On July 8, 2020, American actress and singer Naya Rivera, known for playing Santana Lopez on the television series Glee, was declared missing after she failed to return from a boating excursion on Lake Piru near her home in California. Shortly afterwards, her rented boat with her unharmed four-year-old son Josey Hollis Dorsey was located. A search conducted by various authorities in southern California began, though Rivera was formally presumed dead the next day; the search lasted until the morning of July 13, 2020, when her body was recovered and she was pronounced dead from drowning at the age of 33. The death was ruled accidental, with the investigation determining Rivera exhausted herself saving her son's life in the water. In November 2020, Rivera's ex-husband, Ryan Dorsey, and estate brought wrongful death lawsuits against Ventura County and the management of Lake Piru. The public manner of the search contributed to extensive media attention on developments before and after she was found.
Background Rivera was a strong swimmer. She had vertigo that could become worse when swimming, but had previously been treated for the condition at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and managed it with appropriate medication. Rivera was an experienced boater, taking similar trips from a young age. In a 2017 interview, Rivera had mentioned a scary experience on one such trip, when the anchor of her family's boat got stuck and her father injured himself on the propeller trying to free it.
The Lake Piru Recreation Area was closed to the public for much of 2020, with the closure starting before April 4 because of the COVID-19 pandemic and lasting until it reopened on July 1. Rivera had been visiting Lake Piru for years by the time of her death and is said to have considered it a sanctuary.
Drowning
Rivera's mother, Yolanda Previtire, said that Rivera and her four-year-old son, Josey Hollis Dorsey, were planning a barbecue by Lake Piru on July 8, 2020, before deciding to rent a boat when they arrived. They left the dock at about 1:00 p.m. PDT, and were expected back at 4:00 p.m., three hours after they left the dock. When they did not return, a search began. Josey was found at around 5:00 p.m., alone and asleep on the boat wearing a life jacket. He was found in the Narrows, an area at the north of the lake that can be quite deep and windy. When interviewed by the Ventura County Sheriff's Office, Josey told investigators that he and Rivera had jumped off the boat into the lake together and swam briefly, but his mother quickly told him to get back onto the boat. The boat had begun to drift and rock violently while they were in the water because of the wind, which Ryan Dorsey's lawsuit says reached speeds of up to that afternoon. Police reports state that Josey had recalled that Rivera helped him climb back into the boat but was unable to climb back onboard herself and then disappeared underwater, while the lawsuit claims that Josey climbed aboard unaided while his mother struggled to do the same. Both accounts state that Josey watched his mother reaching up and calling out for help; he searched for a rope on the boat to help while she was struggling. He also stated that she was not wearing a life jacket.
The Ventura County sheriff suggested that Rivera and Josey likely found themselves caught in a rip current – these can be common in the area of the lake they were in, especially during the afternoon – and struggled to get back to the boat, which was found unanchored and so may have drifted from where they entered the water. He concluded that Rivera likely "mustered enough energy to save her son, but not enough to save herself", noting how Josey described being pushed back onto the boat by his mother.
Search and recovery After Josey was found, a 9-1-1 call was made and a formal search and rescue operation was launched. The boat was searched and an adult life jacket was found on board, along with Rivera's identification. Rivera's vehicle, a black Mercedes G-Class, was found in the parking lot by the dock.
The sheriff's office suspended the search and rescue operation that evening and resumed again the following day. The lake was closed to the public, with dive teams from across the region taking part in the search. On July 9, the sheriff's department confirmed to NBC that Rivera was presumed dead and that rescue efforts would now shift to recovery efforts: on the first day of the search, efforts had been made on land to determine if Rivera had made it out of the lake; a lack of evidence and Josey's testimony led them to change the search to recovery. They also released CCTV footage of Rivera and her son arriving in the parking lot and leaving the dock on the boat. On July 10, the number of divers involved was cut from around 100 to around 40. The sheriff's department explained that the visibility was so poor it was more probable Rivera would be found by using sonar devices. As well as dive teams and sonar, sniffer dogs were taken out on the lake.
On July 11 and 12, Rivera's parents and stepfather, brother Mychal Rivera, ex-husband Ryan Dorsey and close friend and Glee co-star Heather Morris joined the search team at the lake. Morris had wanted to conduct her own search around the shoreline, and was in contact with the sheriff's captain in charge of the search, Eric Buschow, whom she already knew, several times. The sheriff's office dissuaded more civilians from trying to search because of dangerous terrain. They restated that they were searching on land as well as in the lake. On July 11, the sheriff's office had announced that other counties and a private contractor were assisting with the search.
