Thrilled to share I will be contributing to
@RollingStone
's online political coverage on a freelance basis.
You can read some of the stories I've already written for the site here:
Many thanks to my editor
@ryanbort
&
@lisatozzi
for the opportunity. 🙏
Naya Rivera has not been located yet. Interviews with her son show there is little to no evidence she made it to shore. Video from the dock shows Rivera and her son were the only two people on board the boat.
The boat was in an area estimated to be 30 feet deep with 15 feet visibility. Over 100 personnel are looking for Rivera, including helicopters, divers, boats and more.
NAYA RIVERA SEARCH UPDATE: The search now includes two German Shepherds from the California Rescue Dog Association. The dogs are trained to detect the gasses released by human cadavers. They will perform a methodical search along a grid of the lake to help divers locate the body.
Swimming is permitted in the lake. No real undercurrent in the lake like in the ocean. The water can get cold and have hypothermic conditions, according to Sgt. Kevin Donoghue from
@VENTURASHERIFF
Donoghue said it could take from 2-3 days up to a week to recover the body, depending on the circumstances. Drownings have been reported at Lake Piru before, as it's the only lake you can swim in within Ventura County.
Boat was unanchored and was found out on the water. The boat was found in the northern half of the lake, so the search is primarily focusing there. Here's a map for reference
Sgt. Eric Buschow said there is NOTHING to indicate Naya Rivera committed suicide. Anything that says otherwise is a rumor and not based on the official investigation as it currently stands.
No Naya Rivera press conference today.
@VENTURASHERIFF
told me they do not plan on holding one unless there is a major development in the search (i.e. they find her). They are still searching the northern half of the lake, as that is where all evidence points to her being.
I'm leaving Lake Piru for the night. I've had spotty cell connection all day, but I wanted to thank everyone for following and sharing the information on Naya Rivera. This situation is truly heartbreaking, but I'm happy to do my part and share the facts with you all.
Look at how murky the water in Lake Piru is. You can see a tree across the frame diagonally, but that's about it.
The entire lake is filled with debris like this. Water that looks clear from above could have something you wouldn't see until it is right in front of your face.
Naya Rivera Search Update: given the lake's low visibility, investigators are now using technology like side-scan sonar which "allows crews to target, and search for, objects with a specific size profile."
More info available in our story:
Hey all, I'm not at Lake Piru today but my colleague
@GretchenWenner
wrote an update story this morning. As of 9 a.m. Pacific Time they still have not found Naya Rivera, but they still have 10+ hours of daylight to search today.
Search and rescue helicopter taking off to continue searching Lake Piru overhead. The shoreline and surface of the water have been searched so extensively that investigators are all but certain Naya Rivera is still underwater. Nevertheless, the search continues.
Interview with diver Max O'Brien underway. He said the visibility is so bad the search for Naya Rivera is bring done mostly through touch. All divers are volunteers through Ventura County Search and Rescue.
#PrayForNaya
I spoke to Sgt. Bill Hutton of VCSO for this info. He said this is a very technical search right now, going along a GPS grid. The search for Naya Rivera will go until nightfall, then the GPS data will be analyzed overnight and a new strategy will be formed by daybreak tomorrow.
Last Naya Rivera search update for today: the search has ended and Rivera still has not been located, according to Senior Deputy Tim Lohman.
The search will resume tomorrow at daybreak. Read our news story in the meantime for everything we know so far:
Day 3 Press Conference on the Lake Piru search for Naya Rivera, who is presumed to have drowned in the lake Wednesday afternoon.
Not sure what will be shared during this, will share any new info/updates in a thread below.
L.A. Times began laying off at least 115 people in the newsroom beginning today in an effort to stem deep financial losses. Many cherished colleagues - including some with years of service - are being forced to say good-bye.
@latimes
Call came at 4:37 pm PDT. Initial report transcript: "Emergency is we have a missing person. We found a little girl in one of the boats by herself and her mom is nowhere to be found."
