DEL.ICIO.USDogs find no evidence on yacht of missing Atlanta couple
Friends say it's unlike the Calverts to be out of touch
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 03/06/08
The last time he saw his friend and boss John Calvert, Tony Gibus didn't notice anything out of the ordinary.
"He was headed to a business meeting. He said he'd catch up with me on Tuesday," Gibus said of their encounter on Hilton Head Island, S.C., about 5:30 p.m. Monday. "But it never transpired. He never showed."
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| Elizabeth Calvert | ||
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| John Calvert | ||
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Gibus was among the last people to see John Calvert, 47, and his wife, 45-year-old Elizabeth, before they vanished Monday night.
David White of Decatur, Elizabeth Calvert's brother, reported the part-time Atlanta couple missing Tuesday when his sister did not show up for a meeting at her Savannah law office.
"This is so unlike Liz and John to be out of touch with business colleagues and friends," Sally Nielsen, an attorney who works with Elizabeth Calvert at Savannah's Hunter Maclean law firm, said in a statement released Thursday. "We are most concerned for their safety."
Investigators with the Beaufort (S.C.) County Sheriff's Office used evidence-sniffing dogs Thursday to search the couple's yacht — the Yellow Jacket — and surrounding waters, but found no evidence to suggest their whereabouts, said Lt. Col. Neil Baxley.
Baxley would not comment on the search, other than to say it was ongoing. He said the investigation was not criminal in nature.
"At this point, it's still a missing persons case," he said.
The Calverts live part of the year in an upscale home on East Brookhaven Drive in northeast Atlanta. Mostly, though, they stay on their yacht at a tony Hilton Head community called Sea Pines, Gibus said. The couple owns Harbour Town Yacht Basin and Harbour Town Resorts on the island.
They have no children. Their dog Sadie is in an Atlanta kennel, Gibus said. Their cat, which lives on the boat, is being cared for by friends, he said.
"It's just not characteristic for these people to be missing for any period of time," said Gibus, who has known the couple for years and operates their marinas. "We're very concerned. We need these people back."
Authorities have accounted for the couple's private plane and at least two vehicles, but their silver 2006 Mercedes E320, with Georgia Tech tag GT821B, is missing, Baxley said.
"This is suspicious because no one has had any contact with them in the past couple of days, which is in unlike the Calverts because they're active in the community," Beaufort County Sheriff P.J. Tanner told The (Hilton Head) Island Packet. "Right now, the only thing we can say are there are definitely suspicions here."
John Calvert has no known immediate family, and investigators have been in "constant contact" with Elizabeth Calvert's brother, Baxley said. White could not be reached for comment Thursday.
In Atlanta, neighbors in the Calverts' upscale neighborhood in historic Brookhaven described the couple as friendly and fairly low-key.
"He enjoys firing up the grill and having friends over," said Lynn Johnston, 76, who lives next door to the Calverts' one-story white wood-framed house overlooking the Capital City golf and social club. "She is really into the dog. They are very nice, good neighbors."
Prior to working at the Savannah law firm, Elizabeth Calvert was a vice president in the legal department of Atlanta-based UPS, according to her biography posted on Hunter Maclean's Web site.
John Calvert is a member of the Hilton Head Marketing Partnership Alliance, which encourages tourism in the South Carolina low country.
"He is a strong member of the chamber and a supporter of tourism for Hilton Head Island," said Charlie Clark, spokeswoman for the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton Chamber of Commerce.
Nancy Cappelmann, a friend of the couple's and harbor master at Harbour Town Yacht Basin, said the couple's cell phones and Blackberries have been turned off since 6 p.m. Monday.
"They are very committed to the businesses here and are always available by cell phone," said Cappelmann, who urged anyone with information to call the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office at 843-842-4111. "John and Liz Calvert are not the type of people to walk away from their responsibilities."
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