FORMER GLEE STAR NAYA RIVERA (SANTANA LOPEZ) FOUND DECEASED

The body of Naya Riviera, who played Santa Lopes in the TV series Glee, has been found.

The 33-year-old actress, Naya Rivera, originally went missing on Wednesday, 8 July, where she was spotted at Lake Piru California renting a pontoon boat with her four-year-old son, Josey.

Around 4pm, the boy was found sleeping alone on the boat with no trace of the former Glee star.

The child was unharmed and stated to the investigators that he and his mother climbed off the boat to go for a swim. Afterwards, Rivera helped him back aboard the boat but when he looked back he saw her disappear into the water.

It was confirmed that Rivera and her son came upon a cove on the lake where she took a photograph of him, and then sent it to a relative just 90 min before the disappearance. The last footage of Rivera shows her and her son arriving at Lake Piru and renting a boat.

A search was launched by the investigators to find the missing actress. The police department released a statement saying “Approximately 50 sheriff’s personnel, along with a helicopter, boat crews, divers, and unmanned aerial vehicles searched the lake for five hours Wednesday evening, but Rivera could not be found.”

On Sunday, Naya’s distraught family, including her father George, were spotted at the lake to assist in the organising of the search for her.

Police sources stated to the media that Rivera grew up 20 miles from the lake and was indeed familiar with the area. The lake is reported to be 1,200 acres and can reach depths of up to 130 feet.

After a narrow search of the lake, Ventura County Sheriff, Bill Ayub, announced early on Monday 13 July that a body has been found in the water that morning. Ayub stated that due to the fact that no one else has been reported missing in the lake, as well as the circumstances from the location of the body, the department was confident that the body found was Rivera’s and informed the family.

Several of Rivera’s Glee castmates were seen at the lake on Monday morning, after authorities recovered the body, to show their support.

Ayub confirmed that there was no indication of foul play or an attempt of suicide.

For more information regarding how the events unfolded, please take a look at the CBS news report and subsequent press conference in the videos below.