Bodies found near rural roadside ID'd as missing roommates

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Police say the two people whose bodies were found near a rural New Mexico roadside have been identified as a 70-year-old man and a 28-year-old woman who had been renting a room from him in Albuquerque.

Both Eugene Carrell Ray and Zakaria Fry were reported missing last month.

Officer Simon Drobik confirmed Tuesday that the roommates were the two victims who authorities say were found last week in Stanton, a small town in southern Santa Fe County and more than 40 miles east of Albuquerque. A rancher saw a trash bin rolling that had been dumped near a highway, and when he opened it, he discovered a body, reports CBS affiliate KRQE.

Another body was discovered nearby, the station reports.

Fry, a transgender woman, previously was known as Zackary Fry.

Albuquerque police have taken over as the lead agency on the case, which is being investigated as a homicide.