SAN DIEGO (NEWS 8) - The body of an El Cajon woman who went missing in Arizona was found in the Arizona desert Monday and her remains were later identified.
Kiera Bergman's body was found near State Route 85 and Hazen Road in Maricopa County.
The 19-year-old went missing Aug. 4 after she left her job at a Glendale, Arizona, leasing company.
Kiera’s parents received the call they had been dreading on Wednesday confirming the remains were Kiera's.
“I mean, I lost it,” said Kiera’s mother Kiersten Bragg. “I’m completely devastated.
The search for Kiera over the last several weeks has been intense. Her mother and other family members remained at a Glendale hotel while the investigation into Kiera's disappearance took place. They blanketed the Phoenix area with thousands of fliers.
A Valhalla High School graduate, Kiera had aspirations of becoming a hair stylist. Her family said she moved to Phoenix last March initially to live with her boyfriend Jon Christopher Clark with whom she had an on-again, off-again relationship.
During the investigation into Kiera’s disappearance, Clark was arrested on unrelated charges of identity theft and remains in custody.
Police have not named any suspects in Kiera’s death nor have they said how or when she may have died. But authorities have called it an "active homicide investigation."
Kiera’s parents are desperate for answers as they now try to celebrate their daughter’s short life.
“She would walk into a room and her smile would just light the place up,” said Kiera’s father Chris Bragg.
Her parents also want to see their own version of justice for her untimely death with her father saying he hopes whoever did this will meet the same fate Kiera did.