Strange crash leaves 1 dead, 1 missing

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - Sheriff's deputies are trying to figure out a mysterious case on a ranch east of Albuquerque where one man was found dead and another man is missing.

Two men on a wild SUV ride across the range, crashed their car and ran from the scene in opposite directions.

Police are working to piece together the strange situation that ended up with one man dead and another man nowhere to be found.

The incident occurred Sunday morning when two men got off I-40 in between Moriarty and Clines Corners.

”As soon as he exited off I-40 he started running through fields, fences, bluffs,” Sheriff Heath White said.

A rancher saw the two roll their ford SUV nearly 20 miles south of the freeway on Lucy Road.

When he spotted the car, the two men got out and ran in opposite directions.

Police searched for them, following one of them north of the wreck onto the Red Canyon Ranch.

”We were able to track about 12-13 miles north through very rugged country, unable to locate him,” White said.

Monday morning the search resumed and he was found dead on a hill.

It is not known how he died or who he is. Police say he is an Albuqueruqe man in his 20's.

The man who was with him remains a mystery.

”We are still trying to figure out who that southbound person was,” White said.

Sheriff White says this was likely not a murder.

Police also say they did not find anything suspicious in the car.

The dead man does not have a criminal background.