Naya Rivera’s father has recalled the “heartbreaking” last conversation he had with his daughter.
The Glee star tragically drowned last July 8, after she went swimming with her son Josey at Lake Piru in Southern California.
According to a report released by the Ventura County Medical Examiner, the actress drowned after she struggled to get Josey back into a pontoon boat they had rented.
During an interview with PEOPLE, Naya’s father George revealed he spoke to his daughter just before the accident on FaceTime, and was concerned after she told him their boat didn’t have an anchor.
“She would always bounce stuff off me, and she wanted to go swimming with Josey out in the middle of the lake,” he explained.
“I could see that the wind was blowing and my stomach was just cringing.”
“I kept telling her, ‘Don’t get out of the boat! Don’t get out of the boat! It will drift away when you’re in the water.'”
After about three minutes their FaceTime call cut out, and that was the last time George ever spoke to his daughter.
“It was just heartbreaking,” he said. “I had this bad feeling that was just killing me.”
Hours later, Naya was declared missing after Josey was found alone on their rented pontoon boat.
Five days later, the actress’ body was found in a remote section of the lake.
George continued: “It’s still pretty much a big blur of pain almost a year later.”
“Things are slowly coming a little more into focus, but I don’t know if I’ll ever find closure from this.”
“I miss her every day,” he added.
