Man Charged with Murder in Case of Missing West Columbia Man

Detectives arrested a 34-year-old man Tuesday on charges of murder and kidnapping in connection with the death of a 22-year-old West Columbia man who was reported missing on Christmas Day last year.

William Thomas "Tommy" Embree is being held at the Lexington County Detention Center awaiting a bond hearing, according to the Lexington County Sheriff's Department. Deputies transferred Embree from the Kershaw
Correctional Institution, where he was serving a six-year sentence for assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature.

Detectives are continuing to search for the body of Michael Jody George. 

According to arrest warrants, forensic evidence links Embree to George's disappearance and death.

Embree kidnapped George from Shooter's Bar on Charleston Highway near Cayce sometime between 10 p.m. Dec. 23, 2011 and 5:30 a.m. Dec. 24, 2011, according to the arrest warrants. Witnesses told detectives that George was highly intoxicated and ill, so Embree took him, put him in George's 1994 Nissan Sentra and drove away.

Detectives think other people were involved in George's disappearance and death. They're continuing to investigate, Sheriff James Metts said, and may make more arrests. 

George’s brother, John Olin Wannamaker, contacted the sheriff’s eepartment at 2:37 p.m. on Christmas Day last year and reported that George was missing, Metts said. Wannamaker told deputies that he last spoke with his brother at 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 23, 2011 at George’s home.

George’s father, Gary Frederick George, contacted the sheriff’s department at about 8:15 p.m. on December 25, 2011 and reported that he found Michael George’s 1994 black Nissan Sentra parked on Beckman Road between Cannaberry Drive and Lena Drive near West Columbia, Metts said. Deputies and detectives used a Sheriff’s Department helicopter and all-terrain vehicles last December to conduct ground and aerial searches in the area where George’s car was found, but didn't find any leads concerning George’s whereabouts.

Anyone with information about Embree or the disappearance and death of George should contact the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department at 803-785-8230 or Crimestoppers at 1-888-CRIME-SC. 

See also: 

• Authorities Search for Missing Man