Images have emerged of the Glee cast praying at the lake where their co-star Naya Rivera was found.

Rivera, 33, tragically drowned at Lake Piru, California, last week after going boating with her young son. 

Captain Eric Buschow, the spokesperson for the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office, said that he saw the actors praying on the shore as authorities continued with their search for Rivera, some five days after her son was found alone on a motorboat. 

“I don’t know who is who in the cast, but there were 12 to 15 people,” Buschow explained to US Weekly. “As they were praying, we got a call that the body was discovered on the surface of the lake. We didn’t tell them because anytime we — in the case of a death, we don’t want people to find out from other sources or from the media. We want the family to be notified officially. We don’t want them to learn about it on the news.”

Rivera's son, Jose, four, told police officers that he and his mum had been swimming in the lake before she "boosted" him back onto the boat and disappeared under the surface. 

"There are a lot of currents that appear on the lake in the afternoon," Sheriff William Ayub told the media. "She mustered enough energy to get her son back on the boat but not enough to save herself.”

On Wednesday, the Ventura County's Medical Examiner confirmed that Rivera died of accidental drowning. 

Rivera is the third member of the Glee cast to die in recent years. In 2013, Cory Monteith, who played one of the lead characters in the show, died of a drug overdose. Then, in 2018, fellow cast member Mark Salling committed suicide after pleading guilty to child pornography offences.