Found Deceased CA - Naya Rivera, "Glee Actress", missing from boat with son, 4, (fnd alive), Lake Piru, 9 July 2020

[Emi]

Jeremy Childs @Jeremy_Childs
1h

He also noted very importantly there is not much of a current in the lake, which means anything that sinks to the bottom is not likely to change locations. This makes the search easier. However, there is a LOT of debris in the lake. Real needle in a haystack situation.

Jeremy Childs @Jeremy_Childs
1h

Interview with diver Max O'Brien underway. He said the visibility is so bad the search for Naya Rivera is bring done mostly through touch. All divers are volunteers through Ventura County Search and Rescue. #PrayForNaya

Jeremy Childs @Jeremy_Childs
1h

Sgt. Eric Buschow said there is NOTHING to indicate Naya Rivera committed suicide. Anything that says otherwise is a rumor and not based on the official investigation as it currently stands.

Jeremy Childs @Jeremy_Childs
1h

I couldn't record the full interview because my phone was dying but I'm sure more will be shared on the various TV news networks tonight.
Jeremy Childs @Jeremy_Childs
1h

Here's a clip of the interview with diver Max O'Brien in his own words on the search for Naya Rivera. 1-2 feet of visibility makes it into what he describes as a "braille search."
https://twitter.com/i/status/1281441059461935104


[URL='https://twitter.com/Jeremy_Childs']Jeremy Childs @Jeremy_Childs[/URL]
1h

I'm leaving Lake Piru for the night. I've had spotty cell connection all day, but I wanted to thank everyone for following and sharing the information on Naya Rivera. This situation is truly heartbreaking, but I'm happy to do my part and share the facts with you all.

 

[Sarahlou]

Just watched the security video. Wonder why she parked so far and so wonky? What the heck was that large light coloured object she was carrying overhead ? Kind of looked like a large inflatable floaty

The white thing? It looked like a heavy bag of something to me

 

[jamjim]

The white thing? It looked like a heavy bag of something to me

That was my immediate thought too, maybe a large tote bag or something?

 

[scriabina]

I agree after watching the video that it’s possible with the way she parked so far away for no reason and also how she appears to be walking somewhat fast, leaving her son trailing behind her—these could all be signs that she may have been slightly “buzzed” before heading out in the pontoon (although I hope not )...

Yes, the parking didn't bother me so much, but the fact that she was walking so far ahead of a 4-yr-old in the middle of a parking lot (albeit abandoned) and then down the dock where the dock didn't even appear to have guardrails ... That was alarming to me. Maybe I'm considered "over-protective" to my 3.5-yr-old daughter, but I'd be holding her hand tightly that whole walk through the parking lot and especially the dock! Perhaps this goes to show Naya's state of mind was somehow impaired.

But more likely, those are choices she made for whatever reason and they had nothing to do with her drowning, and her death was due to an accident. I still can't imagine jumping into a lake with or without a 4-yr-old child. If you're jumping to swim by yourself, you're leaving a small child alone on a pontoon which can't be safe, and if you're jumping in with your child, that can't be safe either. Ultimately, no disrespect intended, but it sounds like she made a series of risky decisions that led to her tragic death. I feel terrible for her son.

 

[distracted]

Thanks! I found a little more scaled down,circled & zoomed in version.
ETA: her hair is VERY long & if I’m not mistaken hanging loose...it could of caught on something down in the water .

View attachment 255080
Security video of Glee actress Naya Rivera renting a boat with her son before she disappeared

From the security video, her hair appears to be extremely long. Mine is long right now and it gets caught on everything.

To me, this makes the most sense, especially if it caught on something she couldn't bring up to the surface.

This is just so, so sad.

 

[Kikicatfood]

That was my immediate thought too, maybe a large tote bag or something?

I don’t pay much attention to the way the car is parked etc., I park wonky all the time. This is the one thing that struck me about the video - You can see she gets out of the car and puts a small bag over her shoulder and then she gets her son out and gives him a rather large bag for his size but then she goes to the boot of the car and gets out that massive sack type thing. It looks heavy - what could it be considering she had only rented the boat for 3 hours? I wonder if it was found in the boat later?

