Investigators view toll plaza video in search of Hilton Head club owner

Three days after the search started, hopes are dimming that a missing Hilton Head Island jazz club owner will be found unharmed.

However, the search for Bob Masteller has not transitioned to a recovery effort, Beaufort County Sheriff's Office Capt. Bob Bromage said Thursday. The search, he said, will continue Friday.

In past cases where search efforts have transitioned into the less-intensive recovery phase, there were eyewitnesses who saw the person enter the water, Bromage said.

There is also no information or indicators to suggest foul play in Masteller's disappearance, he said.

Investigators are collecting video footage from the Cross Island Parkway toll plaza in connection with the search for Masteller, who was last seen Monday night and whose minivan was found atop the Charles E. Fraser Bridge.

While a few traffic cameras are posted along the Cross Island Parkway, they do not record and do not provide clear images during the night hours, Bromage said. Rather, the cameras are public safety tools, used to monitor traffic in real time, he said.

A camera at the toll plaza along the Cross Island does record, and investigators are combing through its footage now to see if -- and if so, at what time -- Masteller passed through the toll, Bromage said.

The minivan driven by Masteller, who lives in Sea Pines, was found in the southbound lanes of the bridge. It is possible for drivers leaving the island on the parkway to make a U-turn before they reach the toll plaza, Bromage confirmed.

In addition to collecting the video footage, investigators are also reviewing Masteller's credit card transactions for any activity, a common investigative tool in missing persons cases, Bromage said.

He said there was no new information or possible sightings reported to indicate moving the search to a new area, which will continue to be focused on Broad Creek and the surrounding land.

Dive team joins effort

The search entered its third day Thursday, and included for the first time dive teams.

Boats from the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office Marine Patrol Unit and the S.C. Department of Natural Resources searched Broad Creek, Bromage said. That search began about 8:30 a.m.

Dive team personnel from both agencies entered the water around 10 a.m. and were finishing their search for the day around 4 p.m.

Bromage said he did not have an exact number of divers who were working the scene, but said windy conditions on the creek limited their search capabilities.

Masteller, the owner of The Jazz Corner in The Village at Wexford, was last seen by his wife at their Sea Pines home around 10:30 p.m. Monday.

A search of Broad Creek and the surrounding area began Tuesday morning after Masteller's minivan was found .

Although his minivan was found at the top of the bridge above Broad Creek, there are no witnesses who saw Masteller on the bridge, Bromage said.

Masteller, 76, is believed to be wearing sweatpants and a black turtleneck shirt.

Anyone with information on his whereabouts should call 911, a Sheriff's Office release said.

This story was originally published March 13, 2015 at 7:05 AM with the headline "Investigators view toll plaza video in search of Hilton Head club owner."