Swanson's friend didn't know about her "Internet date" - ABC 12 – WJRT – Flint, MI

(11/29/12) - Leigh Swanson lived in Saginaw for just a few months.

The man she was living with says they became close friends and he often gave his advice on who should she date.

But he says he wasn't aware of this last date, a date with someone she met through an Internet dating site.
 
"It was pretty much like being her big brother, and she was the little sister, we kind of adopted each other," says Dan Villanueva.

That's how he felt about 45-year-old Leigh Swanson.  They actually met through a mutual Facebook friend, and when Swanson needed a place to stay, Villanueva offered her a room in his Westside Saginaw house, and she accepted. They talked about some of the relationships she started on Facebook.

"Leigh would talk to me about different guys, she would ask me my advice on that and a lot of times I would say, 'I don't think that's a good idea.'"

But Villain says he was not aware that Swanson arranged a date with someone she met on the dating website Meetme.com, which can be accessed for free through Facebook.  

"This one was a secret, as far as I know," Villaneuva says.

Investigators believe Swanson met someone in the Sanford area the weekend of Nov. 18, the last time she was heard from.  Villanueva has lost his friend, just months after his parents were killed as a result of a car accident in Saginaw Township in July.

"To lose somebody that has grown close, and is like a sister, this is hard," Villanueva said.

He has this advice for anyone that is thinking about arranging dates over the Internet.

"Do not go onto any of these dating services, because you don't know what you are getting into," he warns.

Detectives were at Dan Villanueva's home Thursday, going through Leigh Swanson' belongings to see if there was anything that could help in the investigation.