‘She Didn’t Deserve This’: Friends grieve as investigators near close in missing persons case

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — After days of searching, investigators said they may have found the bodies of 26-year-old Hannah Neville and 27-year-old Roberto Tanner.

“Oh my God, it just sucks that it’s like car ashes is what I keep of her, that’s what we got. She didn’t deserve that, we didn’t deserve that either,” said longtime friend of Neville, Bree Johnson.

Johnson said she even went out herself and looked for her.

“I could not sit at home, I couldn’t sleep, if I fell asleep for a second, I woke up to the thought of her somewhere cold, you know, just horrible things,” she said. “Everyone was looking for Tyler Goodrich, and he was missing, and we didn’t find him for how long? And I had that fear for Hannah, so I couldn’t just sit at home.”

For the people who loved Neville most, the possibility of finding her body brings a heartbreak that words can’t fix and a grief they’ve been carrying since she disappeared.

SEE ALSO: Lincoln Police Department awaiting records to identify human remains found in Saunders County

Johnson said waiting has been one of the hardest parts.

She said Neville was the kind of friend who showed up without question and made people feel seen.

She was the life of the party, but most importantly, at 32 weeks pregnant, she was a mother.

“But it would be nice if we could just forget and not know what happened and just remember how amazing she was,” Johnson said. “She literally was the best, she was so kind, so sweet, and she was also the life of the party, though.”

As investigators continue to work to confirm details, friends and family said their focus right now is honoring Neville’s life, not just her death.

“What gives me peace and what I’ve been able to help other people grieve, Hannah, and her baby, and her husband, is that they went together.”