After four days, search for Naya Rivera will continue Sunday: ‘Our goal is to bring the family closure’
Search teams on Saturday were unable to locate the body of “Glee” star Naya Rivera, who authorities believe drowned Wednesday afternoon while boating with her young son on Lake Piru in Ventura County.
The search will resume Sunday morning, according to a Twitter post Saturday evening by the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department.
Divers, helicopters, drone aircraft and cadaver dogs have been trying to locate Rivera for four days. Officials said Saturday they have also used sonar equipment but said visibility in the lake has been poor. The depths of Lake Piru range from 10 to 90 feet, creating other challenges.
“Our goal is to bring the family closure,” Ventura County Sheriff Sgt. Marta Bugarin told reporters. “It’s a traumatic time for them. They’re devastated, obviously.”
The 33-year-old Rivera was reported missing Wednesday afternoon after her 4-year-old son was found in a rental boat on the lake by himself.
The Santa Clarita native gained praise for her performance as a gay cheerleader in the high school musical drama.
Security video footage released by the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office showed the actress and her son boarding the rental boat by themselves and heading out onto the lake about 1 p.m. Wednesday.
The pontoon boat soon became a spot on the lake’s horizon.
Hours later, after she hadn’t returned the boat on time, staff of the rental business went out to search for her. At 4:47 p.m., 911 dispatchers received a call from a woman who said, “We have a missing person. We found a little girl in one of the boats by herself and her mom is nowhere to be found.” The girl the woman spoke of was in fact Rivera’s little boy.
Sheriff’s officials said the boy was found asleep on the boat, wearing his life vest. They later learned that Rivera and her son were swimming together in the lake and that he was able to get back on the boat, but she was not.
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