The caller accidentally misgenders Naya Rivera's son Josey Dorsey, which police later corrected
Here's a clip of the interview with diver Max O'Brien in his own words on the search for Naya Rivera. 1-2 feet of visibility makes it into what he describes as a "braille search."
Mitchell Hunter, 19, of Simi Valley, has bloodied hands after breaking a window with a chair to get out of Borderline after he heard shots on the dancefloor.
#Borderline
#Borderlineshooting
I'm in disbelief; I knew the T.O. gunman went to the same high school as I did, & we knew mutual people, but the fact that we were on the same cross-country team (tho different years) and he did this to one of my former coaches is truly too much to bear 💔
Hey all, I'm not at Lake Piru today but my colleague
@GretchenWenner
wrote an update story this morning. As of 9 a.m. Pacific Time they still have not found Naya Rivera, but they still have 10+ hours of daylight to search today.
Dusk has fallen at Lake Piru and authorities still have not found Naya Rivera. Rescue units are expected to start returning soon to debrief their search and plan for tomorrow.
#PrayForNaya
He also noted very importantly there is not much of a current in the lake, which means anything that sinks to the bottom is not likely to change locations. This makes the search easier. However, there is a LOT of debris in the lake. Real needle in a haystack situation.
Just published the last updates tonight on my daily Naya Rivera search story. The search will resume for its fifth day tomorrow. Hoping they can find her soon.
The screenshot is taken from this video from one of the diving boats searching for Naya Rivera in Lake Piru. The pink/orange part on the right is reflection from the screen. Here's the source of the video:
Lake Piru, which is approx 2 miles long, is planned to be drained to 65 feet next month to perform seismic retrofitting on the lake's dam. The project is managed by United Water. The draining was planned before the search
As the local part of this story comes to an end, this will be my last tweet about Naya Rivera. It's been a crazy and brutal week, but I'm grateful to have had a hand in telling this story from the ground where it happened. Thank you to everyone who followed along.
Hello everyone, today is my day off from work, so I will not have any updates on the Naya Rivera search.
Please follow official sources such as
@VCStar
,
@VENTURASHERIFF
,
@KTLA
etc. for factual updates.
The reality of the situation is we're in a waiting game until they find her
The lake will be closed to the public as long as the search continues, but nobody knows how long that will take. There is no current plan to end the search though.
Naya Rivera remains missing. The situation is difficult because they don't know whether the search will be completed five minutes from now or five days from now, says Capt. Buschow of
@VENTURASHERIFF
I've seen several accounts spreading dangerous, FALSE information on here. These accounts are not journalists or involved in the investigation in any way, they often are not even in California.
Treat any information not delivered from official sources with heavy skepticism, ok?
Today’s search at Lake Piru involves the use of sophisticated sonar equipment in the effort to locate Naya Rivera. We are being assisted by
@TulareSheriff
@LASDHQ
and
@USCGLosAngeles
There will be a media update at 3 pm.
NAYA RIVERA SEARCH UPDATE: The search now includes two German Shepherds from the California Rescue Dog Association. The dogs are trained to detect the gasses released by human cadavers. They will perform a methodical search along a grid of the lake to help divers locate the body.
Unfortunately, nothing found so far has been identified as Naya Rivera. The visibility is very low. VCSO is gonna release videos of the conditions and the sonar devices.
Unfortunately I will not be at the news conference today but I'm sure one of my colleagues will be. Will try and share a live broadcast of it when it starts
Search began at 6 am today, including units from Tulare county. They brought the side-scan sonar that scans the bottom of the lake for anything that looks like a body. They found a couple promising objects.
It's a lot of young people here. Everyone is trying to figure out who is safe. Not a lot confirmed yet, press conference will be live streamed here via periscope when it happens (hopefully 15 mins)
If the cadaver dogs do alert something, GPS coordinates will be tracked and a diver will check to the location. The dogs have not detected anything yet.
The backlash to this tweet caused 822 people to call the Ventura County Sheriff's Office between 11pm and 2 am, per Sgt. Hutton.
