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Glee's Naya Rivera presumed dead with authorities switching to 'recovery operation'

After finding her four-year-old son floating alone in a rented boat in Lake Piru, California, authorities have revealed that their rescue operation to find missing actress Naya Rivera is now considered a recovery operation with the Glee star presumed dead.

CBSLA reports Sheriff Deputy Chris Dyer said: "That hasn’t changed anything, and the efforts that we’re putting forth to locate her."

"It kind of changes the title in a sense. We’re presuming that an accident happened, and we’re presuming that she drowned in the lake,” he added.

Naya Rivera
Naya Rivera is now presumed dead after going missing on Lake Piru, California with her young son. Authorities have now switched to a recovery operation. Photo: Getty

Naya's son, Josey Hollis Dorsey, was found asleep on the boat by another boater shortly before 5pm on Wednesday.

Josey reportedly told investigators that he and his mother went for a swim, but she never returned to the boat.

According to TMZ, Josey told authorities his mum had "jumped into the water but didn't come back up".

Captain Eric Buschow of Ventura County Sheriff's Department, told the LA Times Josey was "in good health".

“The family is going through a very traumatic time right now,” he told NBC LA, adding: “This is considered to be a horrible accident.”

Naya's identity was confirmed after finding her wallet onboard the boat with her son. Her life jacket was also in the boat.

Divers searched the lake but were unable to find any sign of Naya.

According to E! News, Lake Piru is not a natural lake, but a man-made reservoir with the sheriff's department revealing: "It is deep... up to 130 [feet] in spots and loaded with debris on the bottom."

"There are challenges and safety issues at the site," the sheriff's department continued. "Despite complaints that authorities suspended search efforts overnight, visibility for divers in the lake, during the day, is exceedingly limited somewhere between five and nine [feet]. You can't see at night."

The search continued until 10pm, until authorities said conditions became "dangerous".

On Tuesday, the actress shared a picture to Instagram of her kissing Josey with the caption, "Just the two of us."

Just last week, Naya uploaded a photo to her Instagram account alongside the caption: "Make the most of today and every day you are given. Tomorrow is not promised."

The actress shares joint custody of Josey with her former husband, Ryan Dorsey, whom she divorced in 2018.

Naya and Ryan shocked fans back in 2014 when they tied the knot, just three months after she had broken off her engagement with Big Sean.

The Glee actress welcomed their son, Josey, on September 17, 2015 at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles.

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