The search for Naya Rivera continued over the weekend following the actress’ disappearance on Lake Piru in Ventura County last week. The star of such shows as Glee and Step Up: High Water was spending time on a boat with her 4-year-old son when she disappeared. Now, a photo may be the key to helping the search and rescue team locate the actress’ remains.
Over the weekend, Sheriff’s Department representative Robert Inglis said that Naya Rivera had sent a photo out to a family member of her young son while they boating on Lake Piru. The image was taken sometime between 90 minutes to two hours before the young man was found on the boat, alone. So how does this help? According to Inglis, the image detailed a cove that investigators were then able to locate. He said:
There was a picture sent to a family member that showed the boy on the boat by a cove. We found where that cove was.
Speaking to US Weekly, he said that locating the cove gave divers a starting point in the search for Naya Rivera, though he did note that’s where the team searched first. Unfortunately, one of the big issues with locating Rivera is not just the fact that visibility in the lake is only 1-2 feet and there’s plenty of debris to slog through. The other issue is that no one saw the actress go into the water except for her 4-year-old son, who could only say she never returned. But the location of the cove and the location where the pontoon boat was found with Naya Rivera’s son both help to explain which part of the lake they were spending time on.
On a more personal note, the Ventura County Department Sheriff’s representative detailed his own experiences and understandings regarding Lake Piru and explained a likely scenario in regards to what happened to Naya Rivera when she disappeared from her pontoon boat.
As you get more north in the lake, there are steep hills and it’s covered with brush with bigger rocks. It would be very difficult to maneuver through that especially if you’re just wearing maybe a bathing suit. What I suspect is that the winds kicked up. Those pontoon boats are very light, and when you push them, it can get away from you. She might’ve tried to swim after the boat. But that’s all speculation. Once we do locate her, that’ll answer a lot more questions.
There was some concern over whether or not Naya Rivera’s body would be able to be located and found at all. Bodies can take up to 7-10 days to resurface and there’s a lot of debris located in Lake Piru just under the surface of the water. Visibility is also poor, but Robert Inglis did say he was confident the Glee star will be located.
Despite the difficulties, the search for Naya Rivera will continue into this week, though separate reports have indicated they will lesson in intensity as time continues to pass. Over the weekend, authorities also brought Rivera’s family to the location of her disappearance. They were able to say goodbye to the 33-year-old actress on the dock that housed the pontoon boat she had taken out on the water.
