Naya Rivera’s body found minutes after 'Glee' stars pray at edge of lake where she drowned
The body of "Glee" actress Naya Rivera was recovered by authorities just minutes after the late actress' castmates were seen praying at the edge of Lake Piru on Monday.
Reports that Rivera was missing and feared dead first broke on July 8 hours after she took a boat out on the lake with her son, Josey, in tow.
On Tuesday, a day after Rivera's body was recovered, Captain Eric Buschow of the Ventura County Sheriff's Office told Us Weekly about seeing the actors praying at the water's edge.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
"I don't know who is who in the cast, but there were 12 to 15 people," Buschow said of the prayer gathering that was filmed by ABC7 Eyewitness News. "They were down there by the edge of the lake and prayed for about a half-hour. … I did not go down there and stand with them, so I don't know what they did or said other than they had expressed a desire to go down there and have a prayer."
The footage showed Rivera’s former co-stars holding hands while facing the California lake where the actress drowned.
Rivera went missing shortly after she posted a photo of herself embracing her son on Instagram with the caption, “just the two of us.”
According to the Ventura County Sheriff's Department, Rivera and her son took a boat out on Lake Piru in the Los Padres National Forest in Ventura County on July 8. She rented the boat at around 1 p.m. and approximately three hours later, someone on the lake discovered her son asleep in the boat by himself.
Officials told NBCLA that Rivera's son was discovered with a life vest on while Rivera’s vest was still on the boat.
Helicopters, divers, and drones searched for Rivera for days.
Among the “Glee” castmates who were reportedly at the prayer where Amber Riley and Heather Morris.
"As they were praying, we got a call that the body was discovered on the surface of the lake," Buschow continued. "We didn't tell them because anytime we — in the case of a death, we don't want people to find out from other sources or from the media. We want the family to be notified officially. We don't want them to learn about it on the news."
Rivera's "Step Up: High Water" co-star Terrence Green was also at the prayer meeting and shared several posts and videos to his Instagram Story, writing, "We called out to you this morning ... You answered."
Following the discovery of the body, Sheriff William Ayu said at a news conference that it's their belief that Rivera accidentally drowned while out on the lake and an autopsy had confirmed their findings.
"We know from speaking with her son that he and Naya swam in the lake together at some point during their journey," he said Monday afternoon. "There are a lot of currents that appear on the lake in the afternoon. She mustered enough energy to get her son back on the boat but not enough to save herself."
Just days before her disappearance the actress hauntingly advised people to treasure every moment of their life.
“No matter the year, circumstance, or strifes everyday you’re alive is a blessing,” Rivera wrote on Instagram. “Make the most of today and every day you are given. tomorrow is not promised.”
