Rivera's 4-year-old son told investigators his mom helped him into the boat after the pair went swimming, and when he looked back, she had disappeared, according to the sheriff.
A body found by search crews in Lake Piru Monday morning has been confirmed to be the remains of “Glee” actress Naya Rivera, the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office announced during a press conference.
Based on the body’s condition and appearance, investigators were “confident” it was Rivera, Sheriff Bill Ayub said. Her body was found floating in an area of the lake with 30-60 feet deep water and heavy brush on the bottom. The identity will be definitively confirmed by the medical examiner through dental records in an upcoming autopsy.
Rivera went missing after going boating Wednesday afternoon with her 4-year-old son Josey at the lake, which is an hour outside Los Angeles. The boy was found alone on the boat taking a nap around 4 p.m. and told authorities his mom went swimming but never came back to the boat.
There was no indication of foul play or suicide, Ayub said.
Ayub said Josey told investigators that Rivera had helped him into the boat after the pair went swimming, and when he looked back, she had disappeared under the surface of the water.
Rivera's death comes exactly seven years after her former "Glee" co-star Cory Monteith died of a drug overdose in a Vancouver hotel.
Officials announced last week that Rivera's disappearance was a "presumed drowning" and that search efforts would from then on focus on recovering a body. The search was challenging due to murky waters and poor visibility, according to rescue divers.
"When we're on the bottom, as we're doing our searches, we do come across trees under water and some of them are 15 feet tall. So we're searching the whole area, got to go up 15 feet and then come back down," one diver told Inside Edition.
The 33-year-old actress was not wearing her life jacket when she disappeared.
The actress's son is now with his father, Rivera' ex-husband, actor Ryan Dorsey.
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