Glee Star Naya Rivera Found Dead In California Lake Swimming Tragedy

A search for the former Glee star, Naya Rivera, was launched when the boat she rented on Lake Piru in Ventura County, California wasn’t returned on July 8. Her 4-year-old son was found, with a life preserver, sleeping in the boat. Now comes word that the actress’s body has been recovered and identified.

Naya Rivera Found

What was supposed to be a wonderful experience for the star and her young son at Lake Piru in the Los Padres National Forest in Ventura County turned to tragedy on Wednesday evening. The official Twitter account for the Sherriff’s office originally revealed, “Hapening now: Search for possible drowning victim at Lake Piru. @VCAirUnit @fillmoresheriff on scene. SAR Dive Team and PIO on the way.”

About four hours later, they revealed the identity of the person they were searching for by saying, “The missing person at Lake Puru has been identified as Naya Rivera, 33, of Los Angeles. SAR operation will continue at first light.” The next update came in the early hours of Thursday morning.

“The search for Naya Rivera will continue this morning at Lake Piru. The lake will be closed to the public while search operations continue. Dive teams from throughout the region will be assisting us through mutual aid. @VCAirUnit @Cal_OES @fillmoresheriff,” which was posted about not long after 8 a.m. on the east coast.

Later that same day, they updated by sharing the following. “Multiple teams of professional search and rescue personnel are actively searching Lake Piru for clues to the location of Naya Rivera. With over 80 people involved in the search right now, we are using helicopters, boats, ATV vehicles, and ground personnel to try and locate her.”

But it didn’t take long that morning for word to get out that authorities were treating it as a search and recovery, rather than a search and rescue effort. While updates kept coming, it wasn’t until a little after 9:30 am today, July 13, that authorities announced the news her family and friends both needed and dreaded to hear.

“Happening now: A body has been found at Lake Piru this morning. The recovery is in progress. A news conference will take place at 2 pm at the lake,” wrote the Ventura Sherriff’s official Twitter account. At 2 pm, they announced that the body has been officially identified as Naya Rivera.

Rivera was born in Valencia, California to Yolanda and George Rivera and quickly got involved in the entertainment business. As a baby, she was in commercials for Kmart and by the age of 4, she got her first acting job as Hillary Winston in the hit sitcom The Royal Family, where she played the daughter of Mariann Aalda (ex-Didi, Edge of Night) and granddaughter of legendary stars Redd Foxx and Della Reese.

Aalda shared the news on her Facebook page after it was revealed that the young star was missing. “Please, please, please pray for Naya’s safe return🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽. Such a sweet soul. She played my daughter on THE ROYAL FAMILY when she was only four years old. I have fond memories of carrying her around the set on my hip. This is very distressing.💔😩”

After news broke that the actress’s death was confirmed, Aalda told Entertainment Hub, “I remember her as a sweet, sweet child with wonderful, loving parents. My prayers go out to her mom and dad, Yolanda and George, and the rest of the Rivera family.”

Rivera went on to have great success on The Bernie Mac Show, Glee, and most recently on the YouTube series Step Up: High Water, in addition to countless other roles all over primetime as well as films like At the Devil’s Door and Mad Families with Charlie Sheen and Leah Remini.

Former Glee co-star Jane Lynch sent out the following Tweet: “Rest sweet, Naya. What a force you were. Love and peace to your family.”

Naya Rivera was 33 years old at the time of her death. Her son, Josey, was found safe at the time she was discovered missing. His father, actor Ryan Dorsey (Stumptown), has been divorced from the actress since June of 2018 after almost four years of marriage. Entertainment Hub sends condolences to her family, friends, and fans during this difficult time.