 

[Sarahlou]

I don’t pay much attention to the way the car is parked etc., I park wonky all the time. This is the one thing that struck me about the video - You can see she gets out of the car and puts a small bag over her shoulder and then she gets her son out and gives him a rather large bag for his size but then she goes to the boot of the car and gets out that massive sack type thing. It looks heavy - what could it be considering she had only rented the boat for 3 hours? I wonder if it was found in the boat later?

Maybe some of the things she had in it were towels/other clothing if they were planning on swimming.

 

[Lusitana]

Funny, when i read the post i had the song "Just the 2 of us' by Bill Withers, also done by Will Smith. She seemed to have a good relationship with son and decent breakup with ex. Her life seemed to be doing well, with working etc.
I can't see her leaving her son on the boat to commit suicide. I'm thinking accidental.

She and her ex divorced after a domestic assault incident. It seems like they were civil about co-parenting the baby, at least that's what she stated, but who knows if there was any actual co-parenting or if she had him all the time.

idk about this. i dont think she would leave her child alone on a boat if she was suicidal. unless we are wondering whether someone else was there? in that case wouldnt the boat rental have seen someone else? i guess its possible she picked them up from elsehwere on a beach or water. idk. i think we are getting ahead of ourselves. we will see.

There was nobody else with them. The CCTV footage shows Naya and her son getting out of the car and getting on the boat, just the two of them.

Naya Rivera's ex Ryan Dorsey is seen for the first time with their son | Daily Mail Online

The boy seems to be doing okay, he's probably too young to fully understand what's going on. Kind of heartless to be taking these pictures right now though. Her poor sister looks devastated.

Something about this doesn't add up for me. I understand how an accidental drowning can occur anywhere, we live near a deceptively difficult river and there are kayaking and swimming accidents all the time. But would you take a 4 year old out alone on a motor boat into a 130 ft deep lake? With a group or even a friend, sure, but by yourself? How was he going to the bathroom? Even with a life jacket on I don't know I'd go swimming in the middle of a deep and difficult to see lake with a toddler.

The article posted above said her purse was found in her car. Was her phone in the car or on the boat? Did she have a day bag on the boat with her son's various things he'd need for the day? I think that will say a lot. I hope she was ok, and I'm relieved her son was found unharmed.

BBM again. Another weird thing! Would you get out of the boat with your 4 year old with the boat unanchored? There isn't another person there to make sure the boat doesn't drift away. None of this seems like something you do alone with a toddler.

She is a single mother. I can understand her wanting to live her own life with her son, without depending on family members or friends to join them on outings. Especially right now with everyhing going on.

Just watched the security video. Wonder why she parked so far and so wonky? What the heck was that large light coloured object she was carrying overhead ? Kind of looked like a large inflatable floaty

Probably just because her parking skills are not great. Mine aren't that great either, sometimes I just can't be bother to fix it and just leave it if the parking is not too bad. The car wasn't that badly parked either.

After watching the surveillance video, I think it’s very possible that Naya had been drinking. I hope I’m wrong and she’s somehow alive, but that’s just my opinion and observation after watching the video.

edit: And I meant to say that I’m saying this with absolutely no judgement, but just noting that this could have contributed to this devastating situation.

Really? I had to watch the video again, and I don't see how anyone can come to that conclusion from that video? She wasn't stumbling, remembered to bring all of that stuff, helped her son getting out of the car, once they start walking, even though she walks in front of the baby, she's constantly looking back to check on him and on how close he is. She doesn't seem drunk to me, not at all. But I think it would be extremely hard to figure that out from that video unless she was drunk out of her mind and stumbling around. Just my opinion.

Thanks! I found a little more scaled down,circled & zoomed in version.
ETA: her hair is VERY long & if I’m not mistaken hanging loose...it could of caught on something down in the water .

View attachment 255080
Security video of Glee actress Naya Rivera renting a boat with her son before she disappeared

Her hair doesn't really look that long on her recent Instagram pictures.

