'Glee' actress Naya Rivera missing after swimming in lake with 4-year-old son

Naya Rivera is best known for her role as Santana Lopez on 'Glee', playing the character from 2009 until 2015. Photo: Filepic

Former Glee star Naya Rivera, 33, is missing after a swimming accident at Lake Piru in Ventura County, California, according to the Ventura County sheriff’s department.

At 9:30pm on Wednesday (July 7), the sheriff’s department was investigating a possible drowning victim at Lake Piru. A dive team and police investigation team were dispatched to the area.

The Ventura County sheriff’s department identified the missing person as Rivera later on Wednesday night, saying a search and rescue operation was underway and will continue on Thursday morning.

According to CBS Los Angeles, local authorities were searching for Rivera after her four-year-old son was found floating alone in a rented boat on Lake Piru.

Officials began searching for Rivera using helicopters, drones and dive teams. CBS Los Angeles reports that the Ventura County sheriff’s department says Rivera rented the boat around 1pm on Wednesday. About three hours later, another boater in the area found the child in the boat by himself. The child is reportedly unharmed and told police investigators that he and his mother were swimming, but she never returned to the boat.

Rivera is best known for her role as Santana Lopez on the Fox series Glee, playing the character from 2009 until 2015. After her breakout role on the musical series, she went on to appear in Devious Maids and Step Up: High Water. As part of the Glee cast, she received several nominations at the Screen Actors Guild Awards, Grammys and Teen Choice Awards. During her Glee run, she signed to Columbia Records in 2011 and released a single, titled Sorry, with rapper Big Sean. – Reuters