Glee star Naya Rivera drowned as she saved her son, California police say

Police in California say a body found in a lake is that of Naya Rivera, the Glee star who disappeared on July 8 while boating.

Rivera, 33, was last seen on Lake Piru, a popular recreation spot 60 miles north of Los Angeles.

Her four-year-old son was found alone in the boat they had rented, and her car was parked by the lakeside.

Police said it appears Rivera "mustered enough energy to get her son back on the boat, but not enough to save herself".

"Based on the location, clothing, and the fact that no one else is missing, we are confident the body we found is that of Naya Rivera," said William Ayub, sheriff of Ventura County.

Mr Ayub said they believe she was swimming in the area where she was found.

"We believe the boat was drifting, and she mustered enough energy to get her son back on the boat, but not to save herself."

The body was floating in the water, and "looked as if it had been in the water for several days."

The water is up to 60 feet deep in the section of the lake where she was found, and filled with heavy brush 15-20 feet high under the water, he explained.

"We had our entire dive team scouring that area yesterday, and we believe she was concealed in the shrubbery," he said.

He said "an initial examination from the medical officer's office" did not reveal anything to suspect there was foul play.

The body does not have a life jacket, and there was an adult-sized life jacket found in the boat with her son.

"Naya's family has expressed their thanks to all those involved in the search and rescue efforts," he said.

Authorities in Ventura County have always suspected she drowned in the lake.

The lake, an hour’s drive from Los Angeles, was searched by dozens of divers working in waters with little visibility, with help above from helicopters, drones and all-terrain vehicles.

Rivera played singing cheerleader Santana Lopez for six seasons on the Fox musical-comedy Glee.

Rivera is the third major cast member from the show to have died in their 30s.

Cory Monteith, one of the show’s leads, died at 31 in 2013 from a toxic mix of alcohol and heroin.

Co-star Mark Salling, who Rivera dated at one point, killed himself in 2018 at the age of 35 after pleading guilty to child pornography charges.

Rivera had experience boating on the lake in Los Padres National Forest, authorities said.

Surveillance video shows Rivera and her son, Josey Hollis Dorsey, leaving on the rented boat.

When the boat failed to return, its vendor found the vessel drifting in the northern end of the lake late on Wednesday afternoon with the boy asleep on board.

He told investigators that he and his mother had been swimming and he got back into the boat but she didn’t, according to a sheriff’s office statement.

The boy was wearing a life vest, and another life jacket was found in the boat along with Rivera’s purse and identification.

The boy, Rivera’s son from her marriage to actor Ryan Dorsey, was safe and healthy and with family members, authorities said. The couple finalised their divorce in June 2018 after nearly four years of marriage.

The most recent tweet on Rivera’s account, from July 7, read “just the two of us” along with a photo of her and her son.

Read more: Glee was a tone-deaf horror show – but Naya Rivera made it sing