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According to a report from the Georgetown County Sheriff's Office, in the early morning of April 12, his car was involved in a high-speed chase.

GEORGETOWN COUNTY, S.C. (WCSC) - Family, friends and law enforcement officials continue their search for a missing Georgetown County man.

Daniel Altman was last seen on April 11.

According to a report from the Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office, in the early morning of April 12, his car was involved in a high-speed chase.

After running the car’s plates to confirm the car was stolen, deputies attempted a traffic stop but the driver did not pull over, according to the report. A pursuit then took place, reaching speeds of 115 mph.

The report states the chase ended when the driver pulled into the backyard of a private residence.

The passenger of the car, Javon Chattine, fled from the car, running into the woods, according to the report. He was caught and placed under arrest.

The driver of the car, Serenity Jackson, did not flee and was transported to Georgetown County Detention Center and was charged with a DUI along with other charges.

Daniel was not in the car and is still missing, and deputies said they have not determined how the suspects in the chase got ahold of Daniel’s car.

Daniel’s sister, Caroline Altman, said right now the family is in fight-or-flight mode. She said their main focus is finding Daniel.

“We just want someone that knows something to say something,” Caroline said.

Caroline said Daniel is the type of person that would go out of his way to help anyone else. She said if you needed help with anything, you could call Daniel and he will be there.

“Daniel wouldn’t quit on me, and he wouldn’t quit on any of his friends, so we aren’t going to quit on him,” Caroline said.

Now, Daniel’s family and his friends want answers.

Caroline said finding out Daniel’s car was involved in a high-speed chase was very concerning for their family because they have no connection to the suspects in the case.

She said Daniel worked hard for that car- saving money from a young age.

“Daniel would not willingly give someone his car,” Caroline said.

Daniel works at Texas Roadhouse and would get off late at night. She said on the night of April 10, he said he was headed to Kingstree to meet a woman.

But she said she doesn’t know anyone in Kingstree, and that Daniel did not normally hang out there or have friends in that area.

“We know that Daniel wouldn’t run away. He has a house, a job, a car, a job. He wouldn’t just leave all these things behind and not say anything to us or his friends,” Caroline said.

She said she has no idea where her little brother is and would give anything to hear him call her ‘sissy’ again.

“It’s just heartbreaking to think that I may never hear him say that again,” Caroline said.

Anyone who knows anything is asked to call the Georgetown County Sheriff’s office at 843-546-5102.

Copyright 2023 WCSC. All rights reserved.

GEORGETOWN — A blight removal pilot program funded by the American Rescue Plan Act got underway in Georgetown County on March 31, beginning with the demolition of a vacant home on Katherine Court in the Graves Station community.

Thirteen area homes in the area immediately west of Georgetown will be demolished under the program, according to Georgetown County Planning Director Holly Richardson. For Georgetown County Councilman Everett Carolina, whose district includes Graves Station, the day was a “very happy” one to see the program take flight.

“We had community leaders that identified burned-out, distressed and abandoned properties in the community,” Carolina said. “And one of the kick-off projects was to identify the properties and let’s move out these distressed pieces.”

The homes approved for demolition are located in Graves Station, sandwiched between Friendfield and Silver Hill plantations along the south side of U.S. Highway 521, and across the highway in the nearby Spring Gully area. Carolina said the program should run about $120,000 in all.

“In many cases when municipalities are trying to clean up and find affordable housing, sometimes the gem is right there before you by removing the blighted properties,” Carolina said.

TSIAC International President Andra Basnight estimated that homes scheduled for demolition under the program should all be torn down within 30 days.

“It means a lot to us,” Basnight said. “For one, we like the idea to be able to help the communities and, like Mr. Carolina said, get rid of all of these blight(ed) homes and stuff like that so that the people in the neighborhoods can see that the counties and cities are doing something to help out with these homes and people won’t be living in them.”

As far as replacement of the homes is concerned, Carolina said the owners of the land on which the demolished homes were originally built must make a decision.

