Naya Rivera, 33, best known for her role as Santana Lopez in the hit Fox musical series ‘Glee’ has been found dead. She was currently starring in the “Step Up” dance series on YouTube, which was picked up for a third season by Starz. Rivera’s body was found on Monday morning around 9 a.m., on the sixth day of the search for her at Lake Piru. During a Monday afternoon press conference, officials said her body was found near the surface of the water where the depth is between 35 and 60 feet with a lot of brush where her body could have been entangled, ever since she went missing. Rivera’s young son “described being helped into the boat by Naya who boosted him onto the boat, and he looked back and saw her disappear under the surface of the water,” Sheriff Bill Ayub said during the press conference. Swimming is permitted in the lake, despite heavy brush and low visibility in the water. “We believe that she mustered enough energy to get her son back on the boat, but not enough to save herself,” a sheriff said.
Seven years ago, the cast of “Glee” lived through a horrific tragedy: the death of Cory Monteith on July 13, 2013. Exactly seven years after Monteith was found dead from an accidental overdose, the “Glee” cast lost another member of their beloved TV family, Naya Rivera, who was declared dead on Monday when her body was found in Lake Piru in Southern California where she had gone missing six days earlier, after an apparent drowning accident while boating with her 4-year-old son. Members from the cast of “Glee” were photographed by Los Angeles news stations holding hands on the shore of the water, about an hour before Ventura County Sheriffs confirmed Rivera’s death during a press conference. The cast gathered shortly after the police had announced a body was found in the lake and was in the process of being recovered.
This photo of the cast of #Glee gathering together at Lake Piru today where #NayaRivera’s body was found is incredibly powerful — especially when you consider today is the 7 year anniversary of Cory Monteith’s death. I’m a mess. pic.twitter.com/RhY9hUb78E— Dave Quinn (@NineDaves) July 13, 2020
“Glee” star Heather Morris tweeted that she had asked to participate in the search this weekend. After her first tweet, sheriffs specified that they did not want the public to join the search, and Morris then wrote, “I have spoken to Sheriff Eric Buschow and rest assured they are using every single one of their resources to locate our Naya. I have full confidence that they’re doing everything they can, and probably more. We will hold off on the citizen search and rescue until we get the go. Understand it’s 110 degrees here and if you’re not highly trained in search and rescue, this could end up a much more dangerous situation for everybody involved. Please be kind, compassionate and caring for those who are looking for our Naya.” Morris, along with many other “Glee” co-stars wrote messages of hope on their social media accounts, including Amber Riley, who said, “I still believe in miracles. I still believe she will be found.” Jenna Ushkowitz posted over the weekend, “Please find her,” and Morris wrote, “Bring Naya home.”