RIO ARRIBA COUNTY, N.M. — Newly-released 911 audio is shedding light on the moments when Rio Arriba County Sheriff Billy Merrifield was found dead in his patrol vehicle on Easter morning.

The call was placed around 10 a.m. Sunday, by a friend of Merrifield, who was also one of the last people to see the sheriff alive.

“He’s in his unit and he is unresponsive. I think he is dead,” the caller told dispatchers. “Yeah, Bill Merrifield, he is my friend.”

The sheriff’s body was discovered in his patrol car outside his home near Abiquiu Lake. According to the caller, he had been trying to reach Merrifield throughout the morning before going to the home and finding him unresponsive.

In the 911 call, the friend explained that Merrifield and a woman had contacted him around 3 a.m. Sunday, saying they had been involved in a minor off-duty crash in Merrifield’s patrol vehicle. The friend helped return the vehicle to the sheriff’s home and later drove the woman home.

“I talked to him, and he said, ‘I’m OK. I’m OK,’” the caller told dispatchers.

The friend said he assumed Merrifield had gone inside his home. Hours later, after not hearing from him, he went to check on him and found him unresponsive in the vehicle.

Emergency responders attempted CPR, but Merrifield was pronounced dead at the scene. An autopsy was performed Monday; results are pending.

A memorial service is scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday at Española Valley High School gym. A rosary will be held Wednesday, followed by a funeral Mass and burial.