Naya Rivera’s Glee castmates are paying tribute to the actress following confirmation of the actress’ drowning death.
The star went missing during a boating trip on Lake Piru with her four-year-old son Josey on Wednesday (July 8, 2020) and authorities finally recovered her body after a six-day search on Monday morning.
Ahead of a press conference, scheduled for 2 pm local time, Naya’s former TV pals flooded social media on a day when they were dealing with the seventh anniversary of the death of another castmate, Cory Monteith, from an overdose.
Jane Lynch led the tributes on Monday, writing: “Rest sweet, Naya. What a force you were. Love and peace to your family.”
Josh Sussman added: “Naya, you will be missed so much,” and Iqbal Theba, who portrayed Principal Figgins on Glee from 2009 to 2015, simply posted an emoji of a broken heart.
Over the weekend, several other castmates hit the Lake Piru area hoping to find clues about their friend’s disappearance, prompting the leaders of official search and rescue teams to plead with them not to launch their own efforts to try and locate the missing star.
Her real-life pal and former TV best friend Heather Morris revealed she had tried to help the rescuers on Saturday but had not been able to speak directly to Ventura County Sheriff’s Department bosses.
She tweeted: “I’m trying to conduct an on foot search and rescue mission along with a small group of friends at Lake Piru. I understand your team is doing EVERYTHING in their power, but we are feeling helpless, powerless and want to help in any way. I have left a message with the department of Rescue and Air today, and I will call again tomorrow. Thank you.”
On Sunday (July 12, 2020), authorities urged members of the public to refrain from looking for Naya themselves – because it could do more harm than good to their investigation.
“For those intent on searching for Naya Rivera on your own, 1. The lake is closed. 2. Temps (temperatures) are already in the 90’s (sic). 3. The terrain around the lake is very steep and rugged,” a statement read. “Our teams are well equipped and highly trained. We don’t want to have to rescue you,” the representative added.
The warning emerged a day after Naya’s father, George, and her ex-husband, actor Ryan Dorsey, were spotted wading waist-deep into the water on Saturday near where Naya was last seen by her son. H
er mother, Yolanda, was also photographed kneeling on the dockside, alongside Naya’s younger brother, Mychal.
