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According to authorities, Naya Rivera is presumed dead.
By Micki Spollen — Written on Jul 09, 2020
Former Glee actress Naya Rivera is missing and presumed dead in a likely drowning accident, according to the Ventura County Sheriff.
CNN reported that the actress rented a boat on the afternoon of Wednesday, July 8, and set out on Lake Piru with her 4-year-old son Josey.
In a press conference, Ventura County Sheriff’s Captain Eric Buschow said that another boater came across the boat, which was drifting in the water with Josey asleep on board.
According to Buschow, Josey explained that he got back on the boat after going swimming but his mother didn’t. Josey was wearing a life vest and there was reportedly an adult life vest on board.
In what fans suggest is another example of the "Glee curse" at work, some are speculating if the Rivera's presumed drowning death is actually suicide.
What happened to Naya Rivera?
It’s presumed that Rivera drowned.
In the press conference, Buschow noted that authorities were dispatched to Lake Piru shortly after another boater discovered Rivera’s rented boat floating in the lake.
At 9:30 PM on July 8, the Ventura County Sheriff tweeted that a search and rescue dive team was on the way to search the lake for a “possible drowning victim.”
Early in the morning on July 9, the Sheriff confirmed that the missing person was Naya Rivera.
Though authorities suspended the search overnight, the Sheriff noted that search and rescue teams would continue the search at first light on Thursday, July 9.
According to Lake Piru’s Wikipedia page, the lake has claimed the lives of several drowning victims since 1994.
In 2000, Lake Piru’s parks and recreation services manager Douglas West told the LA Times that at that time, he’d witnessed “about a dozen drownings during his 23 years at the lake,” with most victims being “inexperienced swimmers who are not wearing life jackets and who overestimate their own abilities or swim in prohibited areas.”
Fans question if Rivera committed suicide.
After word of Rivera’s presumed death got out, fans speculated that it may not have been an accident.
One Twitter user posted a theory that Rivera alluded to her death in her last Instagram post, a photo of her and her son whose caption, “just the two of us,” might have referenced an Eminem song called “Just the Two of Us.”
The song’s lyrics describe a mother drowning. However, another Twitter user noted that the song isn’t about suicide, but rather a father killing his child’s mother by drowning her.
“No mother would leave their young child unattended in the middle of the lake. If she intended on harming herself, I would think she would have assured her son was safe first,” another user wrote.
A New Zealand Herald article also mentioned an “eerie message to fans” in another recent Instagram post in Rivera’s feed.
“no matter the year, circumstance, or strifes everyday you're alive is a blessing,” Rivera captioned a selfie. “make the most of today and every day you are given. tomorrow is not promised.”
As of now, however, the speculation remains that Rivera’s presumed death is a drowning accident. The LA Times reported in 2000 that after a 1997 death at Lake Piru, “park officials speculated that wind gusts and deep columns of chilly water on the lake, which is up to 160 feet deep depending on the time of year, can overtake swimmers quickly.”
Is there a Glee curse?
Rivera’s presumed death follows a number of other Glee cast deaths, most notably Cory Monteith’s overdose and Mark Salling’s suicide following a guilty plea in a child pornography case.
Rivera’s possible drowning prompted Reddit users to question whether or not Glee’s cast and production team is cursed.
“I don’t know if I would say it was cursed, but it’s unfortunate for most of them,” an insider told the NY Post in June 2020. “The things that have happened with some of the cast . . . it’s very sad.”
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Micki Spollen is an editor, writer, and traveler. Follow her on Instagram and keep up with her travels on her website.