Sheriff releases CCTV footage of Naya Rivera and her son Josey boarding boat on lake hours before the Glee star is believed to have drowned in 'tragic accident' - as cops say her body may never be found

Authorities searching for Glee actress Naya Rivera have released CCTV footage of the mother and her son Josey arriving at Lake Piru and boarding their small boat, which was later found with the boy alone and Rivera missing. 
The Ventura Sheriff's Department released the footage Thursday, showing the 33-year-old and her four-year-old son arriving at the California lake hours before her disappearance on Wednesday.  
The footage shows Rivera pulling into the parking lot and helping get Josey out of her truck, before proceeding to the boat rental where they board one of the flat-bottomed boats and head out into the lake. 
Rivera is presumed dead after the pair went into the water to go swimming but the actress failed to reappear, leaving Josey asleep on the drifting boat with his mother's life vest still on board and her car in the parking lot.  
The search for Rivera was suspended for a second night running after darkness fell on Thursday night, with no sign of a body discovered so far. The search will continue in the morning, but has been redesignated as a 'recovery operation' because investigators believe that Rivera drowned in 'what appears to be a tragic accident'. 
Divers say the waters are murky and full of plants, limiting their visibility to less than one foot, and authorities warn that Rivera's body 'may never come back up' if it is 'entangled on something beneath the water'. 
Four-year-old Josey has meanwhile been returned to his family and was yesterday pictured in the arms of his father, Rivera's ex-husband Ryan Dorsey. 

The Ventura Sheriff's Department released the footage Thursday, showing the 33-year-old and her four-year-old son arrive at the lake on Wednesday
The Ventura Sheriff's Department released the footage Thursday, showing the 33-year-old and her four-year-old son arrive at the lake on Wednesday
The heartbroken ex-husband of missing Naya Rivera is seen for the first time comforting his young son just a day after the Glee actress vanished from a California lake where she’d been boating with the four-year-old
The heartbroken ex-husband of missing Naya Rivera is seen for the first time comforting his young son just a day after the Glee actress vanished from a California lake where she'd been boating with the four-year-old
Actress Naya Rivera is presumed dead after her four-year-old son, Josey Hollis, was found alone in a boat on Lake Piru in California on Wednesday afternoon
Actress Naya Rivera is presumed dead after her four-year-old son, Josey Hollis, was found alone in a boat on Lake Piru in California on Wednesday afternoon
As well as the surveillance footage, cops have also shared the 911 call from the boat rental facility at 4.37pm in which Rivera was first reported missing. 
Mistaking four-year-old Josey for a girl, the caller said they had 'found a little girl in one of the boats by the south end' and added that 'the mom is nowhere to be found'. 
The dispatcher asked for the child's age and ethnicity, but the caller had yet to see the toddler close up and was told to gather more information before calling back.  
Rivera and her son had rented the boat at about 1pm before sailing into the lake, which is around 60 miles from the actress's Los Angeles home.  

Later, after retrieving the toddler, investigators learned that Naya and Josey had both gone in the water to go swimming, but that only Josey had climbed back on board. How this happened is not clear and cops admitted yesterday that it was 'somewhat challenging' to obtain the details in an interview with a four-year-old.  
Divers and helicopters scoured the lake until night fell on Wednesday and continued their search for all of Thursday. 
Two German Shepherds from the California Rescue Dog Association have also been added to the expanding search party for Rivera, the Ventura County Star reports. 
They are trained to detect gasses that are released by human cadavers, performing a search along a grid of the lake and assisting divers in potentially locating Rivera's body.  
The clip shows the pair walk over to get assistance with the boat rental, being led to their eventual vessel
The clip shows the pair walk over to get assistance with the boat rental, being led to their eventual vessel
Rivera and her son load their things onto the boat before taking off
Rivera and her son load their things onto the boat before taking off
Footage shows Rivera and her son take off on the pontoon boat
Footage shows Rivera and her son take off on the pontoon boat
The boat can be seen heading north in the reservoir and would not be seen for several hours
The boat can be seen heading north in the reservoir and would not be seen for several hours

The Glee star and her son Josey rented a pontoon boat on Lake Piru on Wednesday afternoon, but three hours later another boater raised the alarm
The Glee star and her son Josey rented a pontoon boat on Lake Piru on Wednesday afternoon, but three hours later another boater raised the alarm
Sgt Bill Hutton described the the search as being 'very technical,' adding that GPS data from the search would be analyzed overnight while conditions are too difficult to dive.  
Authorities say they plan to release footage to show just how difficult some of the conditions have been in the search. 
Sgt Kevin Donoghue from the Ventura County Sheriff's Office, speaking at Lake Piru, said more than 100 police and first responders are now searching for Naya's body.
'Our thoughts and prayers are with her family at this terrible time and we hope to bring closure for them,' he said.
Donoghue warned it could be weeks before the body is found, if it is recovered at all. He said: 'If the body is entangled on something beneath the water, it may never come back up.'
He added: 'There's no way to really say. We're putting our best foot forward to try and locate her, we're using all the assets that are available to us, we're using technology like Sonar.'
Donoghue said experts involved in the search know the lake 'inside and out,' adding: 'We're relying on their expertise to help us in that endeavour. We're going to do everything that we can to find her.' 
The search for Naya Rivera continued until nightfall on Lake Piru
The search was suspended for a second day running with no trace of the Glee star being found so far
Into the darkness: The search for Naya Rivera continued until nightfall on Lake Piru until it was suspended for a second day running with no trace of the Glee star being found so far 
Rescuers sail on the lake as the light faded last night, with authorities now saying they are engaged in a 'recovery operation' and believing that Naya Rivera died in a 'tragic accident'
Rescuers sail on the lake as the light faded last night, with authorities now saying they are engaged in a 'recovery operation' and believing that Naya Rivera died in a 'tragic accident' 
A patrol boat on the shore of Lake Piru on the second day of the search for Naya Rivera, who was last seen on Wednesday renting a pontoon boat with her four-year-old son Josey
A patrol boat on the shore of Lake Piru on the second day of the search for Naya Rivera, who was last seen on Wednesday renting a pontoon boat with her four-year-old son Josey 
The search for the Glee star resumed at first light on Thursday, but a statement from the sheriff's office said it had 'turned into a recovery mission' with authorities no longer holding out hope that Rivera is alive.
'Investigators believe Rivera drowned in what appears to be a tragic accident,' the sheriff's office said.  
The so-called recovery mission has involved helicopters from the Sheriff's Office and Coastguard as well as multiple dive teams operating from six boats. 
The depth of the lake differs greatly, officer Chris Dyer said, saying it can go from between 50-60ft to 4ft over a short distance.  
Visibility in the lake during the daytime is about eight to 10 inches, while sizeable debris including trees flow beneath the surface, police said.
'The difficult conditions have made the recovery operation a very slow process', the sheriff's office said, with conditions too dangerous to continue the search overnight. 
More than 100 rescuