PIRU, California (CelebrityAccess) — Authorities are searching Lake Piru for actor Naya Rivera, who was reported missing there on Wednesday afternoon.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Rivera, who is 33, was reported missing after her four-year-old son was found alone in a rental boat that he and Rivera had been seen boarding earlier in the day.
The search, which was initially a rescue effort that focused on the shoreline of the large reservoir in Southern California, has transitioned into a recovery effort, police said.
“Our hearts and our prayers and thoughts go out to the Rivera family,” Ventura County Sheriff’s Sgt. Kevin Donoghue said, per the Times. “This is a terrible tragedy. … We’re going to do everything we can to find her.”
Rivera and her son were seen boarding the boat on Wednesday in video footage released by the Sheriff’s office. When Rivera and her son failed to return on time, staff from the boat rental company began a search and later notified emergency responders of a potential missing person.
A spokesperson for the Sheriff’s office told the Times that they learned that Rivera and her son left the boat to go swimming in the lake and that the son was able to reboard the vessel while his mother was not.
“Right now, it’s been 24 hours, so we’re not thinking she made it to shore,” Ventura County Senior Sheriff’s Deputy Miguel Gonzalez told the Times. “We’re concentrating underwater.”
Rivera, who made her feature film debut in the 2014 horror film “At the Devil’s Door” was best known for her portrayal of Santana Lopez on the Fox television series “Glee.”
More recently, she’s appeared as a recurring character on the lifetime series “Devious Maids.”
