Rescuers on Monday found a body at the California lake where star
Naya Rivera went missing last week.
The
Ventura County Sheriff's office said “recovery is in progress” of the
unidentified body, after a sixth day of searching for the US actress began
again at first light.
Rivera,
33, is believed to have accidentally drowned in Lake Piru after renting a boat
at the camping and recreational hotspot with her four-year-old son, authorities
said last week.
She
vanished on Wednesday afternoon, and a massive search involving divers, patrol
boats and helicopters was launched after her son was spotted drifting alone in
a boat on the lake.
“Investigators believe Rivera drowned in what appears to be a
tragic accident,” the sheriff's office said last week.
“Rivera's
son told investigators that he and his mother had been swimming in the lake,
and he got back in the boat, but Rivera did not,” a statement said.
The
lake, an hour's drive northwest of Los Angeles, has been closed to the public
since, with around 100 personnel, including the US Coast Guard and rescuers
from neighbouring counties, joining the search.
With
less than one foot (30 centimetres) of visibility underwater in daylight, the
recovery operation has been “a very slow process” even with use of sonar
equipment, officials said.
A
news conference is scheduled for Monday afternoon.
Rivera
was best known for her role as high school cheerleader Santana Lopez in Glee. She starred for six
seasons in the wildly popular musical television series set in a US high school
that ended in 2015.
The Glee cast has been struck
by tragedy before.
Actor
Mark Salling took his own life in 2018, weeks before being sentenced for
possession of child pornography.
Canadian
castmate Cory Monteith died in July 2013 of an overdose of drugs and alcohol.
