A Chicago woman who was taking a week-long vacation in Belize was murdered while doing yoga, police said, according to CBS Chicago. She has since been identified as Anne Swaney, a 39-year-old executive web producer for ABC 7 in Chicago.
Swaney was reported missing on Thursday after she did not return from her morning yoga session. She had declined to take part in a group horseback ride but was missing when the group returned, ABC7 Chicago reported.
Police found Swaney semi-naked and facedown in a river Friday morning, with injuries suggesting that she may have been strangled. Benque Viejo Police Superintendent Daniel Arzu told reporters that investigators suspect that she had also been sexually assaulted.
Investigators stated Friday that they had a man in questioning who was known to be fishing close to the crime scene, but he was not considered a prime suspect at the current time, ABC11 reported. Arzu claimed that the area around the resort was not known to be a dangerous area and that current evidence points towards Swaney's murder being a random crime.
"We have not had any records in that particular area that our locals may have involved in any sort of crime within that area. We consider that area to be a peaceful area," he told reporters.
ABC7 Chicago has been paying tribute to Swaney since the news of her death, with President and General Manager John Idler describing the news as "a tragic loss for our newsroom, and really for the entire station and for the city of Chicago." Other staff members and friends praised Swaney's kindness and temperament, with fellow web producer Rosie Powers calling her "a light, a source of laughter and smiles, and a source of wisdom that's really one of a kind."
"We offer our sincerest condolences to her family and loved ones on their loss," the U.S. State Department said in a statement, according to the New York Daily News.
