A husband and wife whose car plunged 300ft over a cliff died with their beloved dachshunds. The couple have been named locally as John and Lynn King. Neighbours said Mrs King, 66, was so poorly and frail she had barely left the couple’s home on the Isle of Wight for two years.
Police confirmed a Ford Mondeo car came off the road near The Needles sea stacks on Friday evening (June 7). A Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary spokesman confirmed two people and two dachshund dogs died.
He added that an address in Arctic Road, Cowes, was being searched as part of the investigation being carried out on behalf of the coroner.
A postmortem is due to take place on Tuesday (June 10). Formal identification has been ongoing, but the next of kin have been notified, according to the police.
Neighbours have said Mr King, 67, was a driver for local bus company, Southern Vectis. One local told MailOnline she saw the couple hours before they died.
The unnamed woman told the same publication: “It’s really sad… I think I saw his wife maybe twice in the three years they’d been living in the road.”
She claimed that Mr King acted as his wife’s carer and “never” saw nurses or medics enter the couple’s home. The woman said: “I think he did everything for her.”
The woman said she saw Mr King walking past her window some time between 4pm and 4.45pm on Friday. Mr King was seen helping his wife into the car, according to the neighbour, who said they were with their two dogs.
She said Mrs King looked “really frail” and was finding it difficult to walk. The woman added: “That was the last time I saw them. They never came home.”
The police spokesman said officers have been carrying out inquiries at a property in Arctic Road, Cowes, to help them to establish what happened.
He said the force was called at 7.21pm on Friday after the Ford Mondeo, which was being driven along Alum Bay New Road, left the road, came off the cliff top and came to rest in the water below.