Los Angeles:
US authorities found the body of “Glee” actress Naya Rivera in Californian Lake where she drowned last week on a boat trip with her four-year-old son on Monday.
Rivera’s body was found and an initial examination revealed no evidence of a criminal act or of suicide, said Ventura County Sheriff Bill Ayub at a press conference.
“We are convinced that the body we found is that of Naya Rivera,” said Ayub, indicating the location, appearance, clothing and condition of the body.
His body was taken to a medical examiner’s office for a full autopsy and confirmation of his identity from dental records, although no other missing person has been reported at Lake Piru, he added. .
Rivera, 33, is said to have accidentally drowned after renting the boat with her young son at the campsite and recreational hotspot about an hour’s drive northwest of Los Angeles.
She disappeared Wednesday afternoon and a massive search involving divers, patrollers and helicopters was launched after her sleeping son was seen drifting alone in a boat on the lake.
The son then told investigators that Rivera helped him get into the boat before “he turned around and saw it disappear beneath the surface of the water,” said the sheriff.
Ayub highlighted the strong currents of the lake as a possible cause of a fatal accident.
“The idea may be that the boat started to drift – it was not anchored – and that it gathered enough energy to bring its son back on the boat, but not enough to save itself”, a he declared.
The lake has been closed to the public since Wednesday, with about 100 staff members, including the United States Coast Guard and rescuers from neighboring counties, joining the search.
Search teams used images of video messaging calls Rivera made from the boat before her disappearance, as well as interviews with her son, to search parts of the lake bed for six days , without success.
“We believe it was hidden in some of the shrubs on the bottom of the lake” before finally floating on the surface due to natural decay, Ayyub said.
With less than a foot (30 centimeters) of visibility underwater in daylight, the recovery operation was a “complex research effort” even with the use of sonar equipment, he said. .
Rivera was best known for her role as a high school cheerleader Santana Lopez in “Glee”.
She played for six seasons in the hugely popular musical television series that took place in an American high school that ended in 2015.
The cast of “Glee” has already been hit by a tragedy.
Actor Mark Salling committed suicide in 2018, weeks before he was sentenced for possession of child pornography.
Canadian castmate Cory Monteith died in July 2013 from an overdose of drugs and alcohol.
(With the exception of the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)