Naya Rivera – best known for her role as Santana Lopez on Glee – has gone missing after she rented a boat along with her four-year-old son Josey on Lake Piru in Southern California, authorities have confirmed. 

The 33-year-old had rented a boat to take out on the lake at approximately 1 pm on Wednesday afternoon for a day of swimming with her young son who she shares ex-husband, Ryan Dorsey.

Authorities were contacted after the rental became overdue and fellow boaters found the young boy asleep on the boat alone with Rivera nowhere to be seen. Her black Mercedes G Wagon was discovered in a nearby car park with her purse inside, hence why police were able to identify Rivera as the missing person.

Sheriff’s Department Capt. Eric Buschow revealed that Rivera’s son had told police he got back onto the boat after swimming in the late, but his mother did not follow.

“He’s in good health,” Bushow said of Rivera’s son. “The family is going through a very traumatic time right now.”

Buschow later told NBC LA: “This is considered to be a horrible accident.”

While several US news sites are reporting the actress is presumed dead, this is currently unconfirmed.

While the search has since been called off for the day, Buschow said the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department will continue tomorrow and will be joined by search and rescue teams from neighbouring counties, along with divers and air units.

Naya Rivera played cheerleader Santana on the musical-comedy Glee from 2009 until 2015, appearing in 113 episodes of the series. Rivera also previously dated her former co-star Mark Salling, who killed himself in 2018 after pleading guilty to child pornography charges.

Previous to Salling’s death, fellow Glee star Cory Monteith died in 2013 due to a drug overdose. He had been dating Glee star Lea Michele at the time of his death at the age of 31.

More to come.

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