Murder suspects captured in Tennessee last Saturday

SWEETWATER, Tenn. - Two former Sparta residents who were charged with murder were arrested May 22 and are awaiting extradition to South Carolina after a manhunt that spanned several states.

Carl Andrew "Andy" Pollen and his girlfriend, Chasdity Calhoun Sage, were arrested here after police there were tipped that Sage could be staying with relatives there, sources say. They were picked up by the Monroe County Sheriff's Department.

There was no official word on when the two will have extradition hearings. They will be held in Tennessee until the hearings.

Earlier, there was some speculation that the two might return to the Alleghany County area.

Both of the two suspects were apparently living at The Outrigger Motel, a 23-room establishment on North Withers Drive in Myrtle Beach, S.C. where Pollen was employed as a maintenance worker. The owner of the motel, 65-year-old Clara Payne, was murdered May 12 and Pollen and Sage are the prime suspects.

Myrtle Beach Police have been looking for the couple since that time. Sage's green 1994 Geo Metro and the victim's pickup were both found abandoned in the Myrtle Beach area on May 16.

The victim's cause of death and other information have not been released by police; however, an autopsy was apparently performed at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston by the Horry County medical examiner.

The victim had operated the small hotel alone since her husband, Robert, died about five years ago. The couple had purchased the motel several years ago and had three daughters and five grandchildren.

Information for this story was provided by the Myrtle Beach Sun News and other sources.

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