Photo by Shanna Lockwood-USA TODAY Sports
The family of longtime Clemson University Athletic Department staffer Bert Henderson reported him missing Monday afternoon. After a search and rescue operation through the night, he was found dead just outside his property around noon on Tuesday. According to Lt. Sheila Cole with the Anderson County Sheriff's Office in South Carolina, family members last heard from him Sunday night, via email. He was reported missing around 3:45 the following afternoon, launching a 14-agency search.Cole says they searched through the night with K9 units and by helicopter. They also had mounted search and rescue teams searching the rural area."A lot of the property out here is either owned by Mr. Henderson or family members. So the area is very extensive," said Lt. Cole. "The area we're dealing with is very rural and so that's why we have 8 right now, 8 mounted search and rescue members from our CERT team."Henderson had been with Clemson since 1978, beginning as an athletic trainer for the football team, including the 1981 national championship team. He later became the executive director of Clemson's booster club, IPTAY, in 2004. Henderson's current role with the school was associate athletic director of planned giving.Henderson, whose wife recently died in November of 2016, is survived by two daughters. Police did not reveal any details of the death, but an investigation is under way.
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