CHICAGO (CBS) — A Chicago woman was murdered while on vacation in Belize, police said. 
 
 Anne Swaney, 39, was reported missing on Thursday, and her body was found in a river on Friday. Police officials, citing an autopsy report, said Swaney had been strangled and also suffered blunt force trauma to the head and neck. 
 
 Swaney was executive producer of online operations for ABC 7 in Chicago. 
 
 Her friends said Swaney loved horses, travel, and good times; and seemed to be enjoying all three while vacationing at a rural resort in the Cayo District of western Belize. 
 
 When she failed to return to her cabin Thursday morning after going out to do yoga at a nearby river, the resort called police, according to Benque Viejo Police Superintendent Daniel Arzu. Her personal belongings were found on a deck near the resort, and police brought in a K-9 unit to join the search. A scent led them to the river, but thes earch was called off due to darkness. 
 
 When the search resumed Friday morning, police found her half-naked body face-down in the river, Arzu said. She had bruises on her neck, and lacerations on both sides of her head, indicating she might have been strangled. 
 
 “That led us to believe that she was murdered,” he said. “We also suspect that she might have been sexually violated.” 
 
 Swaney’s death hit hard at ABC 7, where she was being remembered as a newsroom leader with a passion for getting it right. 
 
 “Anne was one of those folks, she made everybody around her better. She made everybody around her smile. She was a fierce advocate for getting things right, and a fierce advocate for this news business,” ABC 7 general manager John Idler said. 
 
 Swaney had many friends in the CBS 2 newsroom, reporter Brad Edwards among them. 
 
 “Northwestern grad, smart superstar alum, talented, big title, but everyone loved her. She was just effervescent,” he said. 
 
 Arzu said police do not consider the area around the resort to be dangerous, and believe at this time it likely was 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 said. 
 
 However, he did say the area is heavily trafficked by Guatemalans who enter the country illegally to sell illegal drugs or contraband. 
 
 “We will be looking at all leads, and we will be open in terms of our area of investigation, but as it is so far, we have no suspects,” Arzu said. 
 
 Authorities were awaiting the results of an autopsy conducted later Friday to determine the exact cause of Swaney’s death. 
 
 CBS 2 was told there is a nationwide tourist advisory in Belize; apparently, robbery, mugging, and rape are all on the rise in that country. ||||| EMBED More News Videos News of Anne's death brought tears at ABC7, where she was being remembered as a newsroom leader. 
 
