"Glee" actress Naya Rivera sent photo to family shortly before disappearing in lake, official says
A member of a team searching a Southern California lake for a missing TV star said that he's confident his crew is getting a clearer idea of where in the lake to find her, Us Weekly reported. Robert Inglis of the Ventura County Sheriff's Office Search & Rescue Team told the magazine that actress Naya Rivera sent to a family member a picture of her 4-year-old son, Josey, in front of a cove before she disappeared July 8 after diving into Lake Piru.
"There was a picture sent to a family member that showed the boy on the boat by a cove," Inglis told the magazine Sunday. "We found where that cove was."
A time stamp on the photo shows it was taken 90 minutes to two hours before the boy was found alone on the pontoon boat, the magazine reported.
Inglis told Us Weekly that the area where the photo was taken and the spot where the boat was found were starting points for authorities before the search was expanded.
"We did send our dive members to those two locations and searched those extensively," he told Us Weekly.
Rivera remained missing as of Monday morning.
Authorities said Thursday they believe Rivera, 33, drowned in the lake. Her son was found on the boat.
The boy told investigators that he and his mother went swimming and he got back on the boat, but "his mom never made it out of the water," Sheriff's Sgt. Kevin Donoghue said.
The Ventura County Sheriff's Office said on Twitter that the lake is closed and people should not try to conduct their own searches around the area because of the rough terrain and other potentially dangerous factors.
"For those intent on searching for Naya Rivera on your own, 1. The lake is closed. 2. Temps are already in the 90's. 3. The terrain around the lake is very steep and rugged. Our teams are well equipped and highly trained. We don't want to have to rescue you," the tweet read.
Rivera began acting at a young age, but she rose to national attention playing a lesbian teen on "Glee," which aired from 2009 until 2015 on Fox.