FBI Offers Up to $10K Reward for Information in Murder of ABC Chicago Producer in Belize
— -- The Federal Bureau of Investigation is seeking help in its investigation into the death of an ABC producer who was murdered last year while on vacation at an eco-resort in Belize.
Anne Swaney, 39, was an executive producer at WLS-TV, a local ABC-owned television station in Chicago, where she had worked since 1999.
Swaney disappeared on Jan. 14, 2016, and her body was found the following day, according to WLS-TV. The FBI said her body was found in the Mopan River in the Cayo district of Belize. An autopsy revealed that she had been strangled to death.
Over a year later, local authorities in the Central American country and the FBI are still trying to solve her death.
Earlier this week, the FBI announced on its website that it was offering a reward of up to $10,000 for "information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the murder of Anne Swaney."
"We believe that people, the public in Belize, may have information about the suspect or suspects that committed this crime," FBI Special Agent Paul Clark told WLS-TV.
Local authorities in Belize said that on the day she was murdered, Swaney had volunteered to stay behind from a horseback riding excursion because there were not enough horses for everyone. When the group returned, they reportedly found her yoga mat and other belongings on a waterfront deck but saw no sign of her.
Swaney's friend, Ji Suk Yi, told WLS-TV that they are desperate for a break in the case.
"I want to know specifically why she didn't end up going on that horse ride, why were they a horse short," Yi said. "We feel like it had to have been someone, we believe, someone there that knew her."
Swaney's colleague, John Idler, the ABC7 Chicago president and general manager, called her death a "tragic loss" for the "city of Chicago," in a statement on Jan. 15, 2016.
"I'm really without words because it is a tragic loss for our newsroom, and really for the entire station and for the city of Chicago. She was terrific at what she did," Idler said.
