AGL unit's top exec missing in New Orleans

By Margaret Newkirk

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The top executive of an AGL Resources unit has been missing in New Orleans since early Friday morning.

Douglas Schantz, 54, president of Houston-based Sequent Energy Management, was last seen at about 2 a.m. Friday outside a bar on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, where he had traveled to make a donation to Tulane University on Thursday night.

He didn’t make his scheduled flight back to Houston, and hasn’t called or e-mailed colleagues or his family, company spokeswoman Tami Gerke said Monday.

Houston police say he also never made it back to his hotel, which is within walking distance of where he was last seen on Bourbon Street. Video cameras show him leaving Razzoo Bar and Patio at 2 a.m.

Police say his credit cards and ATM card have not been used.

“We are deeply concerned about Doug, and personnel from AGL Resources have been working around the clock with law enforcement agencies to determine Doug’s whereabouts,” said John Somerhalder, President and Chief Executive of Atlanta-based AGL.

AGL employees and Schantz’s family have been circulating flyers in New Orleans French Quarter, trying to find information.

Sequent manages pipeline capacity for AGL and for Georgia gas marketers.

In Schantz’s absence, vice president Peter Tumminello is serving as its president.