HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. — A judge has declared a South Carolina couple, missing for more than a year and a half, dead as family members plan a public memorial in Georgia.

The Island Packet of Hilton Head reported Tuesday that a judge declared John and Elizabeth Calvert dead during a hearing in Georgia last month.

Authorities say the Calverts were last seen March 3, 2008, the day they met with an accountant who kept their books. Investigators think Dennis Gerwing had embezzled $2.1 million from the couple and seven other companies.

Mr. Gerwing killed himself a week later as authorities questioned him in the couple's disappearance.

Relatives are planning a public memorial for the Calverts on Nov. 15 at Northside United Methodist Church in Atlanta.