An El Cajon couple is mourning the loss of their 19-year-old daughter who was found dead Monday in the Arizona desert, weeks after she was reported missing.
"I've been praying this whole time that I would get the phone call that they found her and that she was alive and I could come get her and bring her home," said Kiersten Bragg.
Bragg's daughter, Kiera Bergman, was last seen on Aug. 4 leaving her home without her money, purse or car.
Her body was found Monday at 3 p.m. near State Route 85 and Hazen Road in Maricopa County.
"We’re completely heartbroken as a family," her father, Chris Bragg said.
Homicide investigators had suspected foul play in Bergman's disappearance, however, no arrest has been made, Phoenix police said.
A passerby spotted the body in a rural, remote area that is a 45-minute drive from the teenager's apartment.
At a press conference in front of their home Thursday, the family said they were thankful to the bike rider who made the discovery.
"I just can't imagine anyone doing this to her, with how great of a person she was," her father said. "I'm looking forward to answers right now, I want to know who did this and why, and I want them to suffer the wrath of God."
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Several cars parked on the block had special decals and window paint that read "Bring Kiera Home" and "#Justice4Kiera." The family was also seen wearing rubber wristbands with the same messages.
"Now I don't get to create any new memories," Kiera's sister Braydee Bragg said behind tears. "She doesn't get to be at my wedding and I don't get to be at hers."
Bergman, who was raised in the unincorporated area of El Cajon, had relocated to Phoenix about four months ago, her family said.
Her mother said Bergman had just turned 19 over the summer.
"She was talented and creative and she didn’t deserve what happened to her," Kiersten Bragg said.
The family is now waiting to receive Kiera's body from the medical examiner's office so they can plan funeral services.
The Bragg family confirmed Thursday that the money raised through a GoFundMe page started to help raise money for search efforts will be used to fund Bergman's funeral.
"We’re thankful to all the people out there who don’t know us and have slipped us messages and telling us they are praying for us and thinking of us," Bergman's mother said.
Bergman sent a text message to her roommate at about 12:45 p.m. on Aug. 4. That was the last time friends or family had heard from her.
