Former 'Glee' Star Naya Rivera Missing, Presumed Dead After Swimming in SoCal Lake
Actress Naya Rivera, 33, who starred in six seasons of Fox's hit series "Glee" is missing and presumed dead after another boater found her four-year-old son alone on a boat on a lake in Los Angeles.
A search team scoured Lake Piru on Wednesday, but failed to find any signs of the actress. Rivera, who played the feisty cheerleader Santana Lopez, rented the boat in Ventura County at around 1 p.m. Boaters found her son more than three hours later.
According to the sheriff's office, the rescue team was searching for a "possible drowning victim." However, the search was suspended for the night late Wednesday after air and dive team scoured the lake for hours, the Fox News reported.
Rivera's son was safe. Authorities are trying to connect him with family. The four-year-old said the pair went out for a swim. However, his mother never got back on the boat.
Dean Worthy, a spokesman for the sheriff's office, claimed Rivera's son was wearing a life vest when he was found. A search of the boat led officers to a second life vest, prompting them to believe that the actress was not wearing one.
"FIND HER" trended on Twitter shortly after news broke of her disappearance. Some critics said the sheriff's department should have searched later into the night. However, overnight water rescues are known to be dangerous.
Acting History
Naya Rivera started her career as an actress when she was four-years-old. She first appeared as Hillary Winston in 15 episodes of 1991 American sitcom, The Royal Family. The series, which was created and executive produced by Eddie Murphy, aired on CBS from September 1991 to May 1992, as reported by The New York Times.
In 1993, Rivera appeared in an episode of Will Smith's comedy series "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air." She was cast in the third season's 16th episode "Bundle of Joy" as Cindy.
She broke through to stardom on "Glee," where she was made a series regular in the second season as Santana Lopez. She initially served as the co-captain of the Cheerios at William McKinley High School.
In the third season, Rivera's character struggled to accept her sexuality after she was outed as a lesbian. Lopez eventually proposed and married her best friend Brittany Pierce in the show's final season.
In 2018, Rivera was cast as Collette Jones, a recurring character in YouTube Original "Step Up: High Water." Rivera serves as the powerful administrator at High Water, a highly-competitive performing arts school.
According to IMDb, Rivera was set to come back as Collette Jones for the series' third season, premiering in 2021.
Personal Life
In 2014, Rivera married actor Ryan Dorsey, the father of her four-year-old son Josey. Her estranged husband accused her of hitting him three years later.
In a report by ABC News, Dorsey told an officer that Rivera, then-30, had struck him. However, Dorsey later agreed not to press charges as part of their custody agreement.
The cast of "Glee" has dealt with its share of heartbreak after Cory Monteith, who played Finn Hudson, and Mark Salling, who played Noah Puckerman, also died.
Monteith, 31, was found dead in a hotel room in 2013 from an apparent drug overdose. Salling, 35, had taken his life in 2018, weeks after he pleaded guilty to charges related to child pornography.
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