Ventura County police's mission to find Glee actress Naya Rivera has gone from a search and rescue mission to a search and recovery mission, after she was reported missing on Wednesday night.
Later Thursday morning, the Ventura County sheriff's office began calling the efforts to locate Rivera a search and recovery mission, according to CBS Los Angeles.
Rivera had rented a boat on Lake Piru in California's Ventura County on Wednesday with her four-year-old son. Hours after they had rented the boat, Rivera's son was found alone on the boat wearing a life vest, by someone on a passing vessel, The New York Times reported. An adult life vest was also found on board. The child said that they had gone swimming, but the actress did not get back on the boat.
Rescuers began searching for Rivera on Wednesday night, pausing search efforts later that night, resuming them on Thursday. The Ventura County Sheriff's office said that she was a "possible drowning victim," according to CNN. In a Thursday morning tweet, the Ventura County Sheriff's office said that the lake was closed to the public, while the search continued. Dive teams were called on for assistance.
The search for Naya Rivera will continue this morning at Lake Piru. The lake will be closed to the public while search operations continue. Dive teams from throughout the region will be assisting us through mutual aid. @VCAirUnit @Cal_OES @fillmoresheriff pic.twitter.com/q6LsHd8xaT
— Ventura Co. Sheriff (@VENTURASHERIFF) July 9, 2020
Rivera's publicist did not respond to Newsweek's request for comment in time for publication. Newsweek called the Ventura County Sheriff's Office and left a voicemail, but did not receive a reply in time for publication.
The 33 year-old actress is best known for playing the cheerleader Santana Lopez in Fox's musical dramedy Glee, but her career began when she was incredibly young. Her earliest roles came playing Hillary Winston in the Eddie Murphy co-created CBS sitcom The Royal Family. She also had roles in Family Matters, Even Stevens, The Bernie Mac Show, and more before breaking through with Glee. She currently plays Collette Jones in the YouTube Premium series Step Up: High Water.
Rivera has won three American Latino Media Awards: two for Favorite Female Music Artist in 2011 and 2012 and one for Favorite TV Actress-Lead Role in a Comedy in 2012. She also shared a 2014 People's Choice Award with her Glee co-star Lea Michele for "Favorite TV Gal Pals." She won a Screen Actors Guild Award along with her fellow Glee cast members for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series in 2010.
Rivera was married to actor Ryan Dorsey from 2014 to 2018. In 2015, she gave birth to the couple's son.
Her last Instagram post and tweet were a photo of her and her son, captioned, "Just the two of us."
