Body of actress Naya Rivera found at Lake Piru after six-day search
A body found at Lake Piru in Southern California has been identified as “Glee” actress Naya Rivera, according to Ventura County Sheriff.
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Naya Rivera’s ex-husband is opening up about the “Glee” star’s tragic death almost five years later.
Ryan Dorsey, who was married to Rivera from 2014 to 2018, sat down with People to reflect on the loss and share new details about the day the actress drowned in California’s Lake Piru. Rivera went missing in July 2020 after going out on the water in a rented boat with her then-4-year-old son, Josey. Josey made it back safely, but after a search, Rivera’s body was found in the lake. She was 33.
Speaking with People, Dorsey shared that Josey still feels guilty that he couldn’t save his mom.
“Something he’s said over and over is that he was trying to find a life raft, and there was a rope, but there was a big spider on the rope, and he was too scared to throw it,” Dorsey shared. “I keep reassuring him, ‘Buddy, that rope wasn’t going to be long enough.'”
According to Dorsey, it was windy that day, so Josey got scared when he and Rivera jumped in the water and asked his mom if they were going “to die,” to which she replied, “Don’t be silly.”
As the boat started getting away from them, Rivera told her son to swim back to it, Dorsey said, adding that it still “doesn’t make much sense how he was able to get on and she wasn’t.”
“(Josey) said that the last thing she said was his name, and then she went under, and he didn’t see her anymore,” he said. “It just rocks my world that he had to witness her last moments.”
Dorsey also revealed that Josey’s grandmother has showed him his mom on TV and that he watched the “Glee” concert movie.
“You could see his eyes welling up a little bit,” he said. “But he’s a strong boy, and he has a lot of content and episodes and stuff. His mom will live forever.”
In 2020, Dorsey filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Ventura County, the United Water Conservation District and Parks and Recreation Management, alleging that the boat Rivera rented did not come with key safety features and wasn’t equipped with flotation or lifesaving devices. The lawsuit, which called Rivera’s death “utterly preventable,” also said that she wasn’t informed of the dangerous conditions at the lake.
“There are no signs warning visitors about the dangers of swimming in the lake, to wear life vests when swimming or boating, or that dozens of others have drowned in Lake Piru,” the document said.
The lawsuit was settled in 2022. Attorney Amjad M. Khan told People at the time that “through this settlement, Josey will receive just compensation for having to endure the drowning of his beloved mother at Lake Piru,” adding, “Though the tragic loss of Josey’s mother can never truly be overcome, we are very pleased that the monetary settlement will significantly assist Josey with his life beyond this tragedy.”
Contributing: Charles Trepany