Auburn resident remembers slain Orlando reporter

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) - Colleagues and loved ones are mourning the loss of Dylan Lyons, a television news reporter who was shot while covering a shooting in Orlando, Florida.

“I was just shocked and then just incredibly sad,” said Vanessa Echols.

A true journalist who cared about helping people is how Auburn resident Vanessa Echols remembers Dylan Lyons. Echols, a retired anchor, met Lyons when he interned at her former news station, Channel 9, in Orlando. Echols says Lyons had a bright future ahead of him, and that’s what is heartbreaking.

“He was just so enthusiastic. You could tell he was just into the business for the right reasons, to tell the stories and be a voice for the voiceless. We knew he was going to be a hard worker, and we were not wrong. He came into the internship, and he was just determined to learn everything,” said Echols. He would always go above and beyond. And he just, he took everything seriously,” said Echols.

Lyons would have turned 25 years old in March. A GoFundMe has been set up by Dylan Lyons Family to cover the funeral cost.

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