On July 8th, 2020, Glee star Naya Rivera was reported missing during a day out on a lake
with her 4-year-old son, Josey Dorsey. According to People magazine, the 33-year-old actor rented a
pontoon boat for her and Josey to take out on Lake Piru in Ventura County, California, and aroused
suspicion when her three-hour rental window went by and the pair failed to return to shore.
The boat was eventually found later in the day with Josey sleeping on board,
but no sign of his mother. A search party was immediately dispatched with the Ventura
County Sheriff's Department tweeting that they were relying on divers and sonar scans
to search the lake, as well as checking and rechecking "cabins and outbuildings
in the surrounding area," and analyzing the final photo Rivera sent her family.
On July 13th, 2020, Deadline confirmed the tragic news that, following a five-day search,
Rivera's body was reportedly recovered from the Southern California lake. Ventura County
Sheriff Bill Ayub said his team was, quote "confident" they had found the actor, and an
autopsy confirmed their suspicions the following day. Since that day, heartbreaking details have
come to light about the star's final moments and what her son experienced that day on Lake Piru.
We may never know what exactly went wrong on that horrible day in July 2020. While the Ventura
County Medical Examiner was unable to provide many details about the lead-up to the tragedy,
they did conclude that the actor's death was purely accidental, according to NBC Los Angeles.
A statement from the county's authorities said that the official cause of death determined
by an autopsy was accidental drowning and that the medical examiner's findings were:
"Consistent with a drowning and the condition of the body is consistent with the time that she
was submerged. [...] No traumatic injuries or disease processes were identified at autopsy."
According to her death certificate, which was seen by People magazine,
Rivera passed away within a matter of minutes.
Sheriff Ayub later revealed that while Josey was wearing a life vest,
Rivera reportedly wasn't. An adult life vest, which was supposedly meant for her,
was found on the boat. The water was 35 to 60 feet deep in the area where her body was discovered.
"She was found in the northeastern portion of the lake near the surface of the water."
Following an interview with Josey, Sheriff Ayub shared additional
details of Rivera's tragic death with the media. According to USA Today,
the 4-year-old told authorities that he and his mom "swam in the lake together." Ayub revealed,
"[Josey] described being helped into the boat by Naya, who boosted him onto the deck from behind.
[He] told investigators that he looked back and saw her disappear under the surface of the water."
Ayub concluded that he believes she, quote,
"mustered enough energy to get her son back on the boat, but not enough to save herself."
Speculating about what may have gone wrong when the pair entered the water,
one member of the Ventura County Sheriff's Office Search & Rescue Team told Us Weekly
that not wearing a life vest may have been the biggest factor in Rivera's death. He said,
"They jumped off the boat. It doesn't take much to get exhausted if you're not
in shape. Winds do kick up at that lake, and the boats start to get away. [...] If you're
not familiar with the boat and getting on and off the boat, you can get tired
just climbing onto the boat. You can fall back in, people hit their heads, things like that."
Rivera and Ryan Dorsey secretly tied the knot in July 2014 and welcomed their son in September
2015. Although it was a complicated relationship that ended when their divorce was finalized in
June 2018, they remained close for their son, and Rivera's unexpected passing hit her ex hard.
Initially choosing to remain quiet, Ryan broke his silence on July 25th,
2020 with a heartfelt post on Instagram. He wrote,
"This is so unfair. There's not enough words to express the hole left in everyone's hearts.
I can't believe this is life now. I don't know if I'll ever believe it."
Revealing that he had seen his ex the day before she went missing, he added,
"Thankful for our times and our journey that brought us together
and gave us the sweetest and kindest smart little boy we could ever hope for."
Ryan went on to share a sweet anecdote, writing,
"I remember sometimes you used to get annoyed at me:
'Ryan can you stop snap chatting!' [...] I'm glad I didn't listen to you
because I have hundreds and probably thousands of snaps and videos that Josey will have forever and
know his momma loved him more than life, and how much fun we had together as he was growing up."
"Our hearts are with them and we share in their grief for Naya's loss."
In September 2020, the Ventura County Medical Examiner released Rivera's full
autopsy report and official findings from the investigation and, as People reported,
they contained tragic details about the actor's final moments with her son.
The report made note of Josey's recollection of counting to three, jumping into the lake with
his mom, then her telling him to get back on the boat. The report reveals,
"She helped him onto the boat and he then heard [Naya] yell 'help'
and she put her arm in the air. She then disappeared into the water."
The autopsy report described Rivera as being a "good swimmer,"
and another report noted that she, quote, "would have vertigo to the point of vomiting"
and that it "would get worse when she was in the water."
In November 2020, Ryan Dorsey joined forces with lawyers representing Rivera's estate
in order to file a wrongful death suit on behalf of Josey. According to CNN,
they chose to sue Ventura County,
Parks Management Company — which rented Rivera the boat — and United Water Conservation District.
The plaintiffs claim that the pontoon did not have proper safety equipment.
The suit then goes on to say,
"There is not a single sign anywhere [...] warning of the lake's strong currents, low visibility,
high winds, changing water depths, underwater caves, ledges and drop offs, or the trees,
brush and other debris that congest its waters due to the vastly changing water levels and winds."