Gary Dale Hodges, a 71-year-old white man from the Thayne area, was discovered dead on Monday, November 4, 2019, after worry turned into action in Star Valley Ranch. Someone who hadn't heard from the couple for a while called the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office and asked for a welfare check at their home on Alta Drive. Deputies arrived late in the morning and, after getting no answer at the door, went inside.
Inside, deputies found Hodges and his wife, Memorie Jean Hodges, dead with what investigators described as apparent gunshot wounds. A firearm was recovered near the bodies, and the scene immediately took on the shape of a suspected murder-suicide rather than an attack by an unknown outsider. The sheriff's office said the case was being worked by local investigators with assistance from the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation.
In the days that followed, the sheriff spoke publicly about the call that sparked the welfare check and the grim discovery that came after. Authorities emphasized that, based on what they were seeing, they did not believe anyone else was connected to what happened inside the home. That statement effectively narrowed the scope of the case to the two people found there and the evidence left behind, while investigators continued processing the scene and following standard procedures.
Because investigators publicly stated they did not suspect any additional person was involved, the reporting available from these sources does not describe any arrests, charges, court proceedings, or convictions tied to Hodges' death. No outside suspect is identified in the coverage; the only scenario discussed publicly was the suspected murder-suicide framework supported by the firearm at the scene and the conclusion that no third party appeared to be involved.
