Sad update on Texas couple who went missing after Thanksgiving

December 14, 2025December 7, 2025 by Nadia

Authorities issued a Silver Alert as the search widened, pulling together local officers and law enforcement agencies across both Texas and New Mexico. What began as a simple drive home had suddenly turned into a multistate effort to find the missing couple.

The mystery deepened

Investigators believed the Lightfoots were traveling in a silver 2024 Toyota Camry with Texas plates. Those plates were spotted Thursday evening — first in Groom, and later near Santa Rosa, New Mexico — clues that deepened the mystery but offered no certainty. At that point, their direction of travel and final destination remained completely unknown, leaving family and authorities anxiously piecing together the couple’s last movements.

But on Tuesday, Charles and Linda were discovered dead in Quay County, New Mexico. According to Panhandle Police Chief Sace Hardman, authorities do not suspect any foul play. He noted the couple most likely suffered hypothermia, though an official cause of death has not yet been determined.

Their bodies are being transported to Albuquerque for autopsies.