Naya Rivera presumed dead, police say they aren’t sure if they will find her body

Hollywood actor Naya Rivera, best known for playing the role of Santana Lopez in the show Glee, is reportedly presumed to be dead after she was found missing on Wednesday. On Thursday, July 9, 2020, Ventura County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Kevin Donoghue reportedly stated in a press conference that they are switching from ‘rescue operation’ to ‘search and recovery operation’. According to a news portal, Officer Chris Dyer of the Ventura County Sheriff's office said that they are presuming that the 33-year-old actor met with an accident while in the water and that she drowned.

It has also been reported that the police think there has been no foul play involved and they believe that a tragic accident took place while Naya Rivera was swimming in the water. The sheriff’s office on Thursday also stated that they aren't sure if they will find Naya Rivera’s body in the water. They believe that if the body is entangled with something that is underneath the water, it might never come up. They said Naya Rivera’s search ‘is complicated’ due to the conditions of Lake Piru. The sergeant elaborated that the visibility of the lake is terrible. He added that there are lots of plants and trees that are under the water that can entangle her. He reportedly added that it makes the search complicated and unsafe for divers as well.

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Naya Rivera missing

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It has been reported that there is no proof that the actor made it the shore. This has made the authorities believe that she drowned in the water. The sergeant also reportedly stated that they are searching the 'shorelines' for any clues or personal items or anything that would indicate that she made it outside the water. This is why they are focusing on searching for Rivera in the water.

The sergeant also added there are detectives looking at her credit card statements to ensure that there haven’t been any changes since the incident on Wednesday. He explained that Naya’s personal belongings like her purse and her ID have been recovered from the boat and that her car was also found at the scene. They do not know if Riviera was wearing a life jacket; however, they found one life jacket on the board but they do not know if it was an extra. The sergeant said that if she was wearing a life jacket she would have floated above the surface of the water, which has not happened.

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The police on Tuesday also said that the lake is large and that the search will continue. However, the decision to end the search will be made when they are confident that they have done everything in their power to search for the missing actor. Officer Chris Dyer reportedly told a news portal that a team of 80 professionals have been carrying out the search and rescue operation actively. He said that they are looking for Naya Rivera using helicopters, drones, and boats, as well as a ground team, have been assigned to do the task. The officer also revealed that the aim of the operation is to bring Naya Rivera home to her family so that they could have some closure.

Naya Rivera reportedly took a pontoon boat to the Lake Riviera in Los Angeles with her four-year-old son. According to her son, they both went swimming, however, Naya Rivera never made it on board. Rivera rented the boat at 1 PM on Wednesday and was supposed to return it three hours later, at 4 PM. However, when she did not get the pontoon back at 4:30 PM the locals who rented the boat went out to look for the boat. When they found Riviera son sleeping on the boat, with no sign of her, they decided to call the authorities.

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