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\nLinda and Gary Lightfoot were reported missing when they didn’t return home to Lubbock, Texas, after celebrating Thanksgiving last weekFive days later, authorities found their bodies and vehicle in Quay County, N.M.Relative Barbara Scheller tells PEOPLE that the family believes the couple “somehow they got turned around” during their drive home and became lost<\/p>\n
A married couple in their 80s who were found dead<\/a> after leaving a family Thanksgiving celebration in Texas somehow got lost during their drive home, their family believes, though further details about the tragedy are pending an investigation.\n<\/p>\n Linda and Gary Lightfoot were traveling back home to Lubbock, Texas, after celebrating Thanksgiving with their family in Panhandle, but were reported missing<\/a> when they failed to return home. Five days later, their bodies were found in a rural area of Quay County, New Mexico according to the Carson County (Texas) Sheriff\u2019s Office<\/a> and the Quay County (New Mexico) Sheriff\u2019s Office<\/a> .\n<\/p>\n “We don\u2019t have much additional information about what happened other than what law enforcement has shared,” Barbara Scheller, a relative, tells PEOPLE on Thursday, Dec. 4.\n<\/p>\n “They\u2019ve driven the road to Panhandle many times,” Scheller adds. “Somehow they got turned around and lost. Left their cell phone at home.”\n<\/p>\n The Quay County Sheriff\u2019s Office said that deputies were dispatched to a ranch west of Tucumcari, N.M., on Tuesday, Dec. 2, after receiving a report of a possible sighting of the Lightfoots\u2019 vehicle.\n<\/p>\n When they arrived at the scene, they found an inoperable vehicle parked in a tree line at the end of a pasture, which was later confirmed to belong to Linda, 81, and Gary, 82.\n<\/p>\n \u201cTragically, both individuals were found deceased at the scene,\u201d the Quay County Sheriff\u2019s Office said in its statement, adding that the investigation is ongoing.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n It takes approximately three hours to travel from Tucumcari to Lubbock.\n<\/p>\n In an email to PEOPLE, a spokesperson for the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator confirms that the department has the couple\u2019s remains, but that their autopsy reports \u2014 which will include their cause and manner of death \u2014 could take around 3 months to finalize.\n<\/p>\n PEOPLE contacted the Carson County Sheriff\u2019s Office<\/a> and the Quay County Sheriff\u2019s Office<\/a> for additional information on the case but did not immediately receive a response.\n<\/p>\n Scheller, who tells PEOPLE that Linda is her husband’s aunt, also shared a statement on behalf of the family, who remembered the couple as “genuine and kind people” who leave behind a “legacy of love and devotion.”\n<\/p>\n Gary, a military veteran, served as an law enforcement officer for the Lamb County Sheriff\u2019s Office, and later as Littlefield Police Chief from 1993 to 2003, according to the family.\n<\/p>\n \u201cGary was not only [a] highly regarded retired law enforcement officer, he was a self taught wood craftsman. He could do just about anything with a scroll saw,” the family\u2019s tribute read.\u00a0“He created wooden carved farm animals, crosses and anniversary carving for wedding anniversaries.”\n<\/p>\n Gary Lightfoot.<\/p>\n Barbara Scheller<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Linda worked in Abilene for an oil and gas company and then later in banking.\n<\/p>\n \u201cLinda enjoyed giving cards and gifts for Easter, Christmas, birthdays and Valentines,\u201d the family wrote, sharing that she had her fireplace “burning year round no matter the temperature outside” and “counted every blessing and every day as ‘fabulous.’ ”\n<\/p>\n Linda and Gary Lightfoot.<\/p>\n Barbara Scheller<\/p>\n Loved ones also said that Linda and Gary attended church and \u201cshowed great love to neighbors, friends and family.\u201d\n<\/p>\n The couple is survived by\u00a0their son, Gregg, Linda\u2019s sister, Barbara, and Barbara’s husband,\u00a0Waylon, as well as nieces and nephews. The family\u00a0expressed their gratitude to authorities involved in the search\u00a0\u2014 and emphasized the importance of “being prepared while traveling, even short distances, which may save lives in the future.”\n<\/p>\n