Naya Rivera: Body found at Lake Piru where Glee star disappeared

Rivera, 33, has been missing since 8 July

A body has been found at Lake Piru, the California lake where Naya Rivera went missing last week.

The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office announced on Monday that a body had been found and that a recovery operation was in progress. A news conference will follow later on Monday.

Authorities have been searching the lake since 8 July, when Rivera was reported missing.

The actor, 33, had rented a pontoon boat with her four-year-old son before heading out on the lake.

A search and recovery effort ensued, with the sheriff’s office enlisting the help of several other agencies.

Dogs, divers, and a sonar were used in the recovery effort. Authorities indicated during the search that visibility in the lake’s waters was greatly limited.

Rivera began acting at a young age and rose to global fame as Santana Lopez in Glee, which aired on Fox from 2009 to 2015.

She had experience boating on the lake, authorities have said. Surveillance video show her and her son leaving on the rented boat.

When the boat failed to return, its vendor found the vessel drifting in the northern end of the lake late Wednesday afternoon with the boy asleep on board. He told investigators that he and his mother had been swimming and he got back into the boat but she didn’t, according to a sheriff’s office statement

A Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department boat is seen on Lake Piru, California, as it aids in the effort to find actor Naya Rivera on 10 July 2020. (ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images)

The boy was wearing a life vest, and another life jacket was found in the boat along with Rivera’s purse and identification.

Rivera is believed to have drowned “in what appears to be a tragic accident,” the statement said.

The boy was safe and healthy and with family members, according to authorities.

The most recent tweet on Rivera’s Twitter account, from 7 July, read “just the two of us” along with a photo of her and her son.

Additional reporting by agencies