Mummy jumped in the water and didn’t come back
What Glee star’s son, 4, said after lake drowning
AN actress from the hit TV series Glee is missing and presumed dead after her four-year-old son was found alone in a boat on a lake.
Naya Rivera, 33, is believed to have drowned after the pair went for a swim.
Their boat was spotted three hours after Ms Rivera rented it, drifting with her son Josey asleep on board.
When police arrived, the boy told them his mother ‘jumped in the water and didn’t come back up’, according to US website TMZ.
It is the latest tragedy to have befallen the wholesome high school sitcom, which started in 2009 and was hugely popular with youngsters in Ireland. Many refer to ‘the curse of Glee’.
Police are now running a ‘search and recovery’ operation at Lake Piru in Southern California to find Ms Rivera’s body.
News of her disappearance on Wednesday emerged after a boater raised the alarm. Josey, who is in good health and with family, described how his mother put him back on the boat but never climbed in herself after their swim.
Police said no foul play was suspected and that they believe it to be an accidental drowning.
Ventura County Sheriff’s Department launched a search on Wednesday afternoon with divers, drones and helicopters. The operation resumed yesterday but officials changed the rescue to a recovery as they lost hope of finding her alive.
‘We’re going on the belief that she did go in the water,’ Captain Eric Buschow said at a news conference.
‘And we have not been able to locate her, so this may well be a case of drowning.’
Yesterday, on the second day of the search, Ventura County Sheriff officer Chris Dyer said: ‘I think a tragic accident happened here and it breaks my heart.
‘Not only am I helping search for Miss Rivera but I’m also a father, it really pains me that something that was meant to be so good and so fun, to come out here on the lake, went so bad.’
Josey was wearing a life jacket when he was found, but it is thought his mother was not – as another life jacket was found on board the boat, according to NBC Los Angeles.
Ms Rivera’s car was parked nearby while some of her belongings, including her purse, were found inside the boat.
In a haunting tweet on Tuesday, Ms Rivera posted a photo of herself kissing Josey on social media, alongside the caption: ‘Just the two of us.’
The mother is divorced from the boy’s father, actor Ryan Dorsey. They finalised their divorce in June 2018 after four years of marriage.
Ms Rivera was previously engaged to rapper Big Sean in 2013.
Less than a week ago, she shared a prophetic message on Twitter.
Posing in a simple white shirt in a selfie, she wrote: ‘No matter the year, circumstance, or strifes, every day you’re alive is a blessing. Make the most of today and every day you are given. Tomorrow is not promised.’
Ms Rivera is best known for her role as Glee cheerleader Santana Lopez. The show was created by Gwyneth Paltrow’s husband Brad Falchuk and ran until 2015.
Available on the UK’s Channel 4, it followed the lives of a group of high school teenagers who were part of a ‘glee club’ – a type of singing club that became popular in US schools in the late 19th century.
‘May well be a case of drowning’