Naya Rivera’s 4-year-old son, Josey Dorsey, the 4-year-old son of Naya Rivera “is in good health,” according to police. The Glee star went missing on Wednesday during a trip they took to a California lake.
“The family is going through a very traumatic time right now,” Ventura County Sheriff’s Capt. Eric Buschow told the Los Angeles Times. On Thursday, Ventura County officials announced they were continuing their search for Rivera, who was last seen after renting a boat from a Lake Piru employee Wednesday. The 33-year-old was out boating with her son, who was found alive and asleep on the boat, though his mother is still nowhere to be found.
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The lake has been closed to the public during the day, while dive teams were also brought in to help. A few hours later, the department posted on Twitter that more than 80 people are involved in the search, which is using helicopters, boats, ATVs and other group personnel. Los Angeles County, Tulare County and San Luis Obispo County are also sending out specialized diving teams as well. “We will keep you posted with any updates as we learn them. Our hearts and prayers go out the all of the family and friends of the Rivera family,” the tweet read.
Rivera’s son told investigators the two went swimming, but that his mother never made it back to the boat. Investigators are not suspecting any foul play and believe this is an accident, though officials have said that Rivera is presumed dead, meaning their operations have shifted from search to recover. According to Ventura County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Chris Dyer, their goal is “to bring Miss Rivera home to her family so they can have some closure.”
In a news conference Wednesday evening, Captain Eric Buschow said that authorities “are going on the belief that she did go in the water and we have not been able to locate her,” and that “this may well be a case of drowning.” Buschow also said that “there’s a lot of challenges in a reservoir this size, at times with visibility” and that he does not “have details yet as to the depth of the area where the boat was found or what conditions they’re encountering out there.”
