You know it's hard to believe somebody out of nowhere saying stuff about somebody that is inactive at the moment. It's going to be tough to validate it as well, but I hope this news is wrong. I had a couple of conversations with him, and he's a great member for sure. I hope that he is okay.
I honestly don't care if anyone believes me or not. Feel free to spend a few months tracking down someone who knew him to share the news with you. I'm not going to post personal details here, he was a private person, and I'm respecting that.
I think there's a way that you could give news about it without posting any personal details. You already said the cause, maybe share how you got that information? How you searched for him, etc.