Friends and family of an aspiring model found dead on the island of Jamaica last week are facing roadblocks in their pursuit of answers.

According to WCBS, 26-year-old Desiree Gibbon’s mother, Andrea, revealed that the family’s planned flight to retrieve the victim’s body was cancelled, marking the latest setback in their search for answers.

“My belief is that it was a cold, calculated, planned-out murder,” she said. “It wasn’t a random act of violence. It was somebody she knew, and it’s somebody she trusted.”

As CrimeOnline reported, Desiree Gibbon left her New York home to work in Jamaica on a 3-month visa.

Her body was found in shrubbery alongside a rural road Saturday, a short distance from the resort where she had been staying. Reports indicate her throat was slashed.

Among the updates Gibbon’s family has received from their home 1,500 miles away from the murder scene involves two persons of interest, according to the New York Daily News.

An uncle living in Jamaica said investigators told him they were looking for two women.

While Jamaica Constabulary Force Supt. Michael Phipps denied the women were suspects, he did confirm officers are operating under the theory that Gibbon knew her killer or killers.

“We believe more or less that she may have been familiar with the person who did this,” he said.

Regardless of the circumstances of her death, Gibbon’s family is certain that she was not a passive victim.

“Desi is a strong girl,” said her aunt, Peggy Brunner. “She’s very street smart. She fought. She fought until her last breath.”

Her family is accepting donations through a GoFundMe campaign to pay for her funeral.

[Featured image: Desiree Gibbon/GoFundMe]