Naya Rivera dead at 33: Officials confirm body recovered from Lake Piru is 'Glee' star

Naya Rivera’s body has been recovered at Lake Piru, five days after the former Glee star went missing and was presumed dead. The 33-year-old actress didn't return from a swimming excursion with her 4-year-old son, Josey Dorsey, on Wednesday, July 8. Investigators believe she drowned in what appears to be a “tragic accident.” However, the cause of death is still unknown.

During a press conference on Monday afternoon, Ventura County Sheriff Bill Ayub said he is “confident” the body found is Rivera’s.

“Based on the location where the body was found, physical characteristics of the body, clothing found on the body and the physical condition of the body, as well as the absence of any other persons reported missing in the area, we are confident that the body we found is that of Naya Rivera,” he said.

The body was found floating in the northeastern part of the lake near the surface of the water at 9:10 a.m. PT on Monday near where Rivera disappeared. The area had been searched extensively by divers using sonar technology, but the search and recovery mission was hampered by difficult conditions.

“We believe she was concealed within some of the shrubbery on the floor bed of the lake,” Ayub explained. “The body looked as though it had been in the water for several days.”

It’s possible Rivera’s last act was saving the life of her son.

Ayub said the boy told investigators they were swimming and his mother helped boost him onto the boat. When he looked back she was gone. The sheriff noted there are currents in Lake Piru, particularly in the afternoon, which is the time of day when she disappeared. Because the boat wasn’t anchored, it is possible that she “mustered enough energy to get her son back onto the boat, but not enough to save herself.”

An autopsy will be performed and dental records are expected to confirm the match.

Ayub said Rivera’s family members visited the lake every day since her disappearance. On Monday, they were joined by some of the Glee cast.

On July 8, Rivera rented a pontoon boat at Lake Piru at 1 p.m. PT, according to investigators, and her son was discovered sleeping alone on the boat unharmed shortly after 4 p.m. The boy told investigators he and his mother went swimming in the lake, but that she did not get back on the boat. Rivera’s son was found wearing a life vest, but it’s not believed that she was wearing one as a second life vest was found inside the boat.

Ventura County Sheriff’s Captain Eric Buschow said during a press conference last week they had enough information to conclude “that she never made it out of the water.” He also ruled out foul play.

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“We are confident, based on the circumstances, she was not a victim of foul play. There is no indication of this being an abduction or a homicide,” he told E! News. “There is also nothing to indicate it was a suicide either.”

Buschow said that Rivera’s son was extremely helpful to investigators.

“Kids that age, they are going to be very matter of fact in providing information. And he was. He was able to provide information that was very helpful to investigators,” he added.

Rivera sent a relative a photo of her son in front of a cove before she disappeared, Robert Inglis of the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office told Us Weekly.

“There was a picture sent to a family member that showed the boy on the boat by a cove,” Inglis said on Sunday. “We found where that cove was.”

The picture was taken 90 minutes to two hours before the boy was found alone on the boat. It’s not immediately clear if the photo helped divers locate her body.

Search teams were scouring the northern part of the lake as video surveillance showed the boat never went on the south side of the lake. The pontoon boat was found floating in an area estimated to be 30 feet deep with 15 feet visibility in the northern part of the lake, an area with lots of underwater trees that can cause entanglements.