Sheriff’s Office Faces Backlash Over Tweet About Naya Rivera

Naya Rivera’s fans and supporters sharply criticized the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office for posting a tweet on Sunday (July 12) with an insensitive tone.

Authorities announced that the Glee actress is presumed dead after she disappeared from a rented boat with her 4-year-old son Josey Hollis Dorsey on a Southern California lake Wednesday (July 8). However, a search continues.

The Sheriff’s Office posted this Tweet: “For those intent on searching for Naya Rivera on your own, 1. The lake is closed. 2. Temps are already in the 90’s. 3. The terrain around the lake is very steep and rugged. Our teams are well equipped and highly trained. We don’t want to have to rescue you.”

It received swift condemnation from many of Rivera’s fans.

One of them wrote: “‘We don’t want to have to rescue you’ i feel like that is very insensitive. we are trying to help. we want to find naya as soon as possible had you bothered to look properly on the first day maybe WE as her fans wouldn’t be asking to look then.”

“I get your point but maybe drop the attitude,” said another fan, writing under the hashtag, #FindNaya. “People feel helpless and powerless. She isn’t just ‘another rescue case’ to us. She’s so very important. There just doesn’t seem like there’s any urgency. People feel frustrated. Remember your dealing with real people with emotions.”

RELATED: Naya Rivera’s Ex-Husband Ryan Dorsey Breaks Down At Site Where She Was Last Seen

Rivera, 33, rented a pontoon boat with Josey, according to authorities. His body was found on the boat, but Rivera remains missing. Search teams are reportedly using sonar and robotic devices to search the bottom of the lake for her remains.

The actress played Santana Lopez on the musical drama Glee for six years between 2009 and 2015. She was also on the CBS sitcom The Royal Family.