Missing
William Dean Ponder
William, approximately 1993
Date and time person was reported missing : 08/28/1993
Missing location (approx) :
Chesnee, South Carolina
Missing classification : Endangered Missing
Gender : Male
Ethnicity :
White
DOB : 09/23/1951 (69)
Age at the time of disappearance: 41 years old
Height / Weight : 5'10, 190 pounds
Description, clothing, jewerly and more : A t-shirt, faded jeans and sneakers.
Medical conditions : Ponder was reportedly depressed at the time of his disappearance, but he was not taking medication for the condition.
Distinguishing characteristics, birthmarks, tattoos
: Caucasian male. Red hair, blue eyes. William goes by his middle name, Dean. He had a beard at the time of his disappearance. William wears eyeglasses.
Information on the case from local sources, may or may not be correct : William resided in the 6800 block of Parris Bridge Road in Chesnee, South Carolina in 1993. On August 28, 1993, he spent the evening with friends at J's Tavern near his home.
His friends stated they dropped him off at the Martin Feed Mill at the intersection of Parris Bridge Road and Martin Camp Road. He has never been heard from again.
William's father reported him as a missing person on September 2. William has a criminal record which dates back to 1976 and includes drug and alcohol offenses, property crimes, and weapons violations, and he was released from prison just two months prior to his disappearance.
Foul play is suspected in his case; in 2006, a former acquaintance of William's told police he had been murdered. He has been declared legally dead, but his remains have never been found.
William's only son, Scott Dean Ponder, was murdered in 2003. He was shot to death, along with his mother and two employees, at the Superbike store Scott owned on Parris Bridge Road.
The serial killer Todd Kohlhepp pleaded guilty to their murders as well as three others and one count of kidnapping in May 2017. He was sentenced to life in prison. Their murders are not thought to be connected to William's disappearance.
Other information and links : ncy
Spartanburg County Sheriff's Department
864-503-4608
September 2021 updates and sources
411 GINA for the Missing
The Spartanburg Herald-Journal
WIS TV 10
October 12, 2004. July 6, 2017; Information on the case from local sources, may or may not be correct : updated.
Interactive Missing Person Search Map
