Coroner: "Bachelorette" Contestant Shot Self

The Riverside County coroner has determined that the one-time contestant on "The Bachelorette" reality TV show whose body was found off a highway in Southern California died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

A family spokeswoman, Audrey Doherty, said Friday that Julien Hug left his parents a letter explaining he was suffering from depression and felt suicide was the only way out.

Hug's body was found Wednesday in the remote Pinyon Pines area off Highway 74 in Riverside County, about 90 miles east of Los Angeles.

Julien Hug, "Bachelorette" Contestant, Found Dead

Hug was a contestant on the ABC show, a spinoff of the network's competitive dating show "The Bachelor," in May 2009.

Jillian Harris passed him over for Ed Swiderski in an early episode of the show.