Georgia landfill searched; Hilton Head couple missing more than 2 weeks

This story originally was published March 16, 2008.

Law enforcement officials will return to a Georgia landfill Monday morning to resume a search for John and Elizabeth Calvert that began Saturday, according to the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office.

Plans were made to begin the search with cadaver dogs after a tip late Friday night, said Capt. Toby McSwain of the Sheriff’s Office.

The Sheriff’s Office was one of five law enforcement agencies that searched for about six hours Saturday at the Broadhurst Environmental Landfill near Jesup, Ga. Jesup is about 100 miles southwest of Hilton Head.

The landfill covers about 2,500 acres, McSwain said. Trash from more than 20 counties in Georgia, plus a few in Florida and South Carolina — including a portion of Beaufort County — is dumped there.

McSwain said it wasn’t clear how long the search would go on.

“We’ll let the case dictate how long we’re there,” he said. “It’s slow going because it’s such a large area.”

The landfill’s general manager, John Simmons of Blackshear, Ga., said law enforcement officers called him before entering the gated landfill.

“They said they were looking for the couple,” Simmons said.

Asked if he thought bodies — if dumped at the landfill — could be found, he said: “You might find ‘em.”

Mike Deal, administrator of Wayne County, Ga., and a former police officer, said the search will be difficult.

“It’s going to be hell to find anything,” Deal said. “There’s tons and tons and tons of trash out there, and they cover it with dirt every day.”

A woman whose first name is Erlene works at the landfill’s weigh station and said trash is compacted daily and covered with a foam-rubber material to absorb moisture. Dirt is then layered on top of the foam, she said. She declined to give her last name.

Erlene said most trash comes into the landfill in large semi trucks, but cars and small trucks also dump trash there.

When they arrive, Erlene said, she questions the drivers.

“I question where they’re from and what it is they want to put in the dump,” she said. “They don’t get in there without talking to me first.”

She would not say if a car with South Carolina tags would be allowed access to the landfill.

John Shaver, a Wayne County commissioner, said every vehicle coming into the landfill is weighed upon entering and exiting.

“I don’t see anybody sneaking in,” he said.

The weight difference tells workers how many pounds of garbage have been dumped. Commercial trash haulers pay a fee based on weight, Erlene said.

Broadhurst Environmental, the firm that manages the landfill, had tractors and excavators on hand to search through the trash Saturday, McSwain said.

Along with members of the Sheriff’s Office, representatives from the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office, the Georgia Department of Corrections K-9 unit, the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office and a volunteer K-9 unit from Jesup helped with Saturday’s search. About 20 people were present for the search, McSwain said.

The Calverts were reported missing March 4.

They were last seen with Dennis Gerwing, a business associate, the afternoon before. Gerwing subsequently committed suicide. In the notes he left behind, he admitted skimming money from the couple’s businesses.

He did not say he was responsible for their disappearance.

Executive Editor Fitz McAden contributed to this story.

This story was originally published January 29, 2020 at 10:35 AM.