Five years later and still
no sign of a missing Hilton Head couple-but the Beaufort County sheriff
believes we could be closer to finding their bodies. John and Liz Calvert disappeared March 3rd of
2008.
The last known person to
see them--their accountant Dennis Gerwing--committed suicide a day after being
named a person of interest. He left two
notes behind--but nothing in them gave clues to the couples whereabouts.
It's a puzzle missing that
final piece and it seems everyone wants to find it.
"People in the
community are obviously interested by the mystery," Captain Bob Bromage with
the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office said.
But for almost five years,
nothing anyone offered fit. Where are the bodies of John and Liz Calvert who
disappeared in 2008 and declared dead in 2009?
Last year, a new clue investigators
hoped would answer that burning question.
"The South Carolina
Law Enforcement Division and the FBI out of Columbia received anonymous letters
with pictures of a geographic location in Eastover, SC, where allegedly the Calverts
were buried," Bromage said.
A full search team
including an archeologist with a magnetometer pilfered through the one acre of
remote land. Not only because they
follow-up on leads but this one seemed to make sense.
"We thought that was
going to be the opportunity. Because it fit everything we believed happen,"
Sheriff PJ Tanner said.
Tanner's theory is this:
Accountant Dennis Gerwing
removed the bodies of the Calverts from Hilton Head and drove a 12-hour radius,
leaving the bodies in a remote area such as the Eastover location. Hopeful-
they diligently searched for days.
"But we found nothing
to indicate the Calverts were there," Bromage said.
Another search, another
hope that brought nothing.
When leads come in, we do
our best to clear them, follow them, figure out if there's any validity to
them, and we move on," Msgt. Angela Viens with the Beaufort County Sheriff's
Office said.
There were no human remains
in the specific lot in Eastover but whether we should really "clear it"
and move on from the tip depends on who you ask.
"It was anonymous,
mailed through Los Angeles as a matter of fact," Bromage said. "It could have been somebody who saw it on TV,
was interested and for lack of a better word wanted to mess with the police,"
he said.
But Sheriff Tanner is not
calling it a wild goose chase just yet.
"They made an
indication that they would provide more information at a later date," Tanner
said of the person who sent the letter. "But
it took them three years to send that letter. I still think we're going to find
the Calverts. Unfortunately the Calverts
are deceased but I still say we're going to find them. It's just a matter of time," Tanner said.
There is also a cold case
review team that studies this case. They
are a group of retired law enforcement officers and five years after the
disappearance Sheriff
