Murdered ABC7 web producer's teacher calls Anne Swaney 'kindest, smartest, just coolest lady'
PLATTE CITY, Mo. (WLS) -- A team of 15-20 officers is now investigating the Belize murder of our colleague Anne Swaney.
Swaney's remains are scheduled to be returned to her family Tuesday night in Missouri, where she grew up near Kansas City.
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Swaney was on vacation last week in Belize practicing yoga alone when she was attacked and strangled. Her body was found Friday morning.
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A former high school teacher, who became a lifelong friend, talked about Swaney's life and legacy.
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"Everybody who knew Anne knows that she is the kindest, smartest, just coolest lady ever, and she always has been," said former teacher Lenora Miles.
WATCH: Remembering Anne Swaney
Miles first met Anne Swaney 25 years ago when Swaney was a sophomore in high school.
"She was probably the most mature sophomore in high school that I have ever known," Miles said.
Pages of the high school yearbook show Swaney playing on the volleyball team, working on the yearbook staff and acting in plays. She loved writing. That led to a career in journalism and a passion for horses, travel and adventure.
"I'll tell you what, in 39 years she lived. She lived every minute," Miles said.
But it was Swaney's attitude toward others that made a lasting impact.
"She cared about everyone else, she cared about herself, but she cared about everybody else," Miles said. "She was one of the kindest persons I've ever known."
Miles says that makes it all the more difficult to believe that someone else would take her life.
"It is the most undeserving act on Earth, to one of the most honorable people there has ever been," Miles said.
