Ventura County Sheriff’s Office Release Underwater Footage As Search Continues For Naya Rivera

The search continues Saturday for Glee star Naya Rivera after the actress went missing during a boating trip with her son on Lake Piru on Wednesday.

The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office released footage on Friday to show just how poor the visibility is in the lake, just one to two feet, making the search very difficult. The footage was obtained by a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) used by the sheriff’s office, deployed 30 feet from the lake’s surface, reports People Magazine.

The sonar device “paints pictures of the lake bed floor, and when it sees an anomaly, an object that’s consistent with the shape and size of what we’re looking for, then we send divers to search that specific area,” Ventura County Sheriff Sergeant Kevin Donoghue told People.

Along with the ROV and sonar, authorities are using dogs and divers to aid in their search.

During a press conference on Friday, Ventura County Sheriff’s Office Captain Eric Buschow told reporters that they “don’t know if she’s going to be found five minutes from now or five days from now.”

Buschow said authorities are focusing on the north and eastern sides of Lake Piru, based on the location of where Rivera’s boat was found, and the level of personnel present at the lake could vary in the coming days.

The search for Rivera, 33, turned to a recovery mission on Thursday, one day after her son was found alone on their rented boat. Her son told officials that he made it back onto the boat after swimming but that she did not.

1/2 Here’s the ROV used by @TulareSheriff in the search for Naya Rivera at Lake Piru today. This is one of many resources being used, along with side scan sonar, dogs, and divers. pic.twitter.com/LkeI04HIMJ

— Ventura County Sheriff (@VENTURASHERIFF) July 11, 2020

2/2 Here’s an example of the underwater visibility at a 30-foot depth in Lake Piru. pic.twitter.com/YGNNUdmPQ4

— Ventura County Sheriff (@VENTURASHERIFF) July 11, 2020