“My vision is to create cottages, one-to-two-bedroom cottages,” Carolina said. “From 680 square feet to about 1,200.”

Carolina said he hopes to find a contractor to work on such a concept, keeping construction costs around $60,000 to $90,000 per home.

“Then we will have to weigh the idea that some may want to put (down) a manufactured home,” Carolina said. “So now we’re going to have to review what the current ordinance is concerning that. Then there may be some property owners who may want to sell their property.”

The reception of the program within Graves Station has been “fantastic” thus far, Carolina said, despite some initial hesitation from property owners.

“The main thing is to beautify your community within,” Carolina said.

GEORGETOWN — Two years in the making, SoCo Wood-Fired Pizza will at last open its doors to Georgetown diners this week.

Owner Greg Metcalfe counts 16 beer taps, nine televisions and 78 seats indoors with some outside dining as well at his newest restaurant, around the corner from his SoCo Grille. But the most impressive number surrounding the pizzeria’s operation could be the speed with which its blue-tiled, wood-fired oven can cook a pizza from start to finish: 90 seconds.

Metcalfe first encountered a wood-fired oven when working as a chef in Cleveland three decades ago, but it was his landlord who floated the idea of a wood-fired pizzeria in Georgetown.

“He had bought the building and two years ago he called me over and (we) sat in this cinder-block building together with nothing in it and said, ‘Greg, what do you think about wood-fired pizza?’” Metcalfe said.

And so began the two-year process, which included sending away to California for the kit to build the oven. As Metcalfe discusses the menu, the effects of the oven’s 900-degree heat and future plans, he is enthused.

“Nobody’s doing anything like it around (here) as far as wood-fired pizza is concerned,” Metcalfe said. “So we think it’s going to be the biggest hit to come to Georgetown for a long time.”

Metcalfe has since acquired partners for the pizzeria, including Trevor Day of nearby Buzz’s Roost. The oven saw its first action with the second annual Georgetown Food, Beer and Wine Festival. Metcalfe and crew sold 100 pizzas over four hours and ran out of dough.

The oven gives pizza dough a crisp texture and smoky flavor, cooking from above as well as below to brown the cheese and toppings, Metcalfe said. But it is also versatile, effective for finishing off stromboli, lasagna, manicotti and chicken wings.

As far as the pizzas themselves are concerned, diners can build their own, but the menu features about a dozen specialty pizzas — Metcalfe quickly lists barbecue chicken, wood-fired chicken with arugula spinach, Buffalo chicken, vegetarian and the “Godfather” with “all the meats and everything you could ever think of.”

He also describes as his favorite the menu’s fig and pear pizza, with toppings that include thinly sliced caramelized lemons.

“You actually put them on the pizza and you eat the rind and all,” Metcalfe said of the sugar-sprinkled lemons. “But because it’s so thin and because it’s so crispy, it’s a wonderful flavor.”

Metcalfe said SoCo Wood-Fired Pizza will not provide carryout service in its first couple weeks. In the near future, he is still planning to open a Texas-style barbecue restaurant in the building next door to the pizzeria, which used to house SoCo ChopHouse.

“You’ll walk up to the counter and we’ll slice everything in front of you and weigh it by the pound and we’ll build your sandwiches for you,” Metcalfe said. He hopes to have the barbecue restaurant open within two months of the pizzeria’s opening.

Metcalfe is hosting a soft “VIP” opening at SoCo Wood-Fired Pizza on May 9, hoping to work out any kinks, after which it will soon be time for the doors to open to Screven Street diners. He plans to open the restaurant to the public for its inaugural dinner service at 4 p.m. May 11.

GEORGETOWN — Harriet Tubman never lived in South Carolina’s third-oldest city, but a collaboration of local officials and the Gullah Geechee Chamber of Commerce will bring her to Georgetown this summer nonetheless.

“The Journey to Freedom,” a 9-foot bronze sculpture of Tubman leading a young enslaved girl to freedom, will spend three months in Georgetown and five months in Georgetown County, beginning in August.

