User blog comment:FairyRaven/Fairy Tail Chapter 467: Mother's Key, Review and Commentary/@comment-76.161.172.226-20160104201436/@comment-5266348-20160105051427

Yes, Spetto was in the manga too. My point was that she was very definitely shown to be alive, with the full nine yards of a manga appearance, and inclusion in the anime with speaking lines that called for a voice actor for the character.