Naya Rivera

[tanyak]

Does it make sense that they were swimming? Is it possible that she fell out of the boat and her son, being only 4, thought mommy was swimming?

I can barely swim at all. But I’m just thinking of Mr. Tanyak, who is a strong swimmer, hypothetically taking our son out on a pontoon boat when he was four. I don’t think he would’ve made a decision to have them both jump off the boat in open water. But we’re also not really boat/lake people. I’m not judging at all, but it just seems like a curious decision to me.

[cubanitafresca]

How was her FOUR year old son able to climb back into the boat all by himself? that just doesn't make sense to me.

[ennazus]

We’ve rented pontoon boats in the past. They’ve had a ladder that you can climb up and down from to get into and out of the water. He may have been able to climb back up himself.

[Matilda]

This just send shivers down my spine, that poor boy. I'm amazed he stayed on the boat and that apparently he was sleeping when they found him, in the middle of the afternoon? That seems odd to me, but then again I have a very impulsive son who I'd go nowhere near open water with and there's absolutely no doubt in my mind he'd have been in there after me. What an absolutely terrifying way to go for Naya, knowing that your son is left out there on his own.

[Deleted]

This story is so horrible and also so, so strange. I mean, I know we all view the world and its risks differently but...My youngest is about a month's shy of four years of age, and I cannot imagine taking him out open-water swimming by myself. I would want another adult present. But I also have a bit of a fear of open-water swimming, so there's that. It's just...None of this makes sense to me as reasonable behavior. My first thought was that there was something else to it. What that "something else" might be, I can only speculate.

[Mutagen]

A few summers ago I went swimming off the side of a boat in deep sea water. No life vest. Man, as soon as I hit the water I thought - this was dumb. It's not the pool where you can push off the edge or the bottom. It's so easy to get more tired than you realize. Then you struggle harder thinking, it's only a little ways away. I actually had a pretty good experience and enjoyed my swim, but nevertheless it definitely woke me up to taking water more seriously. Things can change in the blink of an eye.

[Ladybug]

I see people swimming w/o life vests frequently, both in lakes and the Gulf. I don't know this body of water, is it known for being dangerous? Are there signs posted about wearing life jackets in the water? As someone said upthread, adults may be more cautious with children than themselves. Thank goodness she put a vest on her child, or this tragedy may have been even worse.

I think she was probably overconfident in her swimming ability and maybe got pulled under by a current. She may not have been a frequent visitor to this spot and didn't know what she needed to to stay safe. She made a mistake by not wearing a vest and it cost her life.

[dragonflie]

To be honest I think it's remiss to make any assumption/judgement. We just don't know. I can think of many scenarios off the top of my head that could be perfectly innocent and sad: maybe the child fell in the water and she jumped after to get them- before securing her own vest, maybe the child jumped in too quickly before she could get her vest on, maybe Naya fell. We just don't know. A 4 year old saying they "went for a swim" could mean any of these things, and more. On top of that: my inlaws own a lake property, as did a close friend when I was young. I can tell you : almost never did the adults (who thought they were good swimmers) wear vests. The children: always. It's not uncommon, but we just don't know.

It's sad all around.

[bitca]

Jul 9, 2020 16:48:18 GMT -4 Ladybug said:

I think she was probably overconfident in her swimming ability and maybe got pulled under by a current.

That happened to me. I was taught how to swim at about three, so I'm not a horrible swimmer, but I got pulled into an undertow in about chest deep water. (That was really embarrassing.) Luckily I was with another adult that grabbed my arm and yanked me out before I even comprehended what happened.


There probably aren't any conspiracies behind this. Her little boy would have told the police if he saw anyone else.

I dunno about a Glee "curse." They all kind of had a hand in their own death. (Drugs. Suicide over being arrested for child porn. Not taking another adult on a boat with you and your four year old.)

[magazinewhore]

It's like Glee is cursed.

Don't forget the writer who married Gwyneth Paltrow.