The search had stopped because of the dangers of searching a dark lake at night. One person was already missing, they did not want there to be two.
The missing person at Lake Puru has been identified as Naya Rivera, 33, of Los Angeles. SAR operation will continue at first light.
@VCAirUnit
@fillmoresheriff
@Cal_OES
Ventura County Medical Examiner's Office has officially confirmed the body found in Lake Piru yesterday is indeed Naya Rivera. The identity was confirmed using dental records.
The M.E. also confirmed Rivera died as the result of an accidental drowning. Working on full story rn
The attached document was just released by the Ventura County Medical Examiner's Office regarding Naya Rivera, whose body was found yesterday in Lake Piru.
Investigators have a liaison with the family and has been in contact with them. There is no current plan to interview Josey Dorsey again, saying he was extensively interviewed on Wednesday night, per Buschow
Some personal news: I'm joining the incredible breaking news team at the
@LAtimes
as the paper's new night reporter! Writing for the Los Angeles Times has been a lifelong dream and I cannot wait to begin working alongside the best in the biz. 😁
Unfortunately I will not be at the news conference today but I'm sure one of my colleagues will be. Will try and share a live broadcast of it when it starts
Lots of jaw-dropping moments in the Hulu documentary "Fyre Fraud" but one of the most shocking/meta comes at the end when it calls out the Netflix doc for being co-produced by one of the parties described in the lawsuit 😬
Some professional news: I'm now the
@VCstar
's East County Reporter! 🥳 I'll be covering the cities of Thousand Oaks, Simi Valley & Moorpark (as well as Newbury Park, Westlake Village, etc.) 🤩 Send any tips and story ideas to jeremy.childs
@vcstar
.com 🤓 New year, new beat!
"Elon Musk praising an article published by a sex cult because it was in the tweet replies of another venture capitalist who mistook a Bret Stephens opinion column as journalism" is a real, factual thing that happened in the year of our lord 2018 😩
This “excellent” article Elon Musk loves is written by an actual cult.
The same one that was run by that Smallville actress who was recently indicted. It allegedly abused women.
Can’t wait for his journalism ranking site, though!
LA Times management wants to lay us off, so let's see how they manage to run a newspaper without us.
I'm joining my
@LATguild
colleagues in a 24-hour work stoppage to protest these layoffs and send a message to management. ✊️
In all seriousness, it's been the honor of my lifetime to write for the
@latimes
. I'm leaving sooner than I had expected but I'm proud of what I was able to achieve during my time there
If you know of any writing jobs, especially in LA, my email is contactjeremychilds
@gmail
.com
Easy A was filmed & set in Ventura County, prominently featured a closeted gay character and played in theaters my senior year of high school, so yes, I do owe approximately 37% of my personality to it
Easy A was released 10 years ago today. It is one of the best teen comedies ever made and deserves the respect of more highly-applauded films like Clueless and Mean Girls! Emma Stone has never been better!
Anyone who's been to the Eagle LA in the past decade+ likely has a Clint story. In the aftermath of his unexpected passing last week, I spoke to
@empanadadaddy23
and others about the man, the myth, the legend that was Clint Yeager.
@euphoricdanvers
Somebody asked that question during the press conference and
@VENTURASHERIFF
did not have an answer. Will try and follow-up with them later today or tomorrow.
Deputies are interviewing people who were in Borderline during the shooting. I don't know how many victims there were yet or what condition they're in. Hoping to learn that from authorities soon.
Had the privilege of seeing Oxnard's very own
@AndersonPaak
on the Coachella main stage last night, doin' it big for all the 805 kids out there :')
#Coachella2019
Interviewed
@AndersonPaak
for
@vcstar
about growing up in Oxnard, what people can look forward to with the return of
@PaakHouse
& why he decided to bring the festival to his native hometown. 🕺🎉💃
Woke up to the news I was voted Ventura County's favorite reporter/columnist in our 2022 Reader's Choice Awards. Thank you to everyone who voted, I'm honored!