Home News & Events Update: Former “Glee” Star Naya Rivera’s Body Found In Lake Piru

News & Events

Update: Former “Glee” Star Naya Rivera’s Body Found In Lake Piru

July 14, 2020

After days of fruitless search and Hollywood celebrities holding up through prayers, a body found at a Southern California lake has been identified as former “Glee” star Naya Rivera, the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office said during a press conference Monday.

The body was discovered Monday morning at Lake Piru, where it was found floating in the northeast area of the lake where the water is between 35 and 60 feet deep, Ventura County Sheriff Bill Ayub said.

The Ventura County Sheriff Bill Ayub said that “there is no indication of foul play or that this was a suicide.”

The body has been taken to Ventura County Coroner’s Office, where it was identified through dental records.

Ayub said the sheriff’s department has been “in direct contact” with Rivera’s family.

“Her family has been at the lake everyday holding out hope and communicating with our investigators,” Ayub said.

The former “Glee” star Naya Rivera, 33, is believed to have drowned while swimming in the lake with her 4-year-old son, who was found asleep on their rental pontoon boat after it was overdue for return.

One life jacket was found on the boat and the boy was wearing another.

Rivera’s son told rescuers he and his mother had gone into the water to swim, but she did not get back on the boat. He told investigators he then looked back and saw her disappear under the surface of the water, Ayub said.

“There are a lot of currents on the lake that appear typically in the afternoon,” Ayub said. “We believe it was mid-afternoon when she disappeared, the idea being that the boat started drifting, it was unanchored and that she mustered enough energy to get her son back onto the boat, but not enough to save herself.”

Rivera was presumed dead after she went missing Wednesday. Investigators found Rivera’s purse and her identification, but no other clues on the boat.

The actress is best known for her role as Santana Lopez on the Fox show “Glee,” which quickly won critical acclaim after debuting in 2009. She appeared in nearly every episode of the beloved musical-comedy-drama, which ended in 2015.