A former business associate of missing Atlanta couple John and Elizabeth Calvert was found dead of an apparent suicide Tuesday afternoon on Hilton Head Island soon after authorities named him a person of interest in the couple's disappearance.

Beaufort County sheriff's deputies found the body of Dennis Ray Gerwing in the upstairs bathroom of a rental apartment in Sea Pines, a gated community on the island, Lt. Col. Neil Baxley said. He had been dead for several hours.

Baxley would not say how Gerwing killed himself, but he did reveal that Gerwing, 54, left behind two notes.

Baxley would not say what the notes stated, but said "they provided leads" for the Calverts' missing persons case, both of whom disappeared March 3 after an evening business meeting with Gerwing.

The notes are being studied by forensic investigators with the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division. Gerwing's body is scheduled for an autopsy Wednesday in Charleston.

Authorities were alerted to Gerwing's suicide shortly before 4 p.m. by one of his attorneys, Dan Saxon, who was concerned about Gerwing and went to the apartment complex.

Gerwing had rented a room there for the week, Baxley said.

Earlier in the afternoon, Beaufort County sheriff's officials reported that Gerwing was the last to see the Calverts. He wasn't cooperating with detectives.

Gerwing was an executive with The Club Group, a financial management company that, until last year, performed financial services for numerous marina-related business enterprises run by the Calverts, said Ellie Titus, a friend of the couple. The Calverts had severed ties with The Club Group but had been having meetings with Gerwing, Titus said.

The sheriff's office did not call Gerwing a suspect. It was, however, executing search warrants Saturday at Gerwing's home, business office and two vehicles registered to him.

Gerwing's house is located on Hilton Head, as is his Club Group business office.

Authorities have used evidence-sniffing dogs to search the yacht, and divers have searched the waters where it is moored. Baxley would not say whether detectives believe the Calverts met with foul play.

The Calverts live part of the year in an upscale home on East Brookhaven Drive in northeast Atlanta.