Body of actress Naya Rivera discovered from California lake, saved her son before drowning

US officials on Monday discovered the body of American actress Naya Rivera in the Californian lake where she drowned during a boat trip with her 4-year-old son.

According to a police official, Rivera’s body was retrieved and an initial examination found no evidence of foul play or suicide.

“We are confident the body we found is that of Naya Rivera,” said police, pointing to the location, appearance, clothing and condition of the body.

Her body was being taken for a full autopsy and confirmation of her identity from dental records, though no other missing persons have been reported at Lake Piru, he added.

Naya Rivera is believed to have accidentally drowned after renting the boat with her young son at the camping and recreational hotspot near Los Angeles.

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She vanished on Wednesday afternoon, and a massive search operation was launched after her sleeping son was spotted drifting alone in a boat on the lake.

According to Rivera’s son, she had helped him into the boat before “he looked back and saw her disappear under the surface of the water,” said the police.

The police official pointed to the lake’s strong currents as a possible cause of a fatal accident.

The lake has been closed to the public since Wednesday, with around 100 personnel, including the US Coast Guard and rescuers from neighboring counties, joining the search.

Search teams used footage from video messaging calls Rivera made from the boat before her disappearance.

“We believe she was concealed within some of the shrubbery on the floor bed of the lake” before eventually floating to the surface due to natural decomposition, said the police.

With less than one foot of visibility underwater in daylight, the recovery operation was a “complex search effort” even with use of sonar equipment, he said.

Rivera was best known for her role as high school cheerleader Santana Lopez in Glee.