Tailgate Inside Lights Staying On

[jfr0317]

My wife has been complaining of getting a "Tailgate Open" error message, but when she checks it, it is closed. I've searched and found comments on this, but I haven't seen anything about the latest issue, which is the interior lights on the inside of the upper tailgate (liftgate?) have stayed on for the last two hours since she got home from the store. We've tried opening and reclosing the tailgate multiple times, turning off the interior lights from the overhead switch above the rearview mirror, locking the car, etc., all to no avail.

Any suggestions for a fix/workaround until we can get it to the dealer? It's an 07 4.8i.