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07-09-2020 12:00 PM
8:32 AM PT -- Authorities have just made it clear -- Naya is presumed dead and the search has now shifted from a rescue to a recovery mission. She went missing in water with only 5 to 9 inches of visibility, and authorities say the lake is filled with trees and debris on the bottom. Law enforcement says it typically takes 7 to 10 days for a body to rise to the surface.
5:29 AM PT -- Authorities are now saying they're treating the case as a possible drowning and they suspended the search overnight. The search continues at first light, but the Ventura County Sheriff says they now believe Naya may have lost her life in the lake.
Naya Rivera is missing on a Southern California lake after her toddler son was found alive, but alone on a boat ... TMZ has confirmed.
Ventura County Sheriff's deputies found the 4-year-old boy on the boat -- presumably rented by Naya -- shortly before 5 PM on Lake Piru, but Naya was not there. Law enforcement sources tell us her son, Josey Hollis Dorsey, told deputies his mom had jumped in the water ... but didn't come back up.
Divers immediately started searching the lake, but so far there's no sign of the "Glee" star. The search was suspended due to nightfall, but it's expected to resume Thursday, shortly after sunrise.
We're told Rivera's life jacket was still in the boat and Josey was asleep when the boat was first found. Josey is okay and is now with family members. Naya and the boy's father, Ryan Dorsey, divorced in 2018 and share custody of Josey.
On Tuesday Naya tweeted a pic of her kissing Josey with the caption, "just the two of us."
FOX11 in L.A. says Naya's G-Wagon with her purse inside, was found in the parking lot near the boat rental company.
07-09-2020 12:02 PM
She would be the third person to have died from Glee.
07-09-2020 12:04 PM
it somehow doesn't sound accidental to me, but i really hope i'm wrong. either way, it's so sad.
07-09-2020 12:18 PM
I can't imagine that any mother would take their 4 year old with them for a 'suicide mission' by drowning, if that's what you're implying, leaving the 4 year old drifting alone on the boat.
They were the only 2 in the boat.
07-09-2020 12:21 PM
This is just so sad!
07-09-2020 12:24 PM
This is so tragic. Naya was a very talented performer. I feel for her little boy and family.
07-09-2020 12:25 PM
😢😢😢😢😢😢
07-09-2020 12:28 PM
I heard the news first thing this morning. So sad. She was so talented. The parents shared custody, so at least the father can take over raising their son.
07-09-2020 12:29 PM
@KingstonsMom @i can't imagine it either, therefore i said i hope i'm wrong. of course no one would ever want that to happen. it's tragic.
07-09-2020 12:48 PM
Such a sad story
In another article I read a comment where someone said they lived close to that lake and they were never surprised when they heard of a drowning there. I googled and found this article - and notice what it says about the man who drowned saving his daughter. Wonder if a similar situation happened to Naya R:
"Lake Piru is a 1,200-acre reservoir with a 12-mile shoreline and over the years there have been a number of drownings, making it as hazardous as the ocean.
The 160ft deep lake holds deep columns of chilly water that can overwhelm people, the LA Times reported.
Steve White, one time Ventura State Beach lifeguard supervisor, described the perils of the lake, with novice swimmers particularly at risk of drowning.
“Someone will come to the beach, maybe wade out a little, step into a deeper hole or get picked up in a rip current and they begin to panic,” he said.
The tragic deaths include that of LA man Naftoli Smolyansky, 39, who drowned after saving his five-year-old daughter who had fallen in.
Smolyansky was with his children the lake when his daughter fell off the boat, it was reported.
He immediately leapt into the water to rescue the girl, who was wearing a life vest.
Smolyansky was able to get his daughter onto the boat in a final bout of strength as it drifted away.
The cool temperatures, large waves and rip currents can all work in concert to rob even the strongest swimmer of energy.
Strong winds on Lake Piru also often whip up waves that can rock a small boat enough to tip an unsteady fisherman into the water.
Most of those who die are inexperienced swimmers who are not wearing life jackets and who overestimate their own abilities or swim in prohibited areas".
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