The actress rented a boat on Like Piru in Southern California with her four-year-old son Josey at 1 p.m. on July 8. Three hours after the rental, her son was found alone in the rented boat by another boater. Aboard was Josey wearing his life jacket, along with Rivera’s empty jacket. Josey told authorities that his mother jumped into the water to go swimming and never returned.
The Ventura County Sheriff’s Department began searching for Rivera once she was reported missing. The lake was closed to the public on Thursday, July 9. That day before noon, it was revealed that the search for Rivera shifted from a rescue mission to a recovery operation.
On Monday, July 13, a body was discovered in Lake Piru. “Happening now: A body has been found at Lake Piru this morning. The recovery is in progress,” the tweet from Ventura County Sheriff’s Department read.
The Sheriff’s Department did not confirm that the body was Rivera. They did announce that they would hold a press conference at 5pm Eastern time to provide more information. Though her death is unconfirmed, Rivera’s Glee co-stars and others have flocked to social media to pay tribute to the actress.
Jane Lynch, who portrayed former glee club coach Sue Sylvester wrote: “Rest sweet, Naya. What a force you were. Love and peace to your family.”
Max Adler, who played football player and jock Dave Karofsky, tweeted a string of emojis.
Josh Sussman, known for his role as Jacob Ben Israel, also expressed sadness hearing of Rivera’s passing.
Other celebrities have also taken to social media to pay tribute for the late star.
Aside from her tenure on Glee, Rivera also acted on the CBS sitcom The Royal Family, the film Step Up: High Water and The Bernie Mac Show, among others.
Rivera married actor Ryan Dorsey in 2014 and welcomed their son, Josey, the following year. The former couple divorced in 2018, and share custody of their son. Rivera was also engaged to rapper Big Sean for several months before dating Dorsey.
