Police are investigating her death as a homicide.
Kiera Bergman, the 19-year-old who has been missing in Arizona for just over a month, has been found dead, officials confirmed Wednesday.
Her remains were discovered in a remote area Monday, according to The Arizona Republic. A passerby saw the body and called authorities.
Phoenix police said they are investigating her death as a homicide.
Bergman's father, Chris Bragg, told The Republic the family "is devastated." It was Bergman's mother, Kiersten Bragg, who got the call from officers that the teen had been found, he added.
"[Kiersten] pretty much couldn't talk," Chris Bragg said. "She just told me to come home."
Bergman had moved from San Diego to Phoenix, Arizona, in March and had been living with her boyfriend, Jon-Christopher Clark, 23, though she'd recently moved out.
Clark, who was arrested last month on unrelated charges, is the last person known to have seen Bergman alive. He told the Huffington Post in an interview prior to his arrest that he argued with Bergman over money on Saturday, Aug. 4, and she walked out of his apartment that afternoon, he said.
“When she left there was no immediate concern because we have had arguments in past where either me or her have left for an hour or a couple at a time to go clear our head," he said. "I didn't really find it unusual until she wasn’t in contact with me."
The Braggs have said they don't get along with Clark and believe he may have had something to do with her disappearance.
However, he maintains his innocence, writing in an Aug. 17 Instagram post that he wanted to set the record straight with anyone who might suspect him of wrongdoing.
“I love Kiera with all my heart and would never do anything negative to her or put her in harms way,” he wrote. “... I have been nothing but open and honest with investigators and Kieras family.”
Clark remains in custody on the unrelated charges. He is not considered a suspect or person of interest in the case.
For now, Chris Bragg said they are waiting for officials to release their daughter's body.
"Once they release her, we will pick her up and bring her home," he said.
No suspects have been identified in the case.
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