The sculpture will arrive in Georgetown on Aug. 1 ahead of an Aug. 5 unveiling in Joseph Rainey Park, where it will remain until Oct. 31. At that time, it will be transported north up U.S. Highway 17 for a two-month stay at Brookgreen Gardens.

Local historian Steve Williams encouraged residents to come see what Gullah Geechee Chamber of Commerce founder Marilyn Hemingway said is one of the most monumental events to come through Georgetown since the Freedom Schooner Amistad visited in the early 2000s.

“One of the disciples — Nathaniel — said ‘Does anything good come out of Nazareth?’” Williams said. “And Philip succinctly and simply answered him, ‘Come and see.’ We are asking the city of Georgetown next summer to come here and see what we have planned.”

“The Journey to Freedom” sculptor Wesley Wofford will be on hand for the Aug. 5 unveiling, as will author and Tubman scholar Kate Clifford Larson and Tubman’s great-great-great-grandniece Tina Wyatt.

Further events coinciding with the statue’s visit will include a one-woman show by “Gullah Gullah Island” star Natalie Daise on Tubman and an artisan village showcasing Gullah works.

“I submit to you that when it comes to history we are a small, quaint community, but we don’t take a backseat to any city in South Carolina,” Williams said.

Tubman’s connection to Georgetown runs through James Bowley, who was born into slavery but later freed by Tubman, his great-aunt. Bowley went on to serve as the commissioner of Georgetown County schools and had fundraising help from Tubman. His former King Street home is denoted by a historical marker.

“We are here because we love Georgetown,” Hemingway said. “We love its history, we love its heritage, we love its leadership. And who is the epitome of leadership, courage, and freedom and liberty in this country with a major connection to Georgetown but Harriet Tubman?”

The statue’s trip to Georgetown was paid for in part by accommodations tax funding from Georgetown County. The Gullah Geechee Chamber of Commerce is still fundraising for programs and logistics surrounding the statue’s exhibition with a goal of $105,000.

GEORGETOWN — Another pair of tenants could be on the horizon for the Georgetown County Business Park.

The County Council voted unanimously on April 25 to pursue two projects under which a pair of as of yet unnamed businesses would construct industrial buildings to operate from the park off U.S. Highway 521 near Andrews.

How large the buildings would be and how many jobs they would support remain to be seen, but growth at the park is significant enough that the council also authorized the sale of surplus land to support an electric substation at the park.

“We’re basically making this land available to Santee Electric (Cooperative) to put the substation because we’re growing so fast out there?” Councilman Raymond Newton asked County Attorney Jay Watson prior to the vote.

“That is my understanding, sir,” Watson said.

“And from the location of the substation, it is kind of tucked away behind another industry out of the way where it’s not big enough to sell, so this really would just sit there and go to waste if they didn’t use it, is that correct?” Newton asked.

“That is also my understanding,” Watson said.

The business park, located just southeast of Andrews town limits, has over 400 acres in available space and is home to loading rack and platform manufacturer SafeRack and a service center of Ohio-based MPW Industrial Services.

The April 25 votes also came just four months after New Jersey-based bathroom accessories manufacturer WingIts moved its North American distribution to a 50,000-square-foot facility at the business park.

An announcement by Gov. Henry McMaster’s office said WingIts planned to create 40 jobs with its $7.4 million investment, though WingIts President Tom Murphy said in February that the company won’t be limiting itself to that number if it can grow past it.

County Economic Development Director Tiffany Harrison said she is not sure when the county will be able to reveal the companies involved in the resolutions approved.

Georgetown County denied a records request seeking information about the projects, citing in part a portion of the S.C. Freedom of Information Act that exempts from disclosure documents that pertain to proposed contracts.

CORRECTION: This story was amended on April 28, 2023, to make clear that the land for an electric substation will be made available to Santee Electric Cooperative rather than Santee Cooper.