Is ‘Glee’ star Naya Rivera missing or dead after swimming with 4-year-old son? Fans hope she is found alive
In a worrying turn of events, Naya Rivera's four-year-old son was found alone on a rented boat on Lake Piru without his mother. According to the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department, Rivera had rented the boat at about 1 pm in the afternoon. Three hours later, a boater found the child by himself on the boat. The boater alerted the officials who instantly commenced a search for Rivera with the use of helicopters, drones, and dive teams. The child was said to be unharmed and told investigators that he and his mother were swimming, but his mother never got back into the boat. According to authorities, Rivera may be missing or might have drowned. The search operation was suspended on Wednesday, July 8, and will resume on Thursday.
Rivera has acted since she was a child, but rose to fame with her 'Glee' cheerleader role as Santana Lopez, and later released her own music. Twitter is abuzz with worried fans praying that she is alive. "I pray for naya rivera, I was just watching GLEE omg i love you naya please be alive," a fan wrote. "I hope naya rivera is okay... apparently her and her son were in a boat and then they went swimming but her son said he hasn't seen her after he swam to the boat.. people think that she possibly drowned. police are searching for her right now," another tweeted.
"NOT NAYA RIVERA OMGGGGGG PLS GOD LET HER BE OKAYY !!! OMG AND HER CHILD I CANT !!!! PLS FIND NAYA !!!!!!" another panicked fan wrote. "I m hoping and praying naya rivera is okay and just lost or missing and will be reunited with her kid soon, i can’t imagine what that little boy is feeling right now," a fan prayed.
"Naya rivera portrayed one of the most important characters to me. as a latina lesbian, santana made me feel so validated. i hope she will be found safe and sound, i dont want that son to lose his mother," a fan tweeted. "I hope a miracle happens and they find Naya Rivera alive. I can’t imagine what that poor child is going through," another fan wrote. Fans have also remarked that if Rivera is indeed dead, she would be the show's third to have died, following the tragic deaths of Cory Monteith and Mark Salling.