Naya Rivera's 4-year-old son tried to save her in final moments before she drowned to death

The only person to witness Glee actress Naya Rivera's tragic death by drowning in July 2020 was her four-year-old son, Josey.

Five years on, and the youngster's father, Ryan Dorsey, has spoken to the press this week for the very first time, revealing their little boy is haunted by the memories of that fateful day, after he unsuccessfully tried to save his mother's life.

Rivera and her son, Josey, had rented a boat to explore the waters of Lake Piru in California on July 8, 2020, when a tragic accident saw the 33-year-old fatally pulled beneath the waves.

Hours later, Josey was discovered by police alone on the boat - which was without an anchor or floatation device - sleeping in a life jacket, his mother sadly nowhere to be seen.

Authorities searched the lake for five days before finding Rivera's body in a remote stream, concluding that she'd sacrificed her life for that of her son after an incident occurred whilst the pair were swimming.

According to Rivera's former flame Ryan Dorsey - who spoke to PEOPLE magazine in his first interview since the incident - Josey, who is now nine, spent the following years refusing to open up about what happened that summer.

The 41-year-old told the outlet that revelations about Rivera's death have come from his son in drips and drabs - including that Josey had initially been worried about climbing into the water before the incident.

Dorsey says his son still remembers his mother drowning (Instagram/@dorseyryan)

Via Dorsey, the youngster claims his mother told him, however, 'Don't be silly!'.

Even more shocking, however, is Josey's claims that he attempted to save Rivera's life as she started sinking beneath the water.

The toddler had swam back to the rental vessel when he and his mother endured tricky waters, grabbing 'the tanks' to pull himself 'around the boat', with an incident report from the time claiming Rivera likely exhausted herself whilst attempting to make sure her son was safe.

"Something he’s said over and over is that he was trying to find a life raft, and there was a rope," Dorsey told the publication this week.

"But there was a big spider on the rope, and he was too scared to throw it," the dad explained.

"I keep reassuring him, 'Buddy, that rope wasn’t going to be long enough.'

The father-of-one added that his son is still haunted by memories of not being able to help his mother.

"That obviously still sticks out in his head because he feels like he could have saved her," Dorsey continued.

The couple divorced in 2018 (David Livingston/Getty Images)

"I think she just got caught up in a brush — that or a weird undercurrent from the dam.

"It was just a freak occurrence."