Body of actress Naya Rivera found in Calif. lake after dayslong search
Rivera’s son, aged 4, was found safe Wednesday when she was reported missing
Nearly a week after “Glee” star Naya Rivera went missing at Lake Piru in Southern California and was presumed drowned, officials confirmed that they have recovered the body of the 33-year-old actress.
Rivera was discovered at about 9:10 a.m. Pacific time by Lake Piru park rangers, Ventura County Sheriff Bill Ayub said at a news conference Monday afternoon. Based on the location, physical characteristics, clothing and condition of the body, as well as no other people reported missing in the area, Ayub said “we are confident the body we found is that of Naya Rivera.”
Rivera will be transported to the Ventura County Medical examiner’s office in Ventura County for an autopsy; dental records will help confirm the identity, he said. Detectives said that there was no indication of foul play or suicide.
“As you can imagine, it has been an extremely difficult time for her family throughout this ordeal,” Ayub said. “As fathers, mothers, sons and daughters, our hearts are with them and we share in their grief for Naya’s loss. Our hearts also go out to Naya’s many friends and fans who have been holding out hope for the best over the past few days.”
Rivera was reported missing Wednesday, several hours after she rented a pontoon boat with her 4-year-old son at Lake Piru, a reservoir in Los Padres National Forest outside of Los Angeles. When the boat was not returned at its scheduled time, a leasing agent looked for the craft and discovered her son, Josey Hollis Dorsey, asleep on the boat by himself, Ayub said.
The child, who was wearing a life vest, told authorities that he and his mother went swimming, but that she didn’t return from the water. (An adult life vest was found on the boat.) Her son described “being helped into the boat by Naya, who boosted him on the deck from behind. He told investigators that he turned back and saw her disappear under the surface of the water,” Ayub said.
Rivera also spoke with family members on video when they were on the water, and those videos helped investigators pinpoint where to begin the search, Ayub said. She was found where the lake is between 35 and 60 feet deep, near heavy brush and trees on the lake bed.
The search process for Rivera had been made difficult by the dense volume of debris in the lake; visibility was so low that one of the divers described it as a “Braille search,” looking for the actress mostly through touch. Ventura County Sgt. Kevin Donoghue said the search involved sonar equipment, more than 100 personnel, helicopters from the U.S. Coast Guard, boats and dive teams.
Since the news of Rivera’s disappearance last week, there has been an outpouring online from celebrities and fans of the musical dramedy “Glee,” which ran from 2009 to 2015 on Fox.
Rivera married actor Ryan Dorsey in 2014; they divorced four years later and shared custody of their son, Josey. Ryan Dorsey was seen at Lake Piru over the weekend as teams continued searching the waters. Rivera’s last tweet on July 7 was a photo with her and her son.