The body of a 29-year-old woman was found buried in a shallow grave in the Fox Chase woods Thursday, a week after investigators believed her ex-boyfriend had kidnapped her, a law enforcement source said.

Police found Melody Rivera’s remains, covered in branches and leaves, in the 900 block of Tustin Boulevard near Pennypack Park on Thursday afternoon.

Deputy Police Commissioner Frank Vanore said authorities are waiting for the Medical Examiner’s Office to identify the body but are working with Rivera’s family.

“This is him,” Rivera’s sister, Martha Fred, said solemnly Friday morning.

So did a law enforcement source who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation.

Rivera was last seen by his family in the Summerdale area of ​​the city on Halloween. the police said. According to her relatives’ posts on Facebook, the woman called her mother and told her that she was being held against her will by a man named “G”.

Police believe the man is Rivera’s ex-boyfriend, 29-year-old Geovanni Otero, the source said. A warrant has not been issued for Otero’s arrest, but Vanore said investigators wanted to speak with him about the case.

According to the source, Rivera was driving with his girlfriend when Otero attacked them, threw his girlfriend out of the car and drove off with Rivera. Police found the car abandoned days later but were unable to find Rivera, the source said.

Investigators believe he was likely killed on Nov. 1 and his body has been in the woods ever since, the source said. The source said the cause of death was not immediately clear.

Otero, of Hunting Park, has served time in prison since 2015 on drug and weapons charges. He was convicted of illegal gun possession in 2018 and sentenced to 3.5 to 8 years in prison, according to court records.

Rivera was on parole and wearing a GPS ankle monitor at the time of his disappearance, the source said.

After Otero’s GPS location pinged twice in that area, his ankle monitor eventually led detectives to the woods and Rivera’s body, the source said.

This is a developing story and will be updated.