The actor’s disappearance in the lake sparked a. Shortly afterwards, her rented boat with her four-year-old son, josey dorsey, was located. · accidental drownings can happen quickly, as was the case with naya rivera last week. On , american actress and singer naya rivera was declared missing after she failed to return from a boating excursion on lake piru near her home in california. · on , naya rivera rented a pontoon boat on lake piru with her then 4-year-old son. Dorsey was unharmed. Her death certificate indicated that she likely died within minutes, and it was determined by the medical examiner to be an accidental drowning. Hours later, her son was found alone on the boat, asleep and unharmed. The official cause of death was determined to be accidental drowning. The ventura county medical examiner confirmed on tuesday that the 33-year-old glee actress suffered an. · naya rivera ’ s cause of death was officially listed as an accidental drowning. · court documents have revealed that the lake that glee actress naya rivera died in while attempting to rescue her son had a deadly history. · los angeles (ap) — an autopsy confirmed tuesday that “glee star naya rivera died from accidental drowning , officials said, while her family released a statement honoring her ”everlasting legacy and magnetic spirit. Rivera’s body was recovered after a days-long search. After naya rivera ’ s death , her glee co-stars paid tribute to the actress who had become their friend.