Naya Rivera Is Presumed Dead After Boating Accident, Police Say

beverly hills, ca october 07 actress naya rivera at point honors los angeles 2017, benefiting point foundation, at the beverly hilton hotel on october 7, 2017 in beverly hills, california photo by rich polkgetty images for point honors — (Image credit: Rich Polk)

Police say Naya Rivera drowned in a boating accident on Lake Piru, Southern California, on Wednesday, after her son Josey was found sleeping alone on their rental boat.
A body recovered in the lake has been confirmed to be Rivera's.

Update, 07/13, 5:17 p.m. ET: It has been confirmed the body found in the lake earlier today was Naya Rivera's, per the Ventura County Sheriff's Department press conference held earlier today. The department said there is no evidence of foul play or suicide.

"We are confident the body we found is that of Naya Rivera," said Ventura County Sheriff Bill Ayub in a news conference Monday. "It has been an extremely difficult time for her family throughout this ordeal ... our hearts are with them and we share in their grief for Naya’s loss."

Update, 07/13: A body was found in the lake where Glee star Naya Rivera went missing last Wednesday while boating with her four-year-old son. The body has not yet been identified. According to the Hollywood Reporter, it was recovered at around 9:30 a.m. Monday morning. The Ventura County Sheriff's Department will hold a press conference at 2 p.m. E.T. Monday.

Original article:

Naya Rivera is presumed to have drowned in a boating accident on Lake Piru, Southern California on Wednesday, police say. A search and rescue operation was launched after Rivera's rental boat was spotted drifting on the lake, and her 4-year-old son, Josey, was found asleep onboard. Josey reportedly told authorities that he and his mother had gone swimming together, but Rivera had failed to return to the boat. Police are now undertaking a search and recovery effort to find Rivera's body.

Officials say there is no evidence of foul play, according to the New York Times, but it is too soon to determine what happened.

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"We are presuming that an accident happened and that she drowned in the lake," Ventura Country Sheriff's Office spokesperson Chris Dyer said Thursday, as the BBC reports. "The goal is still to bring Ms Rivera home to her family so they can have some closure."

Sgt. Kevin Donoghue said that poor visibility in the area where the boat was found could impede a recovery effort, the New York Times reports. Offering his condolences to Rivera's family, he said, "This is a terrible tragedy for all of them."

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Naya Rivera Reported Missing at a California Lake

Emily Dixon is a British journalist who’s contributed to CNN, Teen Vogue, Time, Glamour, The Guardian, Wonderland, The Big Roundtable, Bust, and more, on everything from mental health to fashion to political activism to feminist zine collectives. She’s also a committed Beyoncé, Kacey Musgraves, and Tracee Ellis Ross fan, an enthusiastic but terrible ballet dancer, and a proud Geordie lass.

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