Glee star Naya Rivera has been reported missing after her son was found alone on a boat

Naya Rivera was announced as missing after heading out to  Lake Piru with her son (Photo: David Livingston/Getty Images)Naya Rivera was announced as missing after heading out to  Lake Piru with her son (Photo: David Livingston/Getty Images)
Naya Rivera was announced as missing after heading out to Lake Piru with her son (Photo: David Livingston/Getty Images)

Glee star Naya Rivera has been announced as missing after renting a boat at a lake in California with her son.

Authorities revealed that a search mission had been launched after the actress's son was found alone on the boat at Lake Piru.

What happened to Naya Rivera?

KNBC reported late on Wednesday that the 33-year-old actress had rented a pontoon boat at the Lake Piru reservoir on Wednesday, and that her young son was found alone on the boat wearing a life jacket.

Authorities responded to reports about a young child alone on a boat at around 4:48pm on Wednesday 8 July, which is how the boat was found.

Rivera’s identification was found on the boat with her four year old son, who was found unharmed.

Sheriff officials launched a boat and helicopter search for Rivera on Wednesday afternoon, but the search was then suspended by night time. The search has continued into Thursday.

Before it was revealed that it was Rivera that was missing, the Ventura Co. Sheriff Twitter account wrote: “Happening now: Search for possible drowning victim at Lake Piru. @VCAirUnit @fillmoresheriff on scene. SAR Dive Team and PIO on the way.”

What have authorities said?

Captain Eric Buschow of the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office told US media outlets that this “may well be a case of drowning”.

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.

“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.

“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.”

The Captain added: “This is a big reservoir, it’d deep, these kinds of things happen. We don’t know all the circumstances. Investigators are working on that, getting as much information as possible.”

Rivera had last been active on Twitter on 7 July, where she posted a photo of herself kissing her son with the caption: “Just the two of us.”

Who is Naya Rivera?

Rivera is best known for her role as cheerleader Santana Lopez in Ryan Murphy's musical comedy TV series Glee.

Throughout her time on Glee, Rivera won a number of awards for her performance, including an ALMA Award for Favourite TV Actress in a leading role in a comedy, and a Gold Derby award for comedy supporting actress.

She also appeared in various TV shows, such as Devious Maids and The Bernie Mac Show.

Her most recent appearances were in the YouTube Premium show Step Up: High Water, a Step Up spin off, as Collette Jones.

In 2016, Rivera released a memoir titled Sorry Not Sorry: Dreams, Mistakes, and Growing Up.

She was married to fellow actor Ryan Dorsey, the father of Rivera’s son, between 2014 and 2018.

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