Couple in Their 80s Who Vanished After Leaving Family Thanksgiving Celebration Found Dead
Linda and Gary Lightfoot were reported missing on Nov. 28
Authorities have now found the bodies of Linda and Gary Lightfoot, a Texas couple who went missing after attending a family Thanksgiving celebration
The couple, both in their 80s, had been missing since Nov. 27
No foul play is suspected in their deaths, authorities said
A couple in their 80s who went missing after leaving a family Thanksgiving celebration have been found dead in New Mexico, authorities said.
The bodies of Linda and Gary Lightfoot were located in a “very rural” part of Quay County, N.M., according to a statement from the Carson County Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday, Dec. 2.
“We would like to thank the public and all agencies involved,” officials said, going on to “offer condolences to the family and friends of the Lightfoot’s as this is a tragic event.”
The grim discovery came days after the couple left a holiday gathering in Panhandle, Texas, and were reported missing after they did not return to their home in Lubbock, approximately 150 miles away.
Panhandle Police Chief Sace Hardman, who said their car was also found parked and inoperable, said that the couple likely died of hypothermia and that there is no foul play suspected in their deaths at this time, according to Everything Lubbock, local station KVII and NewsNation.
Autopsies will be performed in Albuquerque, N.M.
The Panhandle Police Department did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for further comment.
Authorities issued a Silver Alert for the Lightfoots on Sunday, Nov. 30, after the Texas Department of Public Safety got involved in the ongoing search.
According to the COSO, Linda, 81, and Gary, 82, were seen leaving Panhandle on Thanksgiving but did not make it to their home.
Law enforcement believed they were traveling in a silver 2024 Toyota Camry. The vehicle was later spotted on cameras in Texas and New Mexico.
Hardman, the police chief, told local news outlet KAMC that family members initially reported the couple’s disappearance on Nov. 28, telling police that the couple left Panhandle around 3 p.m. local time the previous day.
Neither was reportedly traveling with a cellphone nor other trackable device.
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Gary was a law enforcement officer, previously working for the Lamb County Sheriff’s Office, the Taylor County Sheriff’s Office and other departments.
He served as Littlefield Police Chief from 1993 to 2003, Everything Lubbock reported.