Oes dah irooney.

Gov. Mark Sanford has spent a good part of South Carolina's past legislative session railing against, and even actively turning down, portions of Barack Obama's stimulus package. And when the session ended with Sanford losing his fight to reject $700 million in federal stimulus cash, he abruptly disappeared. Few people knew where he went.

Several days later, it was revealed that the 2012 presidential hopeful was in the midst of a mind-clearing jaunt through the Appalachian Trail, hoping to do some writing after a stressful few months. But even removed from South Carolina politics, the governor couldn't escape the stimulus.

The economic recovery package enacted by Obama includes money that will help improve the trail on which Sanford has been hiking.

In late April, the U.S. Department of Interior said that $750 million in stimulus cash would be spent on more than 750 projects at national parks across the United States. The total included $650,000 for enhancing the

Appalachian Trail. News reports show that $25,000 of those funds will be dedicated towards relocating two miles of the trail in Virginia. How much money will go to the Georgia portion -- where Sanford likely is -- isn't immediately clear.

So even as Sanford enjoys the scenic beauty of the woods, he hasn't removed himself too far from the national political debate. And if the public relations fallout from his sudden disappearance becomes problematic, he can always say he was doing first-hand research on the impact of the stimulus.

The story gets even more bizarre...


GREENVILLE, S.C. -- WYFF News 4 has received exclusive information from sources who say they have information about Gov. Mark Sanford's whereabouts during a mysterious absence over the past several days.

Sanford's wife Jenny said she last talked to him on Thursday, and though she didn't know where he is, she said she wasn't concerned. She said he had left to have time to write. Joel 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.