 One of our ABC7 Chicago colleagues was found murdered Friday while traveling in Belize, according to police in the Central American nation and the U.S. State Department.Anne Swaney was executive producer of online operations at abc7chicago.com. She was 39. Autopsy results determined that she was strangled.Anne was an avid world traveler and on a vacation in the Cayo District of western Belize, a popular destination for American adventure travelers and horse enthusiasts. She was staying at the Nabitunich Farm near a tiny town called San Jose Succotz. Hotel owner Santiago Juan tells the I-Team she was killed on "public land" near the hotel. Juan reported her missing Thursday afternoon.On Thursday morning, Anne was supposed to go on a group horseback trip through the woods, but there were more riders than horses, so she stayed back. She came down to a wooden deck on the river to do yoga and never returned."A horse riding tour returned in the afternoon and found her personal effects on the deck. This looked suspicious so they went to her cabin and she wasn't there. They told the owner who called the police. The police came with their canine unit and the scent led them along the river but due to the darkness the search was called off for the night before finding her," Supt. Arzu told the I-Team.Police teams resumed searching Friday morning, when her body was found face down in the river. Police said there were obvious signs someone had killed her."Her neck and either side of her head had laceration and that led us to believe it was a case of murder," Supt. Arzu said.Authorities said Anne was taken to San Ignacio Hospital in Belize and was pronounced dead. Autopsy results released Saturday concluded the cause of death was manual strangulation as well as blunt force injuries to her head and neck."We offer our sincerest condolences to her family and loved ones on their loss," a state department spokesman in Washington said.Investigators said Friday that they were questioning a man who was seen fishing near the crime scene but that he was not considered a prime suspect at this time. The man, a Guatemalan national, maintains he was just fishing and was not involved in her death, police said.News of Anne's death brought tears at ABC7, where she was being remembered as a newsroom leader with a penchant for detail and a passion for getting facts straight."She was a trailblazer in the digital news space and was one of our first website employees," said John H. Idler, president and general manager of ABC7. "Anne helped us evolve our business and our newsroom, but most importantly, she was a kind person who was always had a smile and a positive attitude."A local reporter in Belize said Anne's death is quite an embarrassment to the nation."Because it is on the fringes of our border with our neighbor in Guatemala it also provides another element that the police have to investigate. Where if the perpetrator came across the border, they will have a difficult time they will have to liaise with their counterparts in Guatemala," said Daniel Ortiz, NEWSBELIZE.There is not a nationwide tourist advisory in effect for Belize. However, tourists are told to exercise a high degree of caution due to an increasing rate of violent crime throughout the country. In that specific "Cayo District," armed robberies occasionally occur near the western border with Guatemala, especially near Caracol to the south.Police say criminal activity, including armed robbery, mugging and sexual assault, is a significant problem throughout Belize. Robberies and assaults have been reported in resort areas. There has been a noted increase in violent crime targeting tourists since the end of 2013. Criminals often operate in groups and target persons traveling alone.Cases of sexual assault against female travelers have also be been reported in that district.Drug-related crimes are also on the uptick. The transit of drugs, particularly cocaine and precursor chemicals for methamphetamine, has risen. Belize was included on the FY12, 13 and 14 U.S. Majors List of illegal narcotic producing and/or transit countries.In January 2014, two American citizens were kidnapped at gunpoint from a resort area near the western border with Guatemala.A Canadian filmmaker was killed in January 2015 to the south of the district.In May 2015, two American men were murdered in a suspected drug-related armed robbery. An 18-year old suspect was charged. ||||| A slain Chicago TV news producer’s father is “a mess” after his 39-year-old daughter was murdered on her vacation to Belize, he said Monday. 
 
 Jack Swaney, the father of Anne Swaney, spoke with the station where she worked for 16 years, WLS-TV, three days after her body was found in a Cayo district river by the Nabitunich resort. An autopsy revealed she had been hit in the head and strangled a day earlier. 
 
 The tearful Swaney told the TV station he’s still trying to adjust to losing his 39-year-old son to a heart condition two years ago. 
 
 “I'm not strong. I'm a mess,” he said. “The day before, I'd gone to look at the cemetery and I visited my son. And I still have questions about my son. And here the next day, I'll go to the cemetery and see my son and see my daughter. And that's not fair.” 
 
 Swaney had been horseback riding at the resort in a rural area known for its ecological reserves and Mayan ruins. 
 
 Authorities hadn’t filed any charges in the case Monday. Yet they have captured Guatemalan fisherman, Victor Franco, 24, who police said was in Belize illegally and is a person of interest in Swaney’s murder. 
 
 “I cannot say he's a suspect, but because of the investigation he was found in the general area, so he has been detained and has been questioned,” Belize Police Department Commissioner Allen Whylie told the TV station. 
 
 Anne Swaney, 39, was murdered during her vacation in Belize Thursday, police said. (LinkedIn) Swaney was an avid horseback rider and had worked at Chicago's WLS-TV for 16 years. (Instagram) Anne Swaney, 39, was murdered during her vacation in Belize Thursday, police said. Swaney was an avid horseback rider and had worked at Chicago's WLS-TV for 16 years. 
 
 The FBI and elected officials in both Illinois and his daughter’s home state of Missouri have promised to assist with the case, Swaney said. He recalled her fondness for saying goodbye using her grandfather’s saying “See you Tuesday” or “Talk to you Tuesday.” 
 
 “Anne Elizabeth had a very short life. She had a very full life. It hasn't sunk in, what we've lost,” her father said. “But we've received an awful lot of calls that - no one loved her as much as I did - but a lot of people who care and they expressed that. We certainly appreciate it.” 
 
 His daughter grew up in Platte City in the Kansas City area and graduated with a degree in journalism from Chicago’s Northwestern University, according to her obituary. 
 
 Swaney's father Jack Swaney spoke with the news station where his daughter had worked. (WLS via ABC News) 
 
 Swaney rode horses in Costa Rica, Scotland, Turkey and Greece, drove cattle through Utah’s Bryce Canyon and cycled in the Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa. She had been executive producer of online operations at WLS-TV, also known as ABC-7. 
 
