Naya Rivera: Heavy Brush Inhibited Search for ‘Glee’ Actress

Following the recovery of a body presumed to be Naya Rivera on Monday, the Ventura County Sheriff held a press conference to provide the most up-to-date information on the situation. Speaking to reporters on Monday, Sheriff Bill Ayub explained that some of the delays in finding her body were due to heavy brush around Lake Piru, where she went missing on Wednesday.

“Today, our search teams have recovered a body in the lake,” Ayub explained, via The Sun. “Based on the location where the body was found, 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’re confident that the body we found is that of Naya Rivera. She was found in a northeastern portion of the lake, near the surface of the water. The depth of that water in that area is between 35-60 feet deep, and there’s heavy brush and trees on the lake bed there.”

“As you can imagine, it has been an incredibly difficult time for her family throughout this ordeal,” Ayub continued. “As fathers, mothers, sons and daughters, our hearts are with them, and we share in their grief for Naya’s loss. We’ve been in direct contact with the family throughout the entire time, and we’ve kept them updated on the progress of our search efforts throughout. Our hearts also go out to Naya’s many friends and fans, who have been holding out hope for the best over the past few days.”

Rivera was last seen on Wednesday, when she and her 4-year-old son, Josey, rented a pontoon around 1 p.m. local time. Around 4 p.m., another boater discovered the craft in question with Josey alone on it, who appeared to be asleep. The child told authorities that he and his mother were swimming, but she did not get back on the boat, though Rivera’s life jacket was found on the vessel.

Rivera’s body was discovered just after 9 a.m, local time, after the area was previously searched by divers, who were “literally crawling on hands and knees” at the bottom with ropes attached so they could easily get back to their boats because the visibility was so bad. Before the press conference, members of the Glee cast joined Rivera’s family at the shore of Lake Piru after the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department had confirmed that a body was discovered near the area that she was first reported missing.