On July 13, it was announced that a body had been found floating in Lake Piru by divers when the search resumed in the morning, at around 9:30 a.m.; the body was confirmed to be Rivera's at a press conference held later that day. Buschow told the media that the body had been found just north of Diablo Cove, and the sheriff's office stated that it was likely the body had been trapped in vegetation underwater before resurfacing. Rivera was officially declared dead on July 13, which is reflected on her death certificate, though this document does state that she died "within minutes".
On July 14, the Ventura County medical examiner released an autopsy report stating that the cause of death was an accidental drowning and that there was no evidence of injury or intoxication. The complete toxicology report was made public on September 11, 2020. It said that small amounts of prescription medications for ADHD and anxiety – amphetamine and diazepam – were found in Rivera's system, as well as caffeine. She also had a negligible blood alcohol content at the time of her death. The autopsy concluded that none of these factors led to intoxication or contributed to her death.
Public response to disappearance Fans of Rivera posted messages of support during the time of her disappearance, though some expressed frustration on social media as the sheriff's office repeatedly asked fans not to attempt to search themselves in the land around the shore of Lake Piru; while Morris had initially suggested she would do this, she also joined the authorities in asking civilians to keep away, as they may get into difficulty in the rural terrain and need rescuing themselves. Shortly after Rivera's disappearance was reported, a petition was started by fans to have signs warning of the danger of swimming erected at Lake Piru.
Another Glee actress, Lea Michele, deleted her Twitter account during Rivera's disappearance after becoming a target for internet trolls. While many of the show's actors had stayed close after it ended in 2015 and had posted on social media with prayers for her safe rescue, Michele had stayed silent. In May and June 2020, Michele had been the subject of backlash as many of her co-stars accused her of unpleasant and even racist behavior on set, and she had been absent on social media after this. In previous years, Rivera had personally spoken out against Michele, saying she was difficult and that they were not on speaking terms by the end of the show's run, but said that they did not have any "beef". Michele reportedly received death threats for her silence.
Funeral Rivera was interred at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Hollywood Hills, Hollywood, following a private service attended by family and close friends, including members of the Glee cast, on July 24, 2020.
Lawsuit In November 2020, Ryan Dorsey, on behalf of Josey, and Rivera's estate, brought wrongful death lawsuits against Ventura County and the management of Lake Piru. The suit claims that there were no signs to warn of the dangers of the lake and of swimming in the lake, and that the rental boat provided to Rivera did not meet safety standards under California law, specifically that it did not come equipped with flotation devices, nor "with a safely accessible ladder, adequate rope, an anchor, a radio, or any security mechanisms to prevent swimmers from being separated from their boats". The lawsuit also pursued survivor's claims for Josey and claims of negligent emotional distress, stating that "Rivera may not have known that her son had made it to the boat but she surely knew that she was dying and would not make it back to her son", and highlighted the later publication of toxicology reports, which it said were the defendants' "attempts to discredit [Rivera] in the media and distract from their own negligence".
In February 2022, People Magazine reported that the lawsuit brought on by Ryan Dorsey was settled. The terms of the settlement were not made public, but the family stated that the money awarded would be used to help raise her child.
Responses In end-of-year reports for 2020, Rivera's death was widely covered in the media. Mitú noted that she was the eighth most-searched topic on Google, writing that "in a year of catastrophic loss, [...] the tragic loss of Naya Rivera [...] seems to have struck a major chord among all of us", and news outlets in Australasia described the drowning as the "most chilling celebrity death" of the year. Insider listed a photograph of Glee cast members holding hands along the shore of Lake Piru on July 13 as one of the most powerful images of 2020.
Public figures Fans of Rivera shared tributes after she was found dead. Her family thanked them for the "outpouring of love" in a message shared on July 15. On July 13, Rivera's boyfriend, soccer player Jermaine Jones made an Instagram post expressing his grief while focusing on Rivera's love for her son, and her ex-fiancé, Big Sean, wrote a post on July 19 saying she was "a hero", referring to saving her son and the representation she gave for many. Her ex-husband Ryan Dorsey made no public statement until after Rivera's funeral, when he posted on Instagram to say that he was still finding her death hard to believe, but that having their son makes coping easier "because a part of [Rivera] will always be with [him]", promising to raise their son knowing who his mother was. Other reactions from public figures included prominent politicians Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Kamala Harris, who noted her profound impact in creating intersectional representation on primetime television; Demi Lovato, who played the girlfriend of Rivera's character on Glee in its fifth season, expressed similar sentiments, writing: "The character you played was groundbreaking for tons of closeted (at the time) queer girls like me and your ambition and accomplishments were inspiring to Latina women all over the world". Tributes came from performers across music, television, film, and theatre.
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