 

[Hatfield]

It's not weird that the body hasn't been found yet.
This is from TMZ:
'She went missing in water with only 5 to 9 inches of visibility, and authorities say the lake is filled with trees and debris on the bottom. Law enforcement says it typically takes 7 to 10 days for a body to rise to the surface.'

JMO
That is another thing that people can forget about on man made lakes that were flooded to make them.

Trees can be 40-80 feet tall or higher and some may have been left standing to rot when lake area was flooded to make the lake. So even if she had a sonar depth finder on the boat and anchored in lets say 40 feet of water, she may have thought it was plenty deep enough to swim in and not realizing the tops of old trees were just underneath the surface of the water to get tangled in.

And not only tops of tree branches and debri to worry about, but something else that people can forget about. Monofiliament fishing line and fishing hooks and 3 treble hook lures that were broken off are all over a lake.

Not many people remember to swim with a small folding or sheath knife like scuba divers have, but if you ever got tangled in a strong lets say 20+ pound test heavy duty monofilament fishing line then you cannot break it with your bare hands. So unless you had a knife or could get to it with your teeth, the line is almost impossible to break.

Some of the fishing lures have double treble hooks where each hook has 3 separate hooks and if those are dangling from a submerged branch, and you get a piece of clothing stuck to it or even if you kick at it, your leg may get embedded in the treble hooks.

Gosh there is so many hazards that are not obvious unless you start to really think about them and have a plan for if something like that happens.

 

[Rallibella]

So many are mentioning the car being parked weird... which I agree it is. But it’s an expensive car. Even here in MN, I see people do it all the time. Park far away and make sure no one can park next to them by taking up more than one space. It’s a way to protect the car from door dings especially from a neighboring car.

 

[HongKongPhooey]

Just watched the security video. Wonder why she parked so far and so wonky? What the heck was that large light coloured object she was carrying overhead ? Kind of looked like a large inflatable floaty

Have to admit, I also noticed the parking

 

[BeachSky]

Police inspecting her boat

 

[rubylulu19]

If you look at the pictures of her boat there is stuff on the seats. Also I read on dailymail that there was food on the boat too. So she must have been carrying those things in the white bag over her shoulder. Also if it was suicide maybe she brought food for the little boy if she knew it might take a while for him to be found? The Eminem lyrics i find too coincidental.. It's creepy

 

[BeachSky]

I was a single mom.
I thought maybe the large white duffle was the boys pillow and or blankie. Snacks and drinks are a given with kids.
I know she was no doubt a cool mom to take him out on a boat. The water looks peaceful.
Maybe it seemed a fun choice and interested them both during this distancing thing.
So sad.
God speed. May they find her today.


MOO

 

[Alethea]

She and her ex divorced after a domestic assault incident. It seems like they were civil about co-parenting the baby, at least that's what she stated, but who knows if there was any actual co-parenting or if she had him all the time.


There was nobody else with them. The CCTV footage shows Naya and her son getting out of the car and getting on the boat, just the two of them.


The boy seems to be doing okay, he's probably too young to fully understand what's going on. Kind of heartless to be taking these pictures right now though. Her poor sister looks devastated.



She is a single mother. I can understand her wanting to live her own life with her son, without depending on family members or friends to join them on outings. Especially right now with everyhing going on.


Probably just because her parking skills are not great. Mine aren't that great either, sometimes I just can't be bother to fix it and just leave it if the parking is not too bad. The car wasn't that badly parked either.


Really? I had to watch the video again, and I don't see how anyone can come to that conclusion from that video? She wasn't stumbling, remembered to bring all of that stuff, helped her son getting out of the car, once they start walking, even though she walks in front of the baby, she's constantly looking back to check on him and on how close he is. She doesn't seem drunk to me, not at all. But I think it would be extremely hard to figure that out from that video unless she was drunk out of her mind and stumbling around. Just my opinion.


Her hair doesn't really look that long on her recent Instagram pictures.

