��������

Oscar-winner Gene Hackman, his wife and their dog were found dead in different rooms of their Santa Fe home and had apparently been dead for some time, according to investigators.Hackman, 95, was found dead Wednesday in a mudroom and his 63-year-old wife, Betsy Arakawa, was found dead in a bathroom next to a space heater, Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office detectives wrote in a search warrant. The search warrant says a maintenance worker doing pest control could not get a hold of the couple. He then reached out to neighborhood security for a welfare check.Deputies found Hackman and Betsy Arakawa dead inside the Santa Fe home along with their dog around 1:45 p.m. local time, shortly after a 911 call was made."I think we just found two or one deceased person inside a house for purchase here," a man said to emergency dispatchers. "I'm not inside the house. It's closed. It's locked. I can't go in. But I see them. She's laying face down on the floor from the window."According to a search warrant, a cane and sunglasses were found by Hackman's body.The warrant revealed that there was an open prescription bottle on the counter in the bathroom where Arakawa's body was found, and pills were scattered everywhere.According to the search warrant, deputies believed, based on their experience and evidence in the home, the couple suddenly fell.Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said while there are no signs of foul play, but it has not been ruled out. Law enforcement is waiting for the autopsy results as well as toxicology reports.During their search, the deputies found the front door of the home ajar, but did not find any signs of forced entry, nor did items seem taken or rummaged through. The Santa Fe Fire Department responded and did not find any signs of a carbon monoxide leak or poisoning.The New Mexico Gas Co. is working with the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Department in the investigation, spokesperson Tim Korte told The Associated Press.New Mexico Gas Company responded to the home as well and was doing active testing on the gas line, according to court documents. It was learned by law enforcement there was no evidence of any problems with the pipes connected to the residence.The bodies of Hackman and Arakawa were transported to the Office of the Medical Investigator for autopsies to be performed. No external trauma was found during that process.Carbon monoxide and toxicology tests were requested for both Hackman and Arakawa.Hackman's daughters, Elizabeth and Leslie, along with his granddaughter Annie, released a statement on their deaths."It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our father, Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy. He was loved and admired by millions around the world for his brilliant acting career, but to us, he was always just Dad and Grandpa. We will miss him sorely and are devastated by the loss."Hackman was a five-time Oscar nominee who starred in dozens of films and was one of the industry's most respected and honored performers. His two Oscar wins, for “The French Connection�� and “Unforgiven,�� were spaced out 21 years apart. Hackman played a variety of roles, appearing in action movies, thrillers and even appearing in a comedic part in “Young Frankenstein.”The gruff-but-beloved Hackman was among the finest actors of his generation, appearing as villains, heroes and antiheroes in dozens of dramas, comedies and action films from the 1960s until his retirement in the early 2000s.Hackman met Arakawa, a classically trained pianist who grew up in Hawaii, when she was working part-time at a California gym in the mid-1980s, the New York Times reported in 1989. They soon moved in together, and by the end of the decade had bought their home in Santa Fe.Archive video above: Gene Hackman reflects on Vietnam War films, career in 1985The large Southwestern-style ranch in a gated community just outside New Mexico’s capital city sits on a hill with views of the Rocky Mountains.Hackman was often seen around town and served as a board member of the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum in the 1990s, according to the local paper, The New Mexican.Aside from appearances at awards shows, he was rarely seen in the Hollywood social circuit and retired about 20 years ago. His was the rare Hollywood retirement that actually lasted.In his later years, he wrote novels.Hackman had three children from a previous marriage. He and Arakawa had no children together but were known for having German shepherds.News of his death comes just four days before this year’s Academy Awards ceremony.Archive video above: Gene Hackman discusses 'Hoosiers' and Indiana roots in 1987The Associated Press contributed to this report.