The body of an American woman has been found gagged and bound in the Dominican Republic — and authorities believe she was tortured and murdered during a burglary, according to local media reports.

Patricia Ann Anton, 63, a teacher on the island, was discovered dead inside her home in the province of Puerto Plata on Tuesday morning with her hands and feet tied up. Authorities are ruling she died of strangulation, local newspaper Lopez Doriga reported.

Authorities found Stanton’s body on her bed with a gag in her mouth and said there were signs the Michigan woman had been tortured, Dominican National Police spokesman Frank Felix Duran told local media.

Anton’s cellphone, laptop and plasma television were missing and there were signs her cupboards had been ransacked, leading police to believe she was killed during a robbery.

But there were no signs of forced entry, suggesting Anton may have been killed by someone she knew, Duran said. An investigation is ongoing and no suspects have been identified.

Anton, born in Italy, was a curriculum program director at the Mariposas Montessori elementary school in Cabarete, one of the Dominican Republic’s poorest communities, according to her LinkedIn.

She had worked there for six years and was previously an elementary school teacher in Traverse City, Michigan.

Her tragic death led to an outpouring of grief from friends and the parents of children whom Anton taught — saying she was a seasoned traveler who cared deeply about the Dominican people.

“Patty was one of those teachers whom our daughter would run to hug, and who would always treat the kids as her own,” Demeter Russafov Dharma wrote in a Dominican Today article reporting her death.

“To find out that her life was senselessly cut short in such a cruel manner brings such pain and sadness,” he added.

Wisconsin woman Adrianne Machina said Anton was a loving mother, teacher and friend and a “role model to so many.”

“She loved the DR — both the place and the people. She had a heart of gold and would help anyone — but was also a seasoned savvy traveler who could hold her own and was always aware of her surroundings.”

Her body has been sent to forensic scientists in the city of Santiago De Los Caballeros for an autopsy. Members of Anton’s family reportedly are flying to the Dominican Republic on Wednesday.