Being a single mother doesn’t mean someone should disregard basic boat and water safety rule #1 to never go out alone. It is unsafe to operate a motor boat alone with a toddler, period. Particularly one you’re renting and presumably unfamiliar with. I don’t even kayak alone because if you tip over it is difficult to get back in without someone else holding your kayak steady for you. This whole thread has been full of people who own this type of boat explaining how difficult it is to get kids in and out of it. I think it’s reasonable to question how this ended up happening as if it’s truly an accident it was a preventable one. Another adult may have been able to help her if she got caught or tired and needed help.

 

[BeachSky]

‘Glee’ star Naya Rivera believed drowned in California lake

“She had experience boating out here at the lake,” Donoghue said

 

[zecats]

I'm never the person who finds hidden meaning in things, and typically have no problem accepting horrific, inexplicable happenings as accidents (case in point: Harley Dilly). But...I guess I'm going there? The more that I see & read, the more I wonder if this was suicide. The scenario in my head (which admittedly started with the rumor/insight that her last tweet was lyrics from the Eminem song):

(Again - speculation ONLY!) She's leaning toward (July 2 tweet) and then definite about (July 7 tweet) taking her own life. She chooses a method and a location familiar and soothing to her; she chooses a day & time it's likely to be uncrowded, but not deserted. She rents the boat in her own name, for a short period of time, and brings provisions for her son on board, knowing he may be alone for a time. She makes sure he's wearing his life vest. She makes sweet memories swimming with/for her baby. When it's getting close to time for her rental to expire (meaning employees will begin looking for them), she helps him back into the boat, telling him to rest while she keeps swimming - maybe even watches until he lays down, before quietly slipping away. He's awakened by strangers, and tells them exactly what happened - we went swimming, I got back in the boat, she didn't. She's left on her own terms, but there will always be plausible deniability; her son can grow up thinking it was an accident.

Watching the security video reinforces this feeling for me. I get ignoring parking lines, but she seemed IN the lines until she unnecessarily (IMO) backed up. That and the way (as others observed) she seems focused on getting to the pier, leaving her son to walk behind. Not neglectful, but distracted. MOO.

If it's ever learned that her son says more than what's been released so far (i.e. "she splashed, she cried, she called for help"), then I'd absolutely erase these thoughts from my mind. I'm not even sure why I'm feeling so strongly about it as it is.

Personally I could never suspect suicide. What would guarantee her that her little boy would be safe on a boat with no supervision if she jumped in to drown herself on purpose? She's still a mom and I'd like to believe his wellbeing was foremost in her mind, enough so that she would not leave him to fend for himself on a unanchored boat in the middle of a reservoir. JMO

 

[Only4Justice]

If she dove off the boat, just the push off from her feet could have sent the boat far enough away that she was unable to then catch up with it. The little boy may never have entered the water. I have swum off barges/boats a lot in my younger years, it is very easy to quickly become separated from the boat.

This unrelated case is currently making news in my area. Not looking good. Tragic.
Deputies, rescue crews searching for reported struggling swimmer on Lake Ontario near Seabreeze

Water safety is important!

Thank you for your post. I have grown up around Lakes big and small. Almost drowned more than once. You are correct; the boats (all types) can very easily get away from you. With no anchor, it would make it very difficult. JMO

I hope they find her today.

 

[Madeleine74]

When I've visited my elderly mother in FL (obviously before covid) I saw lots of cars parked skewed. As I see the video and pics, she is parked perpendicular to the water, obviously not paying attention to the actual parking lines. I see nothing to indicate she was inebriated and it seems unfair to speculate that she was. People make it sound like she was a long distance ahead of her child. It was like 5 ft. IMO.

 

[Only4Justice]

Just from a semi-local perspective, I wouldn’t have even thought twice about her parking over the lines.

The Angeleno weekend warrior class, particularly those that arrive at our local reservoirs in luxury vehicles, are not known for their adherence to the rules of the road.

If you even glanced at my local Trader Joe’s parking lot with the same level of suspicion, you’d have to assume every single shopper was drunk as a skunk in a moonshine still.

WOW this is good to know because I thought the way she parked was very odd and thought “I’d never park like that”