Naya Rivera's son has told police he saw his mum disappear beneath the water of Lake Piru, as the search for the Glee actress continues.
Naya, 33, is presumed to have drowned after an incident at the lake in California last week. Police were alerted after four-year-old Josey was found asleep in a boat Naya had rented, with the actress' life jacket and purse on board. Naya was nowhere to be seen.
At the time, Josey said his mum had been swimming in the lake, but never made it back into the boat.
As the search for the Glee star continues, a petition has been set up online for police to extend the recovery mission beyond the lake. So far, it's attracted 25,000 signatures.
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However, County Sheriff's Office sergeant, Kevin Donoghue says there is no evidence that Naya left the lake.
He said: "Our first day was a rescue effort, it was a life-saving effort. We searched with people on the ground, on the shoreline. We were looking not just for her physically, we were looking for any clues, any evidence that suggested she made it to shore.
"We didn't find any clues, any evidence that suggested she made it to shore. The most conclusive piece of evidence we're really holding on to right now is the statements from her son, the only witness.
"He observed his mother disappear beneath the water. So we are very confident she is in the water and that at some point in time we will recover her from the lake."
Naya rented a boat for her and her four-year-old son to take out onto the lake at around 1pm on Wednesday.
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But just hours later, another person who was also out on the lake, found Josey in the boat asleep by himself, along with Naya's life jacket, ID and purse. The police were notified and a search began.
It's reported that Josey told police that the pair had been swimming, but that Naya never got back into the boat.
In efforts to find Naya, police have been dispatching diving teams, helicopters and drones. However, visibility during the daytime is approximately 8-10 inches, while debris such as trees, sticks, shrubbery and other plants make the search more difficult.
Visibility is so poor, it's been described as a "braille search".
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A Ventura County Sheriff Department spokesperson said: "If the body is entangled on something beneath the water, it may never come back up.
"There's no way to really say. We're putting our best foot forward to try and locate her, we're using all the assets that are available to us including technology like sonar."
Naya - who starred in Glee from 2009 to 2015 - welcomed her son in 2015, with her then husband Ryan Dorsey. The pair split two years ago, in 2018.
Featured Image Credit: PATopics: Glee, Naya Rivera, News