MACON, Ga. — Friends of Sidney Compagines are sharing their memories of the 21-year-old found dead over the weekend. Investigators say she was last seen around 1 a.m. Friday. On Saturday, she was found dead inside her car off Lower Thomaston Road.
Taylor Osborn, Shannon Allen, and Hailey Mosely say they remember when a young Sidney Compagines arrived to Windsor Academy in the 8th grade.
"She could barely speak English -- she is from Miami, they speak Spanish down there. She could barely speak English, so we were all kind of teaching her something here and there," Shannon Allen said.
Her friends say it took Compagines some time to get used to the Southern dialect. While getting accustomed to Macon, Compagines decided to try out softball.
"We were like in a triangle -- me, Taylor, and Sidney, and I threw the ball to her and I could see the fear in her face, and I was like, 'I don't think she has ever seen a softball because it hit her right in the chest,'" Hailey Mosley said.
Investigators say Compagines was last seen around 1 a.m. last Friday at the Cook Out in north Macon.
"That night we found out she was missing, I was a mess, but the day I found it happened, shortly before, I was in touch with her family, mom, family in Miami," Taylor Osborne said.
Her friends helped search for her, but investigators say Compagines' uncle found her body inside of her crashed car off Lower Thomaston Road Saturday afternoon.
"It wasn't until I got my phone and saw the notifications and stuff and it became real, and I just broke down -- I couldn't believe that it happened to Sidney out of all people," Mosley said.
Even though Compagines died, her friends are reminiscing about her positive spirit, love for her family, and ambition to be successful.
"Everything she had went into every day. She loved hard, she laughed hard, she just definitely lived her life to the fullest," Mosley said.