SUMTER COUNTY, S.C. — Deputies are asking for the public's help to find a missing Sumter County man last seen more than a month ago.
Willie Manley Hodge, Jr., 37, was last seen by family on January 23 leaving a home on Island Drive in Sumter County, deputies say.
He was later stopped for a traffic violation on Pinewood Road near Columbia Circle, according to investigators, where he left the car and fled into the woods.
Deputies say they have been looking into the area to try to find him or a person who may have taken him in, but they haven't found anything yet.
"We don't want to get him in trouble because of that," Charles Bonner, an investigator with the Sumter County Sheriff's Office, said. "I just want to talk to him and make sure he's okay because he is a missing person. I take these very seriously, so, I want to make sure that he's okay."
Hodge is described as white male with brown hair, brown eyes and an olive complexion who stands 5-feet, 8-inches tall and weighs around 140 pounds. Deputies say he has a tattoo of letters on his left hand, a tattoo of letters on his left forearm, a word tattoo on his left arm and a tattoo of letters on his right arm.
Hodge was last seen wearing black jeans, a black long sleeve t-shirt, gray Nike shoes and a gray John Deere toboggan.
If you see Hodge or have any information as to his whereabouts, deputies ask you to contact investigator Scott Bonner at (803) 436-2014.
