Rivera went missing in July 2020 after renting a boat with her then 4-year-old son, who was found alone on the pontoon hours after it was due for return. After days of searching, Rivera’s body was pulled from the water. Authorities ruled her death an accidental drowning. Law enforcement officials believe Rivera hoisted her son out of the water and onto the deck of the rented vessel moments before she died. The lawsuit, which also listed Rivera’s estate as a plaintiff, was filed against the county, as well as its Parks and Recreation Management and the United Water Conservation District, for wrongful death and negligent infliction of emotional distress. Rivera’s family argued that the boat she and her son rented was not equipped with the proper features ― including flotation devices, a ladder, a rope or an anchor ― per U.S. Coast Guard safety standards. The court documents also pointed to the lake’s “deadly history” ― between 1994 and 2000, seven people drowned in the area, according to the Los Angeles Times ― and alleged that there was not “a single sign anywhere” that day warning of “strong currents, low visibility, high winds [or] changing water depths.” After Rivera’s death, Dorsey, who was married to the actor from 2014 to 2018, moved in with her sister, Nickayla Rivera, to raise Josey together. On what would have been Rivera’s 35th birthday in January, Dorsey shared a poem on Instagram about how he’s coping with the loss. “Trying to hold it together, feeling all I feel, eyes getting wet still can’t believe it’s real,” he wrote alongside a photo of Rivera holding their son. “Nobody knows… why. Why you had to leave us behind… I hope it gets easier as time goes by, but forever is forever, and I’ll never know why.” “I guess you can say I’m doing better,” he added, “but better is just a better word for forever sad, this shit is unbelievable forever.”
