Mark Sanford, Governor of South Carolina and widely speculated to be a candidate for President in 2012, is missing. He has been gone for the last several days, including Father’s Day, a holiday a family values candidate would not be likely to miss. From reports, even his wife does not know where he is. From the AP wire, it seems Mark Sanford is pouting:

His spokesman Joel Sawyer released a statement saying the governor was taking a break after losing the fight.

“Gov. Sanford is taking some time away from the office this week to recharge after the stimulus battle and the legislative session and to work on a couple of projects that have fallen by the wayside,” Sawyer said.

Sawyer wouldn’t say where the Sanford was, but said in another release the governor let his staff know where he was going before he left last week and said he would check in.

A post-session wind-down isn’t uncommon and he goes “out of pocket for a few days at a time to clear his head,” Sawyer said. “Obviously, that’s going to be somewhat out of the question this time given the attention this particular absence has gotten.”

Sawyer didn’t immediately respond to further questions. Law enforcement officials who handle his security also declined to comment.

Sanford typically is open about his whereabouts, and his office makes no secret of time spent on vacation or out of state.

But politicians, including the lieutenant governor, said they did not know Sanford was taking time away from his office.

So Mark Sanford didn’t get his way on refusing the Obama stimulus money, and now he’s gone off to pout? That seems to be the explanation, though a big family man like Mark Sanford would be unlikely to miss Father’s Day. Perhaps this is a mystery designed to get the media all heated up about the guy and give him an air of mystery? Stay tuned.