Elderly couple carries out suicide pact in Mendocino County

The couple letter sent to a relative indicating their extensive financial and medical hardships.|
NICK RAHAIM
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

An elderly couple from Burlingame drove Sunday to Mendocino County and carried out a suicide pact in their car, authorities said.

Linda Bayer, 72, and her husband Wolfgang Bayer, 71, were found dead from gunshot wounds in their vehicle off Highway 20 in Jackson State Forest, the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. It’s unclear if their deaths were the result of a murder-suicide or a suicide-suicide.

Detectives found that the couple had sent a letter to a relative outlining their extensive physical problems and financial difficulties, prior to traveling north, the Sheriff’s Office said.

You can reach Staff Writer Nick Rahaim at 707-521-5203 or nick.rahaim@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @nrahaim.

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