(CNN)The killing in Belize of a US Marine Corps veteran and his Canadian girlfriend has left their friends and families struggling with an awful question: How could this happen?
So far, there has been no answer.
American Drew DeVoursney, 36, and Canadian Francesca Matus, 52, had been dating for several months when they went missing on April 25.
The couple was last seen at a popular oceanfront hangout -- Scotty's Bar and Grill in picturesque Corozal -- just a few miles south of the Mexican border. Matus, a realtor from Toronto who spent winters in tropical Belize, was scheduled to fly home the following day. DeVoursney was to return to the US a few days later.
But when a friend arrived the next morning to take Matus to the airport, he found her house locked -- and neither she nor DeVoursney could be found.
Grim discovery ends search
Volunteers and police combed the area after the friend reported the couple missing, but it wasn't until April 30 that Matus' white SUV was found about five miles from the bar. A day later, on Monday, their bodies were discovered about seven miles from the vehicle, according to a law enforcement source with knowledge of the investigation.
The couple had been strangled, their bodies dumped in a sugar cane field. The news was devastating to family and friends who had been desperately hoping the pair would be found alive.
"It's heart-wrenching and it's a roller coaster of emotions right now. I've never dealt with something like this in my life. It's horrible," said Nancy Rifenbark, a close friend of Matus.
"He was the greatest guy you'll ever meet," said DeVoursney's friend Brandon Barfield. The two men served together in Iraq. DeVoursney served two tours of Iraq as a Marine, and went to Afghanistan as a military contractor. "This is a true American," said Barfield.
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US-Canadian couple found strangled in sugar cane field - CNN.com