The body of Kiera Bergman, the 19-year-old who went missing in August, has been found.
Officials say that a passerby discovered the body Monday in a rural desert area in Buckeye, roughly 30 miles west of Phoenix. On Wednesday, local law enforcement informed Bergman's parents, Chris and Kiersten Bragg , that they had positively identified the body as Kiera's.
Chris Bragg, Bergman's father, told the Huffington Post that, “We are all just so heartbroken right now. Please continue praying for our family as we grieve the loss of our daughter and seek justice for this terrible tragedy.”
AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT
Bergman, originally from San Diego, California, moved to Phoenix in March to be with her boyfriend Jon-Christopher Clark. Clark was the last person to see her alive on August 4th when he says left her alone at her Phoenix-area apartment.
Shortly after, Bergman's roommate Destiny Hall-Chand received a strange text from Bergman's phone. "She was saying that she was going to go out with some guy that she met at the store a couple days ago, which is something that's not like her, I mean, that's not something that she would do," Hall-Chand told CBS affiliate KPHO-TV.
On August 17th, Clark was arrested on charges unrelated to the disappearance. He faces 22 counts of aggravated identity theft and two counts of forgery, according to police.
AZCentral.com reports that police say this case is an active and ongoing homicide investigation, no suspects have yet been identified. Awaiting an autopsy, authorities did not confirm a cause of death or how long Bergman's body was in the desert.
Law enforcement asks that anyone with information regarding the case call Silent Witness at 480-WITNESS.
As news of Bergman's death was confirmed, tributes to the late woman began to pour in on Facebook mourning her loss and praising her humor, talent, and loyalty.