Naya Rivera is missing.
According to the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department, the Glee star went on a boat ride with her four-year-old son, Josey, on Wednesday (July 8) in Lake Piru in the Los Padres National Forest in Ventura County, California – about 50 miles north of downtown Los Angeles.
CBSLA reports that Naya and her son rented a pontoon boat around 1 P.M. Three hours later, another boater found Josey alone in the boat out in the lake, sleeping. The boater then notified officials, who immediately began to search for the 33-year-old actress with helicopters,
The Sheriff’s office confirmed Naya’s identity in their search update on Twitter – they suspended the Search And Rescue operation late Wednesday evening and resumed at daybreak on Thursday (July 9). As of the writing of this article, Naya still hasn’t been found.
Josey, who told investigators that he and his mother were swimming, is said to be unharmed. According to NBCLA, the child had a life vest on but officials believe Naya did not – an adult life vest was found on board the boat.
“I can’t make any sense of what happened. We just know that we found a 4-year-old on a boat, and he said that his mother never got back in,” Ventura County Deputy Chris Dyer said, adding, “So, right now, we’re viewing this as a tragic accident.”
Naya’s co-stars, friends and fans are hoping for the best – and have taken to social media to ask their followers for prayers for her safe return.
“We need all the prayers we can get to bring our Naya back home to us. We need your love and light,” her Glee co-star Heather Morris, who played her onscreen wife Brittany S. Pierce on the show, wrote on Instagram Stories.
Demi Lovato, who had a guest stint in the series as Naya’s love-interest, shared a photo of a candle on IG Stories, writing, “Please pray for @nayarivera to be found safe and sound.”
Another Glee co-star, Harry Shum Jr., who played Mike Chang, tweeted on Wednesday (July 8), “Praying.”
Iqbal Theba, who played Principal Figgins in the show, shared a news article about the incident on Twitter, writing, “Oh God… mercy… please…”
“Prayers up for the lovely Naya Rivera. We starred alongside one another in her first very television series, The Royal Family, and I’ve watched her career blossom ever since. Please God, don’t cut this life short,” Jackee Harry, who co-starred with Naya on The Royal Family, shared.
Victoria Justice and Tika Sumpter both offered prayers for the actress, with Tika adding, “I hope she’s okay.”
“The story about @NayaRivera is the most horrifying thing I have read about in a while. My heart goes out to her family. What a terrible trauma….” Bethenny Frankel tweeted.
“Praying for Naya Rivera and her family. Can’t stop thinking of her poor son,” Andy Cohen shared.
“Waking up to Naya Rivera missing is an absolute tragedy. Praying for her safety🙏🏽🙏🏽 So absolutely heartbreaking thinking of her 4 year old. #FindNaya,” Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi wrote.
Naya’s ex-fiancé, Big Sean, hasn’t posted a message of his own, but did ~favorite~ several tweets encouraging fans to call the police and ask them to continue searching for the actress, as well as those from jeweler Ben Baller and the radio station Real 92.3 L.A. about praying for Rivera’s safe return.
Praying for Naya and her family.
