Person of Interest in Missing S.C. Couple Case Found Dead

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. – The man named as a person of interest in the disappearance of a Hilton Head Island couple appears to have committed suicide, authorities said Tuesday.

The body of Dennis Ray Gerwing was found by his lawyer around 4 p.m. in the bathroom of a resort condominium unit his company manages, according to a news release from the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office.

Gerwing left behind two notes that are being examined by state agents, said deputies, who refused to release the contents of the notes.

An autopsy has been schedule for Wednesday. Authorities called the death an apparent suicide, but would not disclose any other details.

Gerwing, 54, was named a person of interest earlier Tuesday and was not cooperating with officers investigating the disappearance last week of John and Elizabeth Calvert, deputies said.

The couple remains missing.

Investigators searched Gerwing's home, office and vehicles Saturday. Police would not say what, if anything, was found.

Gerwing was listed as chief financial officer of The Club Group, a realty group that manages property on Hilton Head Island. According to the group's Web site, that includes boat slips for the Harbour Town marina leased and managed by the Calverts.

The phone at the office of Gerwing's lawyer, Dan Saxton, was not being answered Tuesday night.

Deputies said they think Gerwing was the last to see the Calverts together but would not say when the meeting took place.

Tony Gibus, who met the Calverts in 2005 and manages several of the couple's companies on this slipper-shaped island near the Georgia border, has said he last saw John Calvert at the end of the work day March 3.

The Calverts live part time on their 40-foot yacht, the Yellow Jacket, at Harbour Town marina. Elizabeth Calvert, 45, also works as an attorney in nearby Savannah, Ga., and the couple own a home in Atlanta.

Friends and family say they started to worry when the dependable, prompt Calverts both failed to show up for business-related meetings March 4.

Authorities say the Calverts' cell phones have been turned off. The small airplane owned by Elizabeth Calvert, a pilot, was found undisturbed on the tarmac at the island's airport. The couple's cat was still on their yacht.

On Friday, investigators found the Calvert's car at a resort a few miles from the marina but said it contained no clues to their whereabouts. The next day, a dive team searched the marina but also came up with nothing.

Friends and co-workers planned to hold a candlelight prayer vigil Tuesday night at the Harbour Town marina.