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Authorities found Linda and Gary Lightfoot, a Texas couple who went missing after attending a family Thanksgiving celebration, dead The couple, both in their 80s, had been missing since Nov. 27, and were reported missing by family the following day No foul play is suspected in their deaths, authorities said
Authorities have found the elderly couple who went missing after leaving a family Thanksgiving celebration dead in New Mexico.
The bodies of Linda and Gary Lightfoot were found in Quay County, N.M., on Tuesday, Dec. 2, Everything Lubbock reports, citing Panhandle Police Chief Sace Hardman.
The discovery comes days after the couple left a Thanksgiving gathering in Panhandle, Texas, and were reported missing after they did not return to their home in Lubbock, approximately 150 miles away.
PEOPLE has reached out to the Panhandle Police Department for comment.
Hardman told Everything Lubbock that the couple likely died of hypothermia and that there is no foul play suspected in their deaths at this time. The bodies will undergo autopsies in Albuquerque, N.M.
On Nov. 30, authorities in Texas issued a Silver Alert for the Lightfoots after the Texas Department of Public Safety got involved in the ongoing search for the couple. The Carson County Sheriff’s Office (COSO) shared details about Linda, 81, and Gary, 82, alongside their photos in a post on Facebook, at the time of their disappearance.
The pair was seen leaving Panhandle on Thanksgiving on Nov. 27, but did not make it to their home in Lubbock, Texas. Police believed they were traveling in a silver 2024 Toyota Camry, and that vehicle was later spotted on cameras in Texas and New Mexico.
Hardman told local news outlet KAMC that family members initially reported the couple’s disappearance on Nov. 28, telling police that the couple left Panhandle at around 3 p.m. local time the previous day.
Neither was traveling with a cell phone or other trackable device, Fox 4 reported.
Panhandle PD, Carson County Sheriff Office, New Mexico State Police and the Texas Rangers worked together in the search for Linda and Gary. Helicopters and drones were used by New Mexico State Police and Quay County officials to conduct search, News Channel 10 reported.
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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.