Body found at lake identified as 'Glee' actress Naya Rivera, authorities say

CNN/Stylemagazine.com Newswire | 7/13/2020, 5:08 p.m.
The body found at a Southern California lake has been identified as former "Glee" actress Naya Rivera, the Ventura County …
Naya Rivera attends the LA premiere of Roadside Attraction's "Judy" at Samuel Goldwyn Theater in 2019 in Beverly Hills, California./Credit: Emma McIntyre/Getty Images

By Stella Chan and Amir Vera, CNN

(CNN) -- The body found at a Southern California lake has been identified as former "Glee" actress Naya Rivera, the Ventura County Sheriff's Office said during a press conference Monday.

The body was discovered Monday morning at Lake Piru, where it was found floating in the northeast area of the lake, Ventura County Sheriff Bill Ayub said.

"We are confident the body we found is that of Naya Rivera," Ventura County Sheriff Bill Ayub said, adding "there is no indication of foul play or that this was a suicide."

The body is being taken to Ventura County Coroner's Office, where it will be identified through dental records.

Ayub said the sheriff's department has been "in direct contact" with Rivera's family.

Rivera, 33, has been presumed dead after she went missing Wednesday. She had gone to the lake that afternoon and rented a pontoon boat with her 4-year-old son, according to authorities.

Rivera's son was later seen on the boat, but his mother was nowhere to be found. One life jacket was found on the boat and the boy was wearing another. Investigators found Rivera's purse and her identification, but no other clues on the boat.

Video from the dock shows Rivera and her son as the only two people getting on the boat, Ventura County Sheriff's Sgt. Kevin Donoghue said at a news conference last week.

Detectives have spoken to Rivera's son and as a result of that conversation do not believe Rivera made it to shore, he said.

Rivera played Santana Lopez on the Fox show "Glee" for six years between 2009 and 2015, and appeared in nearly every episode of the musical-comedy-drama. She was also on the CBS sitcom "The Royal Family" and in the comedy film "The Master of Disguise."