New Hampshire couple reported missing in October found dead in Texas

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The bodies of a man and a woman found along a beach near Corpus Christi, Texas, were identified Friday as a couple from New Hampshire who had been reported missing in October.

The Kleberg County Sheriff’s Office said it notified the family of James Butler, 48, and his wife Michelle, 46, of Rumney, about their deaths, which were ruled as homicides.

Their causes of death were not released.

The Butlers were reported missing Oct. 16, after a friend said they had not heard from them. Relatives said the couple had been traveling the country in a recreational vehicle.

Their last known location was in a beach area on Padre Island in Kleberg County around Oct. 15.

Investigators said they discovered the badly decomposed remains of a man and a woman not far away from that area last Sunday and Monday, after a cellphone believed to have belonged to the couple was pinged in the area.

After autopsies were performed and the bodies identified, a medical examiner ruled their deaths as homicides.

In a news release, the Kleberg County Sheriff’s Department said investigators were working on identifying persons of interest and trying to find the whereabouts of the victims’ pickup truck and RV trailer.

Investigators had previously told WMUR that surveillance footage captured the silver Chevrolet Silverado and Cedar Creek camper the pair had been driving crossing an unspecified border checkpoint into Mexico on Oct. 21.

Relatives had reported to sheriff’s investigators that the Butlers were likely headed to a part-time job in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. They were supposed to arrive there on Nov. 20.