Naya Rivera went swimming in a lake during a boat trip with her young son but didn’t re-emerge from the water, it has been claimed.
The 33-year-old actress, who rose to fame on Glee, is missing and “presumed drowned” after her son was found floating alone on a rented boat in Lake Piru, California.
Little Josey Hollis was reportedly spotted by another visitor to the lake, who noticed the four-year-old alone inside the vessel yesterday afternoon.
According to TMZ, Rivera’s son told the authorities that his mum had “jumped into the water but didn’t come back up”.
The child reportedly claimed they had gone swimming in the lake together, but that his mother didn’t return to the boat.
Josey is Rivera’s only child, born from her marriage to ex-husband Ryan Dorsey, which ended in 2018.
Rivera became a missing person yesterday after her four-year-old son was found floating alone on a rented boat
The mother and son rented a pontoon boat from a local rental company, driving to the lake for a day on the water.
The Ventura County Sheriff’s Department confirmed they were searching for a presumed drowning victim at the scene after the child was discovered alone.
A rescue dive team and a helicopter with a drone have been dispatched to aid the search, which was suspended yesterday evening as night fell.
Rivera rose to fame playing cheerleader Santana Lopez on the hit musical series Glee (Image: Getty Images)
Beginning again this morning, authorities were reportedly planning to take the chopper out as soon as first light dawned.
A spokesperson for the Sheriff’s Department, Captain Eric Buschow, told media that Rivera’s life jacket was found in the boat, though her son was wearing his.
He said: “They were seen going out on the lake together in the early afternoon, and approximately three hours after they left the dock another boater out on the lake discovered the boat drifting with the [son] on board asleep.
Her son reportedly claimed the actress went swimming but didn’t re-emerge from the water (Image: Naya Rivera/Instagram)
“So they contacted the rangers and began an investigation and we’ve been actively searching for the mother since that time. We have both aerial search going on and our dive team as well.
“Indications are that we believe she did go in the lake. At this point it’s still a search and that’s what we know up to this point.
“The [son] said that she had been swimming with her mother and that she got back in the boat and [his] mum didn’t.
“We know that the girl had a life vest on, there was another adult life vest found on the boat. It’s somewhat challenging interviewing a three-year-old.”
Captain Buschow continued: “We’re going on the belief that she did go in the water, and we’ve not been able to locate her. This may well be a case of drowning.
“This is a big reservoir, it’s deep, these kinds of things happen. We don’t know all the circumstances. Investigators are working on that, getting as much information as possible.”
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
