Monica Rivera’s relatives say their immediate focus is caring for her two young daughters after investigators found no evidence of foul play.
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — The family of a 24-year-old mother who died after falling through a gap between the roadways of the 7th Street Bridge is speaking publicly about her death while turning its attention to the two young daughters she left behind.
Monica Rivera was last seen early Friday walking north on 7th Street near Southwest Boulevard. Her body was found later that morning below the bridge in an industrial area. Kansas City, Kansas, police have said the death was accidental and that investigators found no indication of foul play. Rivera’s family said those findings have helped answer questions about what happened, but they are now confronting the longer-term impact on her children, ages 5 and 3.
Rivera’s adoptive mother, Emilia Rivera, told FOX4 that she had spoken with a homicide detective and the coroner after the death. She said authorities had confirmed there was no foul play, a finding she hoped would quiet speculation surrounding the circumstances. Police have said Rivera apparently encountered a gap separating the bridge’s northbound and southbound roadway surfaces.
Investigators believe Rivera tried to cross from one roadway to the other by going over a concrete barrier. What can appear to be a continuous bridge surface is actually divided by an open space between the traffic lanes, police said. There is no pavement in that gap, and the area below the bridge drops to Division Street.
The loss has left Rivera’s family trying to explain her death to her daughters, 5-year-old Aryana and 3-year-old Ilah. Jacqueline Gallo, the girls’ grandmother, said the younger child sometimes asks about her mother, while the older girl has struggled to understand that she cannot simply visit her. The adults caring for them have tried to explain the loss in terms the children can understand.
Gallo said the family has had little opportunity to focus on its own grief because Rivera’s daughters need stability and care. She and Emilia Rivera said their attention is centered on the children as they begin adjusting to life without their mother. The family has also sought support to help meet the girls’ needs.
Rivera’s death followed an evening out, according to accounts provided to FOX4. Police said she was walking in the northbound lanes of 7th Street when she apparently tried to move across the bridge. Detective Mark Bundy has described the separation between the bridge decks as difficult to recognize, even for people who regularly travel through the area.
The circumstances have also renewed attention on the bridge itself. Kansas City, Kansas, police confirmed that another person, John Lee Brown, died after falling through the same gap on Jan. 2, 2023. Rivera’s death has prompted a family friend to launch a petition seeking a change to the bridge intended to prevent another similar fall.
The Kansas Department of Transportation maintains the bridge. The agency said it was aware of Rivera’s death but had not been involved in the police investigation. KDOT said the bridge underwent a routine inspection in August and that a maintenance project involving joint repairs was completed earlier in 2026. No confirmed plan to alter or cover the gap had been announced as of Thursday.
Rivera’s relatives said their memories now compete with the practical demands of caring for two children facing a loss they are still too young to fully understand. For the family, the police finding that the death was accidental settles one painful question while leaving another challenge just beginning: helping Rivera’s daughters grow up without their mother.
Author note: Last updated October 30, 2026.