Friday's search for 'Glee' star Naya Rivera 'much more technological'
The search effort to recover the body of "Glee" actress Naya Rivera, 33, resumed at daybreak Friday in Lake Piru and continued Saturday morning.
As of 11 a.m. Saturday, no remains had been found, according to the Ventura County Sheriff's Office. The search resumed Saturday at daybreak.
Rivera was presumed dead after renting a boat at the lake in east Ventura County Wednesday with her 4-year-old son. Her son was found alone aboard the rented craft several hours later.
Sheriff's officials investigating the incident say there was no evidence of foul play or any indication of a suicide. The death appears to be the result of an accident of some sort.
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Rivera was born and raised in the Santa Clarita Valley in Los Angeles County, about 20 miles from Lake Piru. She had previously been to the lake, authorities said.
The large recovery effort has included divers, helicopters and cadaver dogs along with volunteers and public safety personnel from multiple agencies.
Rivera is best known for her role as Santana Lopez in the Fox sitcom "Glee," which ran from 2009 to 2015.
At least 11 people have drowned at the man-made reservoir since 1994, according to news accounts and records from United Water Conservation District staff. The water district owns and operates Lake Piru and the Santa Felicia Dam, which contains the lake.
The most recent drowning was in 2014, when a woman's death was determined to be a suicide, according to the district. In 2017, a woman was airlifted from Lake Piru after nearly drowning.
New search focus Friday
Friday's search effort was different than Thursday's attempt, which ultimately had close to 100 people in the water, said Ventura County Sheriff's Sgt. Kevin Donoghue, a spokesman for the agency.
"Today, we put fewer divers in the water," he said, "but more technology."
Specialized equipment had arrived at the scene Friday, including side-scan sonar, that would allow dive teams to search "smarter and more efficiently," Donoghue said.
About 50 people were expected to search the lake Friday, he said, including dive teams from Los Angeles and Tulare counties along with the local agency's unit.
The lake bed beneath the water has almost no visibility, which meant human divers had to basically search by feel, he said. The side-scan sonar allows crews to target, and search for, objects with a specific size profile.
When objects are located, a remote drone can be sent to look at what the sonar sees or divers can get in the water to look at those targets.
"It is a much more technological search," Donoghue said Friday morning.
Helicopter crews returned Friday along with cadaver dogs and an aerial drone.
Saturday's operations will largely resemble Friday's deployment, an official said Saturday morning.
The case has drawn intense interest from fans of the star. Some have wondered on social media why the search is limited to the water, Donoghue noted.
The initial search Wednesday, which was a search and rescue operation still in life-saving mode, included personnel who searched shorelines, he said.
"They were not just looking for Naya, but also for any clues that would lead us to believe she made it to shore," he said. That included looking for articles of clothing, personal items and footprints, none of which were found.
In addition, sheriff's personnel spoke with Rivera's son.
"The interview with her son was key," Donoghue said. "We received enough specific details from him to lead us to conclude that she disappeared in the water and did not come back."
That's why the search effort is now entirely in the water, he said. Authorities are not releasing additional details about their interview with the boy out of respect for the family, he said.
The search will continue until sundown Friday, when conditions become too dangerous for divers after dark. Helicopter crews also stop after dark because they aren't able to see much in the water at night.
"We don't abandon the search at night," Donoghue added. "We keep personnel here in the event some clue surfaces."
At a 3 p.m. media briefing at the lake, sheriff's officials told reporters the search effort was focused on a section at the north and east portion of Lake Piru known as The Narrows. Based on wind data, timing and the boat's location, that is the most likely place the body would be, authorities said.
Divers were deployed more strategically during the day, only being sent in when there were sonar hits, officials said. Cadaver dogs had not detected anything as of 3 p.m., but any hits detected by the K-9s would generate GPS coordinates that could be checked by a diver.
The lake is about 2 miles long. It was not immediately clear how much of the lake had been searched by Friday afternoon.
A plan to partially drain the lake in August is not related to the search, authorities said during the media briefing. That effort was already planned to conduct seismic retrofitting at the dam.
Search efforts were apparently not hampered by an invasive quagga mussel infestation at Lake Piru discovered in 2013.
An official with United said the water district has standing agreements with Ventura and Los Angeles county sheriff's agencies, which use the lake during firefighting operations. Those agencies are aware of the quagga mussel issue, the official said. The district also has personnel currently at the scene inspecting boats coming in and out of the water during the recovery operation.
The highly destructive freshwater mussel, which is not harmful to humans, can be unwittingly transferred to other water bodies via boats and other gear. Quaggas multiply quickly and clog pipes and other infrastructure, creating an ongoing and costly problem at infected sites, including Lake Piru.
Check back: This story will be updated as new information becomes available.
Gretchen Wenner covers breaking news for the Ventura County Star. Reach her at gretchen.wenner@vcstar.com or 805-437-0270.
Jeremy Childs is a breaking news and public safety reporter covering the night shift for the Ventura County Star. He can be reached by calling 805-437-0208 or emailing jeremy.childs@vcstar.com. You can also find him on Twitter @Jeremy_Childs.
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