Mum jumped in lake & didn’t come back
Glee star Naya presumed dead after her son, four, is found asleep on boat
FORMER Glee star Naya Rivera is presumed drowned after her son told police his mum “jumped into the water but didn’t come back up”.
The 33-year-old went missing on California’s Lake Piru on Wednesday afternoon while with four-year-old Josey.
He was later found asleep and alone on their rented pontoon boat after it was seen drifting in the water.
It is the latest in a long line of tragedies to have plagued the US high school musical show, earning it the reputation of a “Glee curse”.
Police found the actress’s life jacket on the boat and believe she entered the lake to go swimming. They have officially relabelled their operation “search and recovery”, saying: “We’re presuming an accident happened, we’re presuming she drowned in the lake. “There are no signs of foul play, no signs that anything went wrong besides a tragic accident. The goal is to bring Ms Rivera home to her family so they can have closure.” Josey told investigators he climbed back on the boat but his mother failed to return. Her Mercedes SUV was found in a nearby car park 60 miles from her LA home.
Officers say it is “challenging” to question Josey, whose father is actor Ryan Dorsey, whom Naya divorced in 2018.
The day before she went missing Naya, – who starred as Santana in 113 episodes of the hit musical series from 2009 to 2015 – shared a picture of herself and Josey, writing “Just the two of us.”
Divers and helicopters were still scouring the reservoir for the star yesterday.
Her former fiancé, rapper Big Sean, offered his support by “liking” a series of tweets from fans who said they were praying for her safe return. He was joined by Naya’s friends and co-stars.
Demi Lovato, 27, and Glee star Heather Morris, 33, both took to Instagram urging fans to pray for her safe return. Demi, who played Dani in the show for six episodes alongside the missing star, wrote: “Please pray for Naya Rivera to be found safe and sound.”
Heather, who played Brittany Pierce, added: “We need all the prayers we can to bring our Naya back home to us. We need your love and light.”
We need all the prayers we can to bring our Naya home to us. We need your love & light
HEATHER MORRIS WHO STARRED ALONGSIDE NAYA IN GLEE