried to track Sponseller through his cellphone and credit cards, but Scott would not say if those searches had generated any leads into Sponseller’s whereabouts. Scott did not offer any new developments in the case.

Police have asked Sponseller’s co-workers at the S.C. Hospitality Association to not talk to the press about the case. The association has hired Bob McAlister, a media consultant and crisis communications specialist, to handle media calls, said Rick Patel, vice chairman of the association’s board of directors.

Margaret Sponseller reported her husband missing to the Columbia Police Department about 8 p.m. Saturday, according to a Columbia Police Department report. Sponseller was last seen by co-workers at noon at his office, the report said.

It was common for Sponseller to stop by the office on Saturday, family and colleagues have said.

On Saturday morning, Margaret Sponseller, Johnson and two other friends participated in a fishing tournament at Lake Murray, Johnson said. Tom Sponseller does not enjoy fishing, he said.

While fishing, Margaret Sponseller had tried to contact her husband but was not alarmed when she couldn’t reach him from a boat in the middle of the lake, Johnson said. After the tournament, she became concerned when she still could not contact her husband, Johnson said.

Then, other family members called to say that Sponseller had not shown up at his grandson’s 2 p.m. Boy Scout Pinewood Derby, Johnson said.

That’s when family and friends began searching for Sponseller. When they went to his office, his car was in its usual parking space in an underground garage and the office was closed. The family called police after searching about six hours.

“Once the car was found in the garage we didn’t know where to look,” he said.

Police impounded the car as part of their investigation. On Wednesday, police released the car back to the hospitality association, which owns it. The car is one of the perks of Sponseller’s job because he travels extensively to meet with clients across the state.

Friends and colleagues who attended the vigil said it was very out of character for Sponseller to not be accessible or to fail to return calls.

“He was a very stable and down-to-earth guy,” Johnson said.

Rick Erwin, a Greenville restaurateur and chairman of the hospitality association board of directors, was visibly shaken and choked back tears as he spoke about Sponseller. He described Sponseller as intelligent, professional and a lobbyist who knew how to get things done at the Statehouse.

“He needs to come home quickly because he needs to keep this house in order back here,” Erwin said as he gestured toward the Capitol building. “We are doing everything we know to do to help Tom come home.”