Body of southern New Mexico woman missing for months found in car submerged in lake

SIERRA COUNTY, New Mexico – An SUV containing the body of a southern New Mexico woman who had been missing for five months was pulled from Elephant Butte Lake on Monday, authorities said.

New Mexico State Police had issued a statewide Silver Alert in late January for 88-year-old Janet Lorraine Mimovich of Truth or Consequences, saying they believed she could be in danger. She vanished after last being seen at the Sierra Del Rio Golf Course in Elephant Butte.

Workers at the North Monticello Campground on Monday were moving anchors in a boat dock area when they unknowingly hooked onto Mimovich's Mercedes SUV, said Sierra County Sheriff Glenn Hamilton.

State police divers later pulled the vehicle to shore and found the body, the sheriff said, adding that foul play did not appear to be a factor in her death.

The sheriff said investigators believe she got disorient while driving home; authorities had previously searched in the area unsuccessfully.

Mimovich's body was being sent to the state medical investigator's office in Albuquerque for an autopsy to determine her exact cause of death, Hamilton indicated.