Elderly couple, 74 and 79, are found dead buried in 10 feet of snow in Arizona after their car got stuck over Thanksgiving weekend and they froze walking to a nearby home for help
- Arizona couple Richard Alexander, 74, and Elizabeth Alexander, 79, were found dead lying in a front yard in Ash Fork on Friday
- The couple likely died from hypothermia and got buried in the snow last weekend when 10 inches of snow fell in Ash Fork
- The couple lived in the area and their car was found a mile away
- Their bodies were found by Mike and Diane Hass
- They believe the couple got stuck, left their car and tried to make it to their home for help, but ended up freezing in the heavy snow
An elderly couple was found dead after they got buried under thick snow in Arizona.
The bodies of Richard Alexander, 74, and Elizabeth Alexander, 79, were found dead likely from hypothermia along Old Route 66 outside the rural community of Ash Fork on Friday.
Richard was found lying on top of Elizabeth, possibly trying to keep her warm in the cold. The couple is believed to have gotten stuck and froze last weekend when 10 inches of snow fell in Ash Fork.
The bodies were discovered by Mike and Diane Hass who were heading out of their home when they noticed two figures in their yard.
Elderly couple Richard Alexander, 74, and Elizabeth Alexander, 79, were found dead on Friday after they got buried under thick snow in Ash Fork, Arizona last weekend when 10 feet of snow came down
The couple is believed to have gotten stuck and froze last weekend when 10 inches of snow fell in Ash Fork
Richard was found lying on top of Elizabeth, possibly trying to keep her warm in the cold
‘[Mike] wondered if they were sleeping, so he got out and yelled at them and they didn’t respond,’ Diane Haas said to ABC 15.
‘I said ‘Sir, sir!” And of course they didn’t respond. It came pretty obvious pretty quick, [from] their skin color and other details that they were deceased. So we immediately called 911 and made sure not to touch anything,’ Mike Haas said.
It is suspected that the Alexander’s died of hypothermia while exposed to extreme temperatures, authorities said Saturday.
Their car was found one mile away from the site where they were discovered. Detectives said they lived nearby but their car got stuck in heavy snow as 10 inches came down over Thanksgiving weekend.
Mike Haas believes that the Alexanders’ car got stuck in the snow and the couple tried to walk to his home to ask for help, but froze in the process.
‘Eventually they decided to leave their vehicle. They were headed to our house we believe. But 100 yards short,’ he said.
Their bodies were found by local homeowners Mike and Diane Hass (above) who were heading out of their home when they noticed two figures in their yard
On Friday November 29 at least 10 inches of snow was recorded in Ash Falls as temperatures peaked at a high of 43 and a low of 24. The massive snowfall pictured above in Flagstaff, Arizona
He believes they were heading towards the couple’s front porch light, likely the only light in the area that the desperate couple could see.
‘It’s sadness. You wish you could’ve helped. You could’ve saved a life perhaps. Maybe two lives.’
The couple said the incident has made them emotional to think the Alexanders’ were suffering so close while the Hass family was celebrating Thanksgiving. The Hass’ says the incident is a lesson to be prepared for extreme weather conditions.
‘If they hadn’t left their car, I really believe somebody would’ve checked on them. People drove by them but everybody assumed this was somebody who got their car stuck, they called and got rescued. Nobody would’ve ever thought that they were out here struggling,’ Diane said.
‘A PRELIMINARY finding shows no evidence of foul play and a strong likelihood the pair, a man and woman in their 70’s, died from exposure to the environment. The time of death has not been established,’ the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
On Friday November 29 at least 10 inches of snow was recorded in Ash Falls as temperatures peaked at a high of 43 and a low of 24.