 She died Thursday in “a random act of violence,” the obituary said. “Like all victims, she deserved better. She deserved the chance to take more trips, ride more horses, bike more places – live more life. But it was not to be.” 
 
 Her family is holding a public visitation at Platte City’s Rollins Funeral Home this Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. The family asked for donations in her name to Northland Therapeutic Riding Center and Changing Leads Equine Rescue instead of flowers. 
 
 Authorities in Belize haven't filed any charges in her death as of Monday. This photo released by police shows the section of the Mopan River where her body was found. (Benque Viejo Police Superintendent Daniel Arzu) 
 
 Swaney’s grieving father thanked the many people who have expressed their sympathies. 
 
 “The tributes have been wonderful,” Swaney said. “It makes me think, “Wow, people besides me think she was pretty special, too.’ And she was.” 
 
 Follow on Twitter @tobysalkc 
 
 ON A MOBILE DEVICE? WATCH THE VIDEO HERE. ||||| The heartbroken father of a U.S. journalist who was killed last week while on vacation in Belize has spoken out about his grief, saying he’s “a mess.” 
 
 Jack Swaney said daughter Anne Swaney was passionate about travel and horseback riding, which led to her solo trip to Belize. 
 
 "Anne Elizabeth had a very short life, she had a very full life and it hasn't sunk in, what we've lost," he told Chicago ABC affiliate WLS-TV. 
 
 Anne Swaney, 39, was the executive producer for online operations at WLS-TV and had worked for the Chicago station since 1999. This wasn't her first trip to Belize, and she had stayed at the same resort when she traveled to the country last year. 
 
 WLS-TV 
 
 She was due to go on a group horseback riding excursion Thursday but stayed behind to do yoga when there weren’t enough horses. Her belongings were found on the dock where she was doing yoga and her body was found floating in the Mopan River the next day. 
 
 Her father said she was single and loved to travel, which didn't worry him as long as he was able to get in touch with her. He said she had once traveled to Turkey for a similar trip that involved hiking and horseback riding. 
 
 "As long as I heard her voice, I didn't care where she was once I heard her voice," Jack Swaney told WLS-TV. 
 
 WLS-TV 
 
 Adding to his heartbreak is that his son died two years ago. 
 
 "Thursday morning, I woke up and I had a daughter. At 8:30, I didn't have a daughter," Jack Swaney said. "The day before, I'd gone to look by the cemetery and I'd visited my son … and now the next day it's go to the cemetery and see my son and see my daughter, and that's not fair. 
 
 "I'm not strong; I'm a mess," he said. 
 
 The investigation into her slaying is ongoing and Jack Swaney said the FBI has become involved in the case. 
 
 Police in Belize have detained a man they believe to be a person of interest in the case, but have released few details about what led to his detention. 
 
 "He is a person of interest," said Rafael Martinez, a spokesman for the Belize Ministry of National Security. "He is a person who the police believe can assist in the investigation."
– Authorities in Belize say an American tourist found face-down in a river on Friday was strangled, ABC 7 reports. Anne Swaney, a 39-year-old executive producer for ABC 7 in Chicago, was staying at the Nabitunich resort in the town of Benque Viejo del Carmen on the Belize-Guatemala border. She was supposed to go on a group horseback ride on Thursday, but stayed back because there were too few horses. Instead, authorities tell ABC, Swaney went to a deck on the river to do yoga. The resort owner reported Swaney missing when she failed to return after nine hours, reports Breaking Belize News. Searchers found Swaney's belongings on the deck by the river; the next morning they found her partially clothed body in the water. Bruises on her neck and lacerations on both sides of her head "led us to believe that she was murdered," the local police superintendent tells CBS Chicago. "We also suspect that she might have been sexually violated." Autopsy results have confirmed that Swaney was strangled, per ABC 7. John H. Idler, president and general manager of ABC 7, says Swaney was an avid traveler and a "trailblazer in the digital news space," adding that she was "a kind person who always had a smile and a positive attitude." There is no nationwide tourist advisory for Belize, ABC 7 notes, but visitors are advised to be cautious—especially in the Cayo District, where Swaney was killed—because of an increase in crimes against tourists in the Central American country in recent years.