Report reveals details about final hours of elderly couple found dead in New Mexico

QUAY COUNTY, NM (KVII) — ABC 7 News has obtained a copy of the incident report from the Quay County Sheriff’s Office detailing the final movements of the Lightfoots before their deaths.

According to the report, Charles “Gary” Lightfoot, 82, and Linda Eppers Lightfoot, 81, left the Texas Panhandle around 3 p.m. on November 27, heading for their home in Lubbock. They never arrived.

At 6:20 p.m., a license plate reader captured their Toyota Camry traveling eastbound on I-40 in Amarillo.

About 35 minutes later, the vehicle was recorded again in Groom, Texas.

The next sighting came at 8:36 p.m. Mountain Time, when the Camry was seen westbound on I-40 near San Jon, New Mexico.

At 9:05 p.m., the Lightfoots made contact with the Santa Rosa Police Department.

The couple was officially reported missing on November 28, but investigators say by then it may have already been too late.

A license plate reader detected the Camry again at 1:02 a.m., still in Santa Rosa.

Between 3 a.m. and 11 a.m. Mountain Time, the vehicle’s cellular modem pinged off a tower west of Tucumcari.

A Silver Alert was issued on November 30.

Body-camera video shows Quay County deputies searching the area, including stopping at a convenience store during the investigation.

At approximately 10:30 a.m. on December 2, the Sheriff’s Office met with a man whose family owns a cattle ranch about nine miles west of the cell tower. An employee on the ranch discovered the Lightfoots’ Camry.

Photos from the scene show the car had driven off a three-foot embankment, with the trunk open.

The Lightfoots’ bodies were found behind the vehicle.

Investigators reported no signs of trauma, and no foul play is suspected.

During that time period, overnight temperatures ranged from 20 to 38 degrees.

The Sheriff’s Office noted the front driver-side tire was shredded, indicating the vehicle had likely been driven while flat. The battery was drained, and the gear shift was still in drive.

Inside the car, deputies found two bank envelopes containing $311, along with a fully loaded Smith & Wesson revolver in the center console.

The investigation remains ongoing, but authorities say there is no evidence of criminal activity.