Here we were thinking all along that Mark Sanford's just been getting raped by mountain people as he hiked the Appalachian trail naked, but authorities have found his SUV abandoned at an airport where Sanford was seen boarding a plane.

In yet another twist in an increasingly bizarre tale, Governor Mark Sanford of South Carolina, considered by many to have been a potential candidate for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, it appears as though Sanford may be lying about where he's been during the four days that have passed since he was first reported missing.

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.

When the poor saps on his staff were asked if they were sticking by the earlier "he's hiking the Appalachian Trail" story, they issued a "no comment," which of course confirms what we've all been thinking is the truth at the bottom of this—Mark Sanford is off having glorious gay Republican sex orgies with Lindsey Graham, Charlie Crist and Larry Craig.

Sources Question Governor's Story [WYFF]