Naya Rivera used her energy to save her son before her death.
The "Glee" star tragically passed away earlier this week, with her body being discovered in Lake Piru, California on Monday. Naya had been missing for a number of days after her four-year-old son was found alone on a boat.
And Ventura County Sheriff, Bill Ayub, believes she managed to "muster" enough energy to push her son out of the water but couldn't save herself.
He said in a press conference: "It would be speculation to say at this point. There are a lot of currents on the lake that appear particularly in the afternoon. We believe it was mid-afternoon when she disappeared, the idea perhaps being that the boat started drifting, it was unanchored, and that she mustered enough energy to get her son back onto the boat, but not enough to save herself."
And Ayub says the Sheriff Office is "confident" the body found is that of Naya's, although formal identification has yet to take place.
He told the media: "Based on the location where the body was found, physical characteristics of the body, clothing found of the body and the physical condition of the body, as well as the absence of any other persons reported in the area, we are confident the body we found is that of Naya Rivera."
Earlier in the day, the Ventura County Sheriff's Office confirmed their search teams had found a body in the lake after extensive searching.
They wrote: "A body has been found at Lake Piru this morning. The recovery is in progress. There will be a news conference at 2pm at the lake."
The area where Naya was found was between 35 and 60 feet deep and the lake bed was covered with heavy shrubbery and trees.