NAYA DIED A HERO
‘Glee’ star saved son before drowning
The body of “Glee” star Naya Rivera was found Monday floating in a murky California lake — as officials revealed she used her last bit of strength to get her little boy safely back onto their drifting boat.
The actress, 33 — who had been missing since Wednesday — was swimming with her 4-year-old, Josey, at Lake Piru, outside Los Angeles, when strong currents started moving the boat and she struggled to rescue the boy.
“We believe it was midafternoon when [Rivera and Josey] went swimming, the idea being, perhaps, that the boat began drifting,” Ventura County Sheriff William Ayub said at a press conference.
She summoned the strength to get her son back on the boat, but couldn’t save herself, he said.
“[Josey] described being helped into the boat by Naya, who boosted him onto the deck from behind. He looked back and saw her disappear under the surface of the water,” the sheriff said.
The details came after Rivera was found at around 9:10 a.m. in the northeastern corner of the lake, officials said.
Following the grim discovery, members of Rivera’s family and some fellow “Glee” stars — including Heather Morris, Amber Riley, Chris Colfer and Kevin McHale — arrived at the lake and were seen holding hands.
“It has been an extremely difficult time for her family throughout this ordeal,” Ayub said. “We share in their grief.”
Lake Piru+ has 35- to 60-foot-deep sections along with heavy brush and trees that rise up nearly 20 feet from the lake bed, hampering visibility in the initial search.
Officials said Rivera’s body was likely caught in heavy vegetation for days before floating to the top.
“We are confident the body we found is that of Naya Rivera,” Ayub said, citing the location, clothing and the fact that no one else had been reported missing at the lake.
There was no indication of foul play or suicide. An autopsy was pending.
Rivera and her son, from her former marriage to actor Ryan Dorsey, went out on the lake Wednesday at around 1 p.m. Hours later, after they hadn’t returned their rented pontoon, marina staffers went searching.
Workers found Josey at around 5 p.m. alone and asleep on the boat, wrapped in a towel and wearing his life jacket.
An adult-size life vest was also found on the vessel, as were Rivera’s purse and ID.
In the following days, dozens of divers searched the water with the aid of sonar and robotic devices.
Rivera had called relatives on FaceTime during the trip and investigators used those videos as well as interviews with people on three other vessels on the lake that day to narrow their search.
It wasn’t Rivera’s first time at the lake — where swimming is permitted — but it’s unclear if she had previously gone boating there with her son, authorities said.