Naya Rivera’s Glee castmates pay tribute after body was found

Naya Rivera’s Glee castmates paid tribute to her after a body has been recovered in the search for the actress six days after she vanished from Lake Piru. Authorities have yet to confirm that the body is that of the 33-year-old.

Jane Lynch was the first to pay her respects as she took to Twitter on Monday morning to write:  ‘Rest sweet, Naya. What a force you were. Love and peace to your family.’

They both starred on the Fox series from 2009 to 2015; Naya as cheerleader Santana Lopez and 59-year-old Lynch as coach Sue Sylvester.

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Devastating: Naya Rivera’s (seen in August 2013) Glee castmates paid tribute to her after a body has been recovered in the search for the actress six days after she vanished from Lake Piru. Authorities have yet to confirm that the body is that of the 33-year-old

Respect: Jane Lynch was the first to pay her respects as she took to Twitter on Monday morning to write: 'Rest sweet, Naya. What a force you were. Love and peace to your family'

Respect: Jane Lynch was the first to pay her respects as she took to Twitter on Monday morning to write: ‘Rest sweet, Naya. What a force you were. Love and peace to your family’

Squad: They both starred on the Fox series from 2009 to 2015; Naya as cheerleader Santana Lopez and 59-year-old Lynch as coach Sue Sylvester

Squad: They both starred on the Fox series from 2009 to 2015; Naya as cheerleader Santana Lopez and 59-year-old Lynch as coach Sue Sylvester

The actress’s family rushed to the lake on Monday morning and some of her Glee castmates, including Heather Morris, were also there. 

Max Adler, who played football player Dav Karofsky, continued the social media tributes as he posted several broken heart and crying emojis. 

Joshua Sussman – who portrayed Jacob Ben Israel in the  Fox series – wrote: ‘[Broken heart emoji] Naya, you will be missed so much [sad face emoji]’

Bond: Some of Rivera's Glee castmates went to the lake on Monday morning after authorities recovered a body. They held hands on the shore while waiting for confirmation of the identity of the body

Bond: Some of Rivera’s Glee castmates went to the lake on Monday morning after authorities recovered a body. They held hands on the shore while waiting for confirmation of the identity of the body

Sad: Authorities carry the body from a boat on Monday morning to be taken for formal identification

Sad: Authorities carry the body from a boat on Monday morning to be taken for formal identification 

A day prior, Rivera’s co-star Amber Patrice Riley took to Twitter to urge her followers to show some respect for Naya’s family and friends.

She wrote: ‘Show some respect. All our energy is going toward helping find Naya and praying for her safe return and for her family. No one owes anyone online a performance of grief. This is very real and devastating. Focus on Naya and her family. Not us. We don’t matter right now.’

Fellow castmate Kevin McHale backed Riley’s statement as he retweeted it with the added commentary: ‘I cannot begin to understand what Naya’s family must be feeling. I know the rest of us are completely shattered, but not without hope. 

Devastated: Max Adler, who played football player Dav Karofsky, continued the social media tributes as he posted several broken heart and crying emojis

Devastated: Max Adler, who played football player Dav Karofsky, continued the social media tributes as he posted several broken heart and crying emojis

Thinking of her: Joshua Sussman - who portrayed Jacob Ben Israel in the Fox series - wrote: '[Broken heart emoji] Naya, you will be missed so much [sad face emoji]'

Thinking of her: Joshua Sussman – who portrayed Jacob Ben Israel in the Fox series – wrote: ‘[Broken heart emoji] Naya, you will be missed so much [sad face emoji]’

‘Please respect her family & their privacy in this moment. Please refrain from judging those who don’t show their pain on social media. [heart emoji]’ 

Other celebs paid tribute including Pretty Little Liars star Janel Parrish who wrote: ‘Rest In Peace and power, Naya [sad face and broken heart emojis]’  

The Ventura County Sheriff Twitter announced the grim discovery on Twitter, saying: ‘A body has been found at Lake Piru this morning.

‘The recovery is in progress.’

'Show some respect': A day prior, Rivera's co-star Amber Patrice Riley took to Twitter to urge her followers to show some respect for Naya's family and friends

‘Show some respect’: A day prior, Rivera’s co-star Amber Patrice Riley took to Twitter to urge her followers to show some respect for Naya’s family and friends

'Please respect her and her family': Fellow castmate Kevin McHale backed Riley's statement as he retweeted it with the added commentary

‘Please respect her and her family’: Fellow castmate Kevin McHale backed Riley’s statement as he retweeted it with the added commentary

Rivera vanished on Wednesday on Lake Piru after taking a pontoon boat out on the water with her four-year-old son Josey.

Josey was later found alone, sleeping on the boat, by another group who noticed it drifting.

Search and rescue teams have spent the last six days combing the lake for traces of the actress but struggled against poor visibility and the sheer size of the lake.

Thoughts and prayers: Other celebs paid tribute including Pretty Little Liars star Janel Parrish who wrote: 'Rest In Peace and power, Naya [sad face and broken heart emojis]'

Thoughts and prayers: Other celebs paid tribute including Pretty Little Liars star Janel Parrish who wrote: ‘Rest In Peace and power, Naya [sad face and broken heart emojis]’

On Monday, they honed in on a cove where the actress had taken a photograph of Josey and sent it to a relative 90 minutes before he was found on the boat.

They focused their search on that cove on Monday.

The actress grew up 20 miles from the lake and was familiar with it, police sources said last week.

She thought of it as her ‘sanctuary’, despite it being known for rip currents and icy waters that can overpower swimmers.

The Ventura County Sheriff's Office released CCTV footage showing Naya Rivera and her four-year-old son arriving at the dock on Lake Piru on Wednesday

The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office released CCTV footage showing Naya Rivera and her four-year-old son arriving at the dock on Lake Piru on Wednesday

The pair climbed onto their pontoon boat rental before heading out into the lake at around 1pm

The pair climbed onto their pontoon boat rental before heading out into the lake at around 1pm 

A press conference about Monday’s discovery has been scheduled for 2pm local time.

On Sunday, Naya’s distraught family were seen at the lake trying to assist investigators in their search for her.

Josey told police that his mother ‘jumped in’ and never came back up to the surface.

Naya Rivera's father George Rivera sat alongside his former son-in-law, Jose's father Ryan Dorsey, on Sunday as search teams continued to look for her

Naya Rivera’s father George Rivera sat alongside his former son-in-law, Jose’s father Ryan Dorsey, on Sunday as search teams continued to look for her

He was wearing a life jacket but the actress’s was on the pontoon when it was recovered.

‘There was a picture sent to a family member that showed the boy on the boat by a cove. We found where that cove was,’ Robert Inglis of the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office Search & Rescue Team told Us Weekly.

He previously said: ‘What I suspect is that the winds kicked up.

This diagram shows where Naya Rivera and her son rented a boat on Lake Piru before the four-year-old was seen alone. The map in the top left shows the location of the lake in relation to Los Angeles where Rivera lives

This diagram shows where Naya Rivera and her son rented a boat on Lake Piru before the four-year-old was seen alone. The map in the top left shows the location of the lake in relation to Los Angeles where Rivera lives 

‘Those pontoon boats are very light, and when you push them, it can get away from you. She might’ve tried to swim after the boat. But that’s all speculation. Once we do locate her, that’ll answer a lot more questions.’

Police have not shared the image and it’s unclear which cove it was taken in. Over the weekend, they asked members of the public not to go looking for the star themselves in the dangerous water.

The actress’s father George on Sunday appeared to help co-ordinate the hunt for his missing daughter after police confirmed ‘nothing came’ of their search of cabins along Lake Piru.