Local teacher, former reporter found dead

By Bill Donovan
Staff writer

GALLUP — Andrea Egger, long-time writer and teacher in the Gallup area, died Tuesday, apparently of natural causes.

Sgt. Erin Toadlena-Pablo, a spokeswoman for the Gallup Police Department, said officers were sent to her home on Canyon De Chelly Drive about 3:33 p.m. Tuesday because a friend had called saying he was concerned about her well-being. Police found the 38-year-old teacher dead in her home.

Pablo said there is no suspicion of foul play but an autopsy is being performed and the investigation is continuing.

Egger worked as a police reporter for the Gallup Independent for several years in the late 1990s and early 2000s. She resigned from the Independent in 2004 and became an English teacher at Gallup High School.

In 2002, her first book, “Grave Accusations,” which centered around the arrest of a Farmington police officer for the murder of his wife was published. Her second true-crime book, “Last Call,” had been completed and was waiting to be published in early 2008.