Missing 'World Traveler' Woman Found Dead in Texas

Leanne Bearden traveled the world for two years, and then went missing.

ByABC News
February 2, 2014, 10:26 AM

Feb. 14, 2014— -- The body of a missing woman in Texas has been found within a mile of where she was last seen in January.

Leanne Bearden, 33, went out for a jog near her in-laws' home in Garden Ridge, a suburb of San Antonio, on Jan. 17.

She had just returned from a two-year trip around the world with her husband, Joshua Bearden.

According to him, Bearden said she was going out for a walk for an hour. Instead she never returned.

Multiple law enforcement agencies searched for her in the areas surrounding the suburb but no leads were found.

Bearden's body was found Friday in a wooded area behind a Garden Ridge home after the homeowner called police saying he had spotted a body, according to ABC News affiliate KSAT-TV. She was found only a few blocks from where she was last seen. No cause of death has been announced pending autopsy findings.

The Bearden family and the Hecht family (Bearden's maiden name) released a statement Friday thanking the local police for their help searching for Leanne Bearden.

"Our family is understandably devastated by the news of the recovery of the remains of our beloved Leanne," read the statement in part. "We ask for your continued prayers and good wishes for our family. Leanne was a lovely and remarkable young woman, and we will all miss her greatly."

Earlier this month Bearden's husband said that the 33-year-old woman was "anxious" about returning home and her family said that there was a "strong possibility" she ran away.

"She was having some difficulties adjusting back to life in the United States after being on the road," Joshua Bearden told "Good Morning America."

New Theories Develop Around Missing Texas Woman

"Traveling around the world and seeing all these things and then coming back -- obviously she was anxious. I think anybody would be anxious in that situation," he added.

Joshua Bearden had speculated that his wife may have left voluntarily, even though she left the house with no credit cards, cell phone and only $60 in cash. He said Leanne told him she was going for a walk and would be gone for an hour.

Before her body was found, Joshua Bearden expressed his hope she was still alive, saying, "She's a budgeter, she could have stretched this money out. She could have stretched this out.... I hope that she's just taking a time-out or playing survivor-woman or something like that. That's actually what keeps me going."

Leanne Bearden's family had posted a statement earlier this month on a Facebook page dedicated to her, explaining she may have left voluntarily.

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The couple was planning to move back to Denver to settle down after their trek around the world.