Five days after the plane she was traveling in went missing from radar while flying through Northern Mexico, the remains of Long Beach-raised singer Jenni Rivera have been positively identified and turned over to her family.
As recently as Tuesday, the Rivera family was holding onto hope that the 43 year-old bilingual superstar might still be alive, prompting fans to look to psychics and ground reports that she was merely injured or, worse, kidnapped by a Mexican drug cartel.
But Thursday afternoon, authorities in the Mexican state of Nuevo León say that the results of the DNA tests show that remains found at the crash site are in fact those of Rivera. Her remains were turned over to brother Lupillo, who arrived in Mexico Wednesday, and will be returned to the states for burial.
The family has remained mum in the last few days giving no word on when services will be held or if they will be private.