Incident report details days before missing elderly Texas couple were found dead in Tucumcari

The Lubbock couple found dead in Tucumcari days after going missing were discovered outside of their car showing possible signs of hypothermia, according to an incident report released Wednesday by the Quay County Sheriff’s Office. 

Linda and Charles “Gary” Lightfoot, 81 and 82, were found dead Dec. 2 near their 2024 Toyota Camry, which was parked along a tree line, some five days after the couple disappeared while visiting family in Panhandle, Texas, for Thanksgiving. Lubbock is roughly two hours away from Panhandle.

Law enforcement was first notified the couple was missing on Nov. 28, less than one day after they were set to return home, according to the report. That same day, a cell tower detected their car’s GPS system pinging in New Mexico.

Authorities learned the couple had accidentally left their phone in Lubbock when they left for the holiday visit, according to Barbara Scheller, niece of the Lightfoots.

License plate readers tracked the couple's journey toward New Mexico, and around 8:30 p.m. on Nov. 27, a reader captured their car traveling west on Interstate 40 near San Jon, a small town in Quay County, nearly two hours away from Lubbock. 

Santa Rosa Police Department officers on Nov. 27 came into contact with the Lightfoots around 9 p.m., the report states. It is unclear what the nature of the interaction was, and Santa Rosa Police did not respond to calls for comment.

On Dec. 2, Quay County Sheriff Dennis Garcia was dispatched around 10:30 a.m. to the T4 Ranch near Palomas, west of Tucumcari and Interstate 40, after a ranch employee said he saw a silver car parked near a tree line with its trunk open, according to the report. 

The employee told police he did not approach the car and immediately called law enforcement. He told Garcia he had not visited the cattle pens in that area for roughly one week.

It is unknown how or when the Lightfoots' car made it onto the ranch property, since all the access gates were closed, according to the report.

“Vehicle tracks were visible in the grass, but the exact route remains undetermined,” the report states.

Garcia found the car and discovered "two individuals lying on their backs at the rear of the vehicle," according to the report. Both were found with their shirts pulled up. 

According to studies from the National Library of Medicine, when people contract hypothermia, they may experience "paradoxical undressing," in which low temperatures cause the blood vessels to suddenly open up, making a person feel hot just before they succumb to the elements. 

Temperatures reached lows of 20 to 30 degrees at night during the time the Lightfoots were missing, according to data from the National Weather Service.

The state Office of the Medical Investigator is investigating the cause of death.

“There were no visible signs of trauma to either individual and no suspected foul play,” according to the report. 

Garcia inspected the car and discovered that the front driver-side tire was flat and shredded, indicating that it had been driven on while flat. The car's battery was depleted, and Garcia noticed that the gear shift was still in the drive position.

The car had been driven off a 3-foot embankment, leaving its front bumper at the bottom of a small ravine.

Nakayla McClelland covers crime and breaking news. Reach her at nmcclelland@abqjournal.com or at 505-823-3857.