Body of Missing Actress, Naya Rivera, recovered from California Lake

Nearly a week after “Glee” star Naya Rivera was declared missing after boating at Lake Piru, a body has been discovered in the California lake. Rivera, 33, was reported missing on July 8 after her 4-year-old son, Josey Hollis Dorsey, was found sleeping in a boat on the lake by himself. The child told authorities that he and his mother went swimming, but she didn’t return from the water. He stated that his mother helped boost him back onto the boat, but sadly when he looked back, he saw her disappear under the water.

The following day, officials said they presumed Rivera had drowned, and the search-and-rescue mission had turned into a search-and-recover mission. On Monday, five days after the “Glee” actress was first reported missing, California authorities announced that they found what they believe to be Naya Rivera’s body in Lake Piru. “We are confident the body we found is that of Naya Rivera,” said Ventura County Sheriff Bill Ayub. The sheriff said the location of the body, its physical characteristics, clothing, and the fact that no other missing people have been reported, make officials confident the body is Rivera’s. The body will now be taken to the medical examiner’s office, where a formal autopsy will be performed.

A petition created last week that calls for warning signs to be put up around the lake has received more than 32,000 signatures.

“Naya Rivera is not the first, nor the last to go missing at Lake Piru,” the petition states. “Lake Piru is a very deep lake with very bad whirlpools; people have been asking for years for the city to put up warning signs for swimmers. Locals of Ventura County don’t go to Lake Piru for this reason! Tourists have no idea what they’re getting into.”

Rivera was known for her roles as Santana Lopez in Glee, Blanca Alvarez in Devious Maids, Gwendolyn in Family Matters, and much more. Many of the people in Naya Rivera’s life have visited Lake Piru over the past few days to grieve and pray, including her father, brother, ex-husband, Ryan Dorsey, and former Glee cast members. Some celebrities have expressed their condolences and heartbreak via social media, including Taj Mowry, Jackee Harry, and Jane Lynch. This tragic news also comes on the seventh anniversary of Corey Montieth’s death, Rivera’s Glee co-star.