By Laurie Frost
A Provo teen found a body floating in the Provo River Monday while walking home from school.
Shiree Richards, a freshman at Independence High, saw the body when she and her friends walked home along the river.
The body was identified Tuesday as Anthony Paul Abeyta, an 18-year-old from Provo.
Richards?s family says she is slowly recovering from the shock with the help of counseling, prayer and grit.
Richards, after seeing the body, called her mother, Vonda Eagle Horse. They then called over Officer Chet Whatcott, Independence High?s school resource office, to confirm that it was a body.
?Fortunately ? very close, involved in a traffic stop, and they got him over there,? said Kyle Bates, associate principal of Independence High.
Eagle Horse took Richards from the scene and took her home, said her brother, Isaac Richards, 18.
?She said she felt like she was in a dream,? Richards said. ?She said she couldn?t believe it. It was the first time she had seen a dead body.?
Richards said Shiree seemed a lot calmer after they had a prayer together.
?She said she felt more relieved,? Richards said. ?We prayed for the guy too, that he?d have a safe journey to the other side.?
Shiree Richards was back in school the next day, Isaac said.
Bates said they had two social workers at the school, as well as at Provo High, to provide on-site counseling for any students that may have been affected by the incident.
?These are young kids ? ninth, 10th, 11th grade,? Bates said. ?Although it may not be a traumatic experience for everyone, it would be for a young kid.?
Isaac Richards said he thinks Shiree is tough enough to handle it.
?She was raised around a lot of boys,? Richards said. ?She can take a lot of ? emotions. It?s kind of a first-time thing for her, but I know she can do it.?
Bates said the incident appears to have had a minimal impact on the students.
?I hope we can just move on and get back to the business of teaching and learning,? he said.