Naya Rivera’s mom breaks down at lake where actress went missing
The 'Glee' star's family was overcome with emotion while visiting Lake Piru, where she was last seen before her disappearance
The mother of Naya Rivera broke down while visiting the lake where the famous actress went missing while out on a boat ride with her 4-year-old son.
Rivera’s family showed up at Lake Piru where California authorities continue to search for Rivera, who has been presumed dead after her young son was found sleeping alone on a pontoon boat she rented on Wednesday.
Read More: Naya Rivera, son seen arriving at California lake in security video before her disappearance
Yolanda Rivera, Naya’s mother, was photographed on the banks with Rivera’s brother, former NFL tight end Mychal Rivera, as she dropped to her knees with her arms outstretched. According to TMZ, the two had put on life vests to help out with the search.
Eventually, Naya Rivera’s father, George, and her ex-husband and father of her child, Ryan Dorsey, also visited the lake. George Rivera was seen running toward the lake and then jumping into the water.
Saturday makes four days of an unsuccessful search for Rivera’s body. Ventura Country Sheriff’s officials said Rivera’s son, Josey, told them that he and the Glee actress had gone swimming after taking the boat onto the lake.
Rivera, however, never got back into boat.
Surveillance video captured Rivera on Wednesday pulling up in a black SUV to a boat launch at Lake Piru, which is about 50 miles north of Los Angeles, and soon after vacating the vehicle with her son.
Rivera was wearing white shorts and a backpack, while Josey, whom Rivera helped out of the car, had a backpack on as well. She is seen removing a bag from the vehicle and then walking down the empty lot to the dock.
As they make their way down the dock, they approach what appears to a rental booth where they loaned a pontoon boat. They then get to the boat and ventured east in the water.
Read More: Tahj Mowry confesses love for Naya Rivera amid search for her
After the three-hour rental allotment expired and the boat was not returned, rental staff soon after found the boat out in the lake. Jose was seen in the boat, but Rivera was reported missing.
Although more than 100 people are a part of the recovery search, Sgt. Kevin Donoghue of the sheriff’s office stated in a press conference that finding Rivera’s body may be unlikely. Donoghue said the process of searching the lake was “complicated” due to poor visibility and heavy debris in the lake, which also “makes it unsafe for divers and a complicated search.”
“If the body is entangled in something underneath the water, it may never come up,” Donoghue stated. “There’s a lot of trees and plants and such that are under the water that can cause entanglement.”
“We don’t know if that just meant it was hers or if that was an extra life vest on the boat,” Donoghue said. “But seemingly, if she was somehow incapacitated and she had a life jacket, we would find her floating. Clearly, she is not.”
Josey has since been reunited with his father, Dorsey, and is said to be in “good health.”
theGrio’s Matthew Allen contributed to this report.
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