Free Republic

CANADYS, S.C. (WCSC) - The Colleton County coroner said an evangelist who founded the Overcomer Ministry in the county has died. Ralph G. Stair died of heart failure at his home, according to Coroner Richard Harvey. Harvey said Stair had been under hospice care. His age was not immediately clear. The coroner’s office listed Stair as 84, but Stair’s Overcomer Ministry, which announced his passing on its website, listed his age as 87 and his time of death as 11:17 p.m. Saturday.

Colleton County Sheriff’s Office personnel arrived at the Overcomer Ministry at 12680 Augusta Highway early Monday morning to take Ralph G. Stair, the leader of the religious compound, into custody on eight criminal charges. Lt. Tyger Benton, public information officer of the Colleton County Sheriff’s Office said a large contingent of law enforcement officers arrived at the church compound Monday at approximately 7:30 a.m. to take Stair, 84, into custody. The charges, all filed by the sheriff’s office investigators, include three counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and single counts of assault with the intent to commit criminal sexual conduct,...