Naya Rivera ‘s four-year-old son told police he watched his mother disappear beneath the water at the California lake she is feared to have drowned in.
Mother-of-one Naya, 33, is presumed dead after the Glee star vanished on Lake Piru where her son, Josey Hollis, was found asleep and alone on a boat on Wednesday.
Police told the PA news agency that Josey, who is safe and well, saw his mother disappear under the waves during their boat trip on Wednesday.
There is no evidence to suggest that Rivera, 33, left Lake Piru, Ventura County Sheriff’s Office sergeant Kevin Donoghue said.
The sergeant was speaking out in response to an online petition, which has attracted almost 25,000 signatures, demanding the search be extended beyond the lake.
Naya is presumed dead after she vanished on Lake Piru (Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Sgt Donoghue said: “Our first day was a rescue effort, it was a life-saving effort.
“We searched with people on the ground, on the shoreline. We were looking not just for her physically, we were looking for any clues, any evidence that suggested she made it to shore.
“We didn’t find any clues, any evidence that suggested she made it to shore. The most conclusive piece of evidence we’re really holding on to right now is the statements from her son, the only witness.
Police say her son Josey saw his mother disappear under the waves during their boat trip on Wednesday (Image: KCal9)
“He observed his mother disappear beneath the water. So we are very confident she is in the water and that at some point in time we will recover her from the lake.”
Josey, four, was found asleep and alone on the boat while wearing a life jacket.
An adult-sized life jacket was also found on board.
Sgt Donoghue added: “If we thought for a moment that there was any chance she could be on land somewhere, if we had any other clues or corroborating information that led us in that direction, we would do that and we would be out there searching and looking.”
Rivera, 33, is best known for playing cheerleader on musical-comedy series Glee.
Yesterday rescuers said they fear her body may never be found as they worry she “could be tangled in something” at the bottom of the lake.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
