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Mother of Buckeye teen found in canal remembers daughter as positive and loving

Posted at 10:00 PM, Sep 30, 2016
and last updated 2016-10-01 12:55:47-04

A Valley mother is crying for justice after the body of her 18-year-old daughter was found badly beaten in a Buckeye canal last week.

Sonya Field says her daughter Gabby Field-Gutierrez was a positive, loving young woman and she can't imagine who would take the life her oldest child.

Gabby's body was discovered last Friday in a canal off Hazen and Miller Roads. It was so badly bruised and beaten, it took days for police to identify it.

Field says a little more than a week ago her daughter told her she was staying at a friend's house for the weekend. Authorities later discovered no plans were ever made. 

Field keeps replaying the final moments she spent with her daughter as she said goodbye before work. 

"I hugged her and I said, 'I love you'" said Field. "And she said she loved me. I'm just glad I got to say that."

Field says she has not reason to believe that her daughter was in any kind of danger. She said Gabby had a boyfriend she was secretive about, and sometimes they may have argued, but could never imagine that something like this could happen.

"Just thinking of how brutal, whoever did this to her, I hope they find that person or persons," said Field. 

As she plans her daughter's funeral, Field holds on to the final memories of her child. 

"I just keep hearing her voice in my head, telling me that she's with me and she loves me," said Field. "I know she's here with me."

The family is planning a candlelight vigil for Gabby on Sunday, October 2nd at 8:30 p.m. at Surprise Park. 

The family is raising money for Gabby's funeral expenses. If you want to help, you can do so through a GoFundMe page that has been set up.