Naya Rivera Dead At 33: Body Recovered Floating 5 Days After Boating Accident

Variety

The search for Naya Rivera has come to a tragic end. The actress was confirmed found dead by authorities on Monday, July 13, five days after she went missing on a California lake.

This Ventura County Sheriff’s department said that a body had been found at Lake Piru. During a press conference, Sheriff Bill Ayub said the body, which they are “confident” is that of Rivera’s, was discovered floating at the surface of the lake by personnel searching by boat.

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An autopsy will be conducted to confirm a cause of death and a positive identification of Rivera’s remains will be made through dental records. The depth of the water where Rivera’s body was located is between 35 and 60 feet (ca. 18 m) deep.

According to Ventura County Sheriff’s department Naya and her 4-year-old son Josey rented a pontoon boat and headed toward the northern portion of the lake.

Manchester Evening News 

After speaking with Rivera’s only child, authorities said they were able to conclude that he and Naya swam in the lake together. It was then,” that her son described being helped into the boat by Naya, who boosted him on to the deck from behind. He told investigators that he looked back and saw her disappear under the surface of the water.”

“There are a lot of currents on the lake that appear particularly in the afternoon,” Sheriff Bill Ayub explained. “We believe it was mid-afternoon when she disappeared, the idea perhaps 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.”

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