1997 4Runner Door Lock

Hello, I have a 1997 4Runner limited edition. Recently during a cold spell my wife went to open the drivers side door and the exterior handle no longer works. The interior handle was still operating until today. When I closed the door this morning the interior handle now does not work and the door lock knob will not extend to fully unlock. Now I'm unable to open the door to remove the door panel to investigate. So far I've tried using the key, the key fob, while tugging up on the door lock knob. The actuator seems to be locked.
My only resort now is to destroy the door panel to get to the locking components but before I start tearing stuff apart I wanted to see if anyone had any better ideas.
Has anyone dealt with this issue?

 

Welcome

 

You should be able to remove the inside door latch. There is a bar in there that goes to the handle. Get it open and take the door skin off. Its like 2 or 3 grommets. Then look and see if the bar is attached to the outside handle. There's a little plastic piece holding the outside handle to the bar.

 

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