TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES, N.M. – A Truth or Consequences woman missing since late January has been found dead in her SUV after it was discovered in Elephant Butte Reservoir, Sierra County Sheriff Glenn Hamilton said Tuesday.
There was no immediate indication of foul play in the death of 88-year-old Janet Lorraine Mimovich, whom investigators believed got disoriented while driving home after dining out, Hamilton said.
Park workers spotted Mimovich’s silver Mercedes SUV on Monday when part of it emerged from the water when they raised a cable anchoring a boat dock at Elephant Butte Lake State Park, Hamilton said.
With the help of New Mexico State Police divers, workers used a crane on the park’s work barge to retrieve the vehicle from water about 25 feet deep, Hamilton said.
The sheriff said authorities previously searched in the area unsuccessfully because they suspected Mimovich took the wrong road while returning home.
Her body was sent to the state Office of the Medical Investigator in Albuquerque for determination of cause of death, Hamilton said.
