Paying tribute. The cast of Glee took to social media on Monday, July 13, following the news that Naya Rivera, who starred on all six seasons of the Fox series, died. On Monday, authorities announced that her body was uncovered at Lake Piru, the spot she was reported missing from on Wednesday, July 8. She was 33.
Rivera’s 4-year-old son Josey, whom she shares with ex-husband Ryan Dorsey, was found alone on a boat that the pair had rented for the day. Josey told authorities that he was swimming with his mother and he made it back on the boat, but she did not. He was wearing a life vest when he was found and an adult-sized vest was found on the boat, along with Rivera’s ID and wallet.
Robert Inglis of the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office Search & Rescue Team told Us Weekly in an exclusive interview that he was “confident” that they would find Rivera’s body after she went missing, as divers, helicopters, drone aircraft and cadaver dogs searched for her.
“As you get more north in the lake, there are steep hills and it’s covered with brush with bigger rocks,” he explained. “It would be very difficult to maneuver through that especially if you’re just wearing maybe a bathing suit. … What I suspect is that the winds kicked up. Those pontoon boats are very light, and when you push them, it can get away from you. She might’ve tried to swim after the boat. But that’s all speculation. Once we do locate her, that’ll answer a lot more questions.”
After the Step Up star was reported missing, many of her former costars took to social media to share their prayers. Heather Morris, who played Rivera’s love interest Brittany on Glee, also volunteered to help in the search.
“I have spoken to Sheriff Eric Buschow and rest assured they are using every single one of their resources to locate our Naya. I have full confidence that they’re doing everything they can, and probably more. We will hold off on the citizen search and rescue until we get the go,” she tweeted on July 12. “Ahead that they’ll allow volunteers. Understand it’s 110 degrees here and if you’re not highly trained in search and rescue, this could end up a much more dangerous situation for everybody involved. Please be kind, compassionate and caring for those who are looking for our Naya.”
Scroll through the gallery below to see how the cast of Glee paid tribute to Rivera.