Couple Found Lying Dead Next To Each Other In Woods Two Weeks After Going Missing

The bodies of a missing New Jersey couple were found in a densely wooded area about 200-250 yards from their home. The couple, Gary and Lorraine Parker, were found Tuesday lying next to each other; they suffered injuries from the sharp vegetation of the Warren Grove woods in the Stafford Township.

Two weeks had passed since the couple went missing, spurring a number of questions on what could have happened to them. Now that their bodies have been found, investigators find themselves facing more questions on how they wound up in the dense woods. Their bodies were located with a drone about 70 yards away from where their all-terrain vehicle (ATV) was parked, according to PEOPLE.

Investigators are still trying to find out why Gary, 67, and Lorraine, 60, left behind their ATV and ventured out into the forest.

"I don't think we're ever going to know," Stafford police Capt. James Vaughn told Asbury Park Press. "I mean, there wasn't an ATV crash per se, but why they got off and why they ended up in the thicket the way they did far from their house, we're never going to know."

Gary, 67, and Lorraine, 60, were last seen on Nov. 17. A neighbor said they had a conversation with the couple on Sunday, Nov. 21. The couple was reported missing by their daughter on Nov. 22.

The search for the couple began the next day, and over 100 volunteers joined the police and firefighters in finding the couple.

“Everyone keeps to themselves so it's unusual that people would just disappear like that,” Bill Bennett, a neighbor, told NBC10. “This area is not that large of an area to get lost.”

When no sign of the couple was found, the case was handed over to Stafford detectives and the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office on Nov. 24.

Their bodies were finally found together at 1 p.m. Tuesday, according to Asbury Park Press.

"The only way we were able to find them was by using a drone," Vaughn said, describing the density of the woods in that area. "We did have people in that area, but I can tell you, it's the thickest part of the Pine Barrens you're going to find."

Vaughn noted how it was nearly impossible for the search team to make their way through the wooded area. "There were times I couldn't see six inches in front of my face. And there were times I had to crawl underneath things to get through the brush," he said. "Again, without the use of a drone, it was nearly impossible. You could have walked by them and not seen them unless you were directly looking. It was very thick, very dense."

Investigators previously found the couple’s ATV with Gary’s shotgun still inside. They also found that Lorraine had not taken her cane with her and had left it at home. The couple also did not have a cellphone with them.

The police are still waiting on autopsy reports. They currently do not have any reason to believe foul play was involved.