By admin 
Police identified a body found Friday near Southwest Boulevard in Kansas City, Kansas, as a missing 24-year-old mother of two. Preliminary investigations indicate the victim might have fallen from a bridge.
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Over the weekend, the Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department identified the body as Monica Rivera, 24, of Kansas City, Kansas.
Rivera’s body was found around 9:45 a.m. Friday under the 7th Street Bridge, just north of Southwest Boulevard.
The Wyandotte County resident was last seen early Friday morning walking north on 7th Street, police said. Friday afternoon, Rivera was reported missing.
Nancy Chartrand, agency spokesperson, told The Star that preliminary investigations indicate Rivera’s death was “a tragic accident.”
Chartrand explained there is a narrow empty space between the north and south lanes of the 7th Street bridge.
“It kind of looks like it’s one continuous deck bridge deck, but there’s actually a gap. If you were trying to go from one side to the other, you could possibly fall.”
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A petition to close the gap, started by Rivera’s aunt, received 270 signatures in three hours.
“On a fateful evening,” she wrote, “my beloved niece lost her life due to a safety oversight that should never have existed.”
Rivera’s loved ones held a candlelight vigil under the 7th Street Bridge Sunday night, placing flowers, balloons and candles in the shape of a heart.
One friend posted videos of Rivera dancing in sunglasses and riding on a mechanical bull.
“Her Soul was so beautiful!!!!!!!!”
This story was originally published October 26, 2026 at 6:45 PM with the headline “Kansas mom died after a possible fall from bridge. Police point to one detail.”
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