*Naya Rivera spent her final moments saving her son from drowning, according to investigators.
On Monday, the actress was confirmed dead by authorities five days after she disappeared during a lake trip with her 4-year-old son.
The 33-year-old went missing on July 8 while swimming in Lake Piru in Ventura, Calif. Her son reportedly told investigators that his mother jump into the water, but she did not come out.
“We know from speaking with her son, that he and Naya swam in the lake together at some point during their journey. It was during that time that her son described being helped into the boat by Naya, who boosted him onto the deck from behind,” said Ventura County Sheriff Bill Ayub at a press conference on Monday (July 14), Page Six reports.
“He told investigators that he looked back and saw her disappear under the surface of the water,” he added.
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Officials believe their boat began to drift and Rivera had just enough strength to get her son onto the boat, but not enough energy to save herself, according to the report.
“We believe it was mid-afternoon when she went swimming, the idea being, perhaps, that the boat began drifting… and that she mustered enough energy to get her son back on the boat but not enough to save herself,” Sheriff Ayub told reporters after the discovery of her body Monday.
He added that “[Her son Josey] described being helped into the boat by Naya, who boosted him onto the deck from behind. He looked back and saw her disappear under the surface of the water.”
Her body was found floating near where the pair had gone swimming.
“There are a lot of currents on the lake that appear particularly in the afternoon,” Ayub said.
Rivera’s son, whom she shares with ex-husband Ryan Dorsey, was reportedly found asleep on the pontoon, wrapped in a towel and wearing a life jacket.
Authorities believe Rivera drowned.
“We believe she was concealed within the shrubbery of some of the floorbed of the lake” before the body rose to the surface, Ayub said, also noting that there was no indication of foul play or suicide.
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