Lake Piru, Naya Rivera's drowning site, has witnessed numerous tragedies since 90s

Glee star Naya Rivera’s body was found in a Southern California lake on July 13, five days after she went missing while boating with her son in Lake Piru. After Rivera’s disappearance on July 8, social media users highlighted multiple drownings in Lake Piru in the past and no warning signs put up by the authorities.

A Twitter user detailed how she lost a young family member in the lake years ago when the victim got dragged by a sudden whirlpool. She urged everyone never to enter Lake Piru to swim, adding her family members have been asking authorities to put a warning sign for visitors. The user also posted a screenshot of a news story from 2009 to let people know that she wasn’t making it up.

Lake Piru has reported several drownings starting from 1994 when a 27-year-old drowned in the lake even though he was wearing a life jacket, according to LA Times. Three years later, a man drowned in the lake while trying to rescue his daughter and his body was discovered several days later. The lake has reported at least 11 drowning incidents in the past 25 years.

Another user pointed out that the word ‘Piru’ is associated with 'devil' in Finnish and Spanish. Several users backed the claim of Lake Piru being dangerous for swimming. Check out some of the replies:

Read: Tara Sutaria Mourns 'Glee' Star Naya Rivera's Death, Hails Her 'courage To Be Unafraid'

'Put up the signs'

A petition on change.org has also been initiated, saying Lake Piru is a very deep lake with very bad whirlpools and Naya Rivera is not the first person to go missing at Lake Piru. “Locals of Ventura County don’t go to Lake Piru for this reason! Tourist have no idea what they’re getting into. Lake Piru needs signs. We’re tired of waiting. We need justice for all those who got lost at Lake Piru. Put up the signs (sic),” the petition reads.

Rivera’s four-year-old son told investigators that his mother lifted him back on to the deck of their rented boat before he turned to see her disappearing under the water. Authorities believe that she drowned accidentally and her body was most likely trapped in the vegetation under the lake for many days before floating to the top.

Read: Glee's Heather Morris Feels 'powerless', Plans To Organise Naya Rivera's 'rescue Mission'