Missing man's body found
Died from blow to the head
By SCOTT POWELL Ledger Staff Writer spowell@gaffneyledger.com

TURNER SARTOR

The body of a former Gaffney resident reported missing in April was found Nov. 15 buried under an artificial Christmas tree outside Pageland.

Thomas Turner Sartor, 52, of 5957 South Kings Hwy., Myrtle Beach, disappeared while on his way to coach in a Miracle League baseball game in Spartanburg County, according to broadcast reports by WSPA-TV in Spartanburg and WSOC-TV in Charlotte, N.C..

Utility workers found Sartor's body on a remote road in Pageland in Chesterfield County, media reports state. An autopsy showed Sartor died of blunt force trauma to the head.

Authorities have launched a murder investigation that includes parts of North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. According to media reports, investigators said they are not sure if Sartor was killed at the scene or if his body was dumped outside Pageland.

Sartor previously worked for the Cherokee County Parks and Recreation Department. He spent seven years as the head basketball and football coach at the South Carolina School for the Deaf and Blind. Most recently, he worked for the Myrtle Beach Pelican Baseball Organization.

Family members last reported seeing Sartor alive April 29 in Spartanburg where he was driving a black Dodge Magnum from Enterprise Rental Cars.

Media reports state the rental car was found in Tennessee three months later with blood in the back seat. In a June 23 Gaffney Ledger article, Sartor's sister Mary Bartholemew said the last record of her brother making a phone call was from Knoxville, Tenn.

Gaffney resident Donna Phillips, Sartor's oldest daughter, expressed the family's relief that they have received information on the whereabouts of her father.

"We are grateful that we now have some type of closure," Phillips said. "Investigators were involved and were very helpful in trying to locate my father and I'm just grateful to them for all the work they have done."

Authorities said Monday the body had been at the site for two to four months and was identified through dental records.

Murder warrants have been issued for Frank Robinson, 52, and Jacqueline Highberger, 49, both of the Myrtle Beach area.