Man Linked to Missing SC Couple Commits Suicide

Man Linked to Missing SC Couple Dead

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

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

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

An autopsy has been scheduled for Wednesday. Authorities called the death an apparent suicide but would not disclose details.

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

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

Person Of Interest Commits Suicide In Missing Hilton Head Couple Case

Police in prestigious Hilton Head Island, S.C., are looking for a couple who has been missing since Monday, March 3, 2008. Police say John and Elizabeth Calvert were last around 5:30 p.m., leaving a community meeting near the Harbour Town Basin Resort on Hilton Head Island. The couple, who live on a nearby yacht, failed to appear for work the next day. Police have learned a man they were calling a person of interest has committed suicide, leaving behind notes.