The body of Glee star Naya Rivera, 33, was discovered Monday morning in Lake Piru, California, which marks the latest update in the case. Bill Ayub, the Ventura County Sheriff, said Rivera used her remaining strength to save her 4-year-old son, according to CNN.
Her body was found floating in the northeast area of the lake with water ranging from 35 to 60 feet. The discovery of her body ended a 6-day search headed by Ayub. Via CNN, although investigators are “confident” the body is Rivera, the identification will be confirmed through dental records by the Ventura County Coroner’s Office. Since the discovery of the body, the sheriff’s department has reported to be 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 to CNN.
The news was broken during a conference held by the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office. On Wednesday, July 9, Rivera and her son rented pontoon boat on Lake Piru. Told to rescuers, Rivera’s son said he had gone to swim with his mom but only he had returned to the boat. This also led the son to tell investigators he saw Rivera disappear under the water’s surface that Wednesday, via CNN.
In the wake of the news, Rivera’s Glee co-stars, Chris Colfer (Marmaduke), Jane Lynch (Wreck-It-Ralph) and Darren Criss (Hollywood) took to memorializing her in social media posts which can be seen below: