Glee alum Heather Morris offers to help find Naya Rivera, sheriff says 'we don’t want to have to rescue you'
The Ventura County Sheriff's Office recently snapped back at fans of 'Glee' star Naya Rivera for wanting to aid in search for the missing actress instead of trusting the authorities to do the job properly. "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," the sheriff's office tweeted. Soon enough, the sheriff started getting backlash from fans who thought it was immensely "insensitive" for the authorities to not consider the emotions of the fans who only wanted to help find the 33-year-old actress who went missing on July 8 after going for a swim in Lake Piru in California and still has not been found. Some of them also criticized the authorities for not having recovered the body of the missing star.
“'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," one wrote, while another one said, "Focus on finding Naya instead of being patronising to the general public on twitter. You haven't 'rescued' anyone."
A fourth said: "I get your point but maybe drop the attitude. 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." And a fifth wrote, "@VENTURASHERIFF my mom and son don’t want you having to resuce me either. Look at the lack of even sympathy you have. Look at you preventing love ones from searching outside the lake area, the camp grounds, the trees & beyond. We want to #FindNayaRivera alive. You want a body."
Many also wondered if the tweet was an indirect response to 'Glee' alum and 'Spring Breakers' star Heather Morris who said she was determined to find Rivera and had reached out to the sheriff's office to offer her services. "My name is Heather Morris, I'm Naya's close friend and co-worker, and I'm trying to conduct an on-foot search and rescue mission along with a small group of friends at Lake Piru," she tweeted on Sunday. "I understand your team is doing EVERYTHING in their power, but we are feeling helpless, powerless, and [I] want to help in any way. I have left a message with the department of Rescue and Air today, and I will call again tomorrow. Thank you."
It is unclear if Morris ever heard back from the sheriff's office regarding her offer. "Heather Morris should be allowed to help," wrote one user, while another person on Twitter wrote, "I understand your frustration. Some of these people are in extreme denial, but I hope this isnt a response to Heather Morris. Shes not some random twitter user. I hope you’ve responded to her at least."
However, there were those who understood where the sheriff's tweet was coming from and showed their support for the same. "STAY. OFF. THE. LAKE. let the professionals deal with this. you have zero clue what you’re doing and don’t have the right equipment. we’re all anxious and want her found but looking for her yourself will create more problems!!" one wrote, while another said, "Civilians need to mind their own crap and be supportive instead of telling professionals how to do their job and circling locations on google maps asking if they’ve checked there like they don’t know."
A third commented: 'And this is why they shouldn't let the fans search, because they don't consider the factors of the lake and how dangerous it is. This is not a search on land, it's a lake where more people can get lost. And if someone else gets lost or hurt it's less attention to find Naya"