PUERTO PLATA, Dominican Republic — The death of an American teacher in the Dominican Republic is being investigated as murder.
Police say Patricia Anton, 63, was found dead in her apartment in Puerto Plata, on the country's northern coast.
Anton's hands and feet were tied up and she had been strangled, police said. Investigators said multiple items were missing from her apartment, including a cell phone, a laptop, and a television.
According to WXYZ, Anton had been living in the Dominican Republic for the past five years where she served as a consultant for an elementary school. Her cousin, Adrianne Machina, gave a statement to WXYZ saying Anton was passionate about the philosophy at the Montessori school. Anton had been working at a school in Traverse City before she decided to teach in South America. Anton's husband travels for work and her children are now grown and out of the house.
"(Patty)...believed Montessori education is the path out of poverty and the way to teach children to explore their world and build self-reliance," wrote Machina in the statement.
On their Facebook page, school administrators at the 3 Mariposas Montessori school said Anton would "light up a room upon entering it and be sure to make everyone smile and laugh with her wonderful sense of humor."
Anton first taught in Guatemala before settling at 3 Mariposas Montessori in the Dominican Republic. She taught there for several years, according to CBS News.
"She shared our belief that peace in the world can only come from getting close to and understanding people who are different from ourselves," the school said in a statement to CBS News. "That is why she gave her heart and soul to our school."
A U.S. State Department spokesperson confirmed the death of an American in the Dominican Republic to CBS News on Thursday, but said they could offer no further information.
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