Prominent Virginia Doctor and His Tour Guide Murdered in Belize

A prominent Virginia physician who was on vacation in Belize over the weekend was shot to death along with his tour guide, who had been targeted by a local gangster, NBC News reported.

Dr. Gary Swank, 53, an interventional cardiologist at the Carilion Clinic in Roanoke and the medical director of the clinic’s Cardiac Catheterization Lab, also taught at Virginia Tech's medical school, according to the hospital. The State Department also confirmed Swank's death.

Swank, the married father of three, and his guide Mario Graniel had gone out in their skiff Sunday at about 11:30 a.m. local time and were later found shot to death, police in San Pedro said.

Graniel was found "in a fetal position behind the steering wheel of the skiff" and had been shot four times, according to a police statement. Swank's "lifeless body" was "floating face down in the lagoon about 30 feet away from the skiff" with four gunshot wounds, police said.

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