Body of ‘Glee’ actress Rivera pulled from Calif. lake
Naya Rivera’s body has been recovered from Lake Piru following a six-day search after the “Glee” actress disappeared from a rented boat, authorities confirmed.
The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office announced that a body found at the Southern California lake Monday morning has been identified as Rivera. She was 33.
Based on the location, physical characteristics and clothing, as well as the absence of anyone else reported missing from the area, authorities are “confident” the body is that of Rivera, Sheriff Bill Ayub said during a news conference Monday afternoon.
Ayub said Rivera’s body was found “in the northeastern portion of the lake,” where the water was 35 to 60 feet deep. A boat crew spotted the body in the water around 9:10 a.m. Monday.
“There was no indication of foul play and no indication this was a suicide,” Ayub added.
Rivera disappeared at the lake last
Wednesday afternoon, where she had rented the boat with her 4-year-old son, Josey Dorsey. Boaters found the child alone on the boat with Rivera’s purse, wallet and life jacket.
Police believe Rivera’s rented boat started to drift away from them while the actress and her son were out swimming because it was unanchored. Ayub said Rivera “mustered enough energy to get her son back on the boat but not enough to save herself.
Her son described being helped into the boat by Naya, who boosted him onto the deck from behind,” Ayub said. “(Her son) told investigators that he looked back and saw her disappear under the surface of the water.”
Rivera’s body has been transported to the Ventura County Medical Examiner’s Office, where identification will be confirmed using dental records, Ayub added.
USA TODAY has reached out to Rivera’s publicist, ex-husband Ryan Dorsey’s manager and the sheriff’s department for more information.
Over the weekend, Rivera’s mother and brother visited the search site as the Sheriff’s Office used sonar technology to comb through the murky water and looked through surrounding buildings and shores.
“If you can imagine, it has been an extremely difficult time for her family throughout this ordeal,” Ayub said Monday. “Our hearts are with them and we share in their grief for Naya’s loss.”
Monday’s search fell on the seventh anniversary of the death of Rivera’s “Glee” co-star Cory Monteith, who died in 2013 in Canada at age 31.
Rivera is best known for playing the snarky Santana Lopez on the Fox musical dramedy “Glee,” which ran from 2009 to 2015.
Contributing: Cydney Henderson, Morgan Hines and Andrea Mandell, USA TODAY; Gretchen Wenner, Cheri Carlson and Jeremy Childs, Ventura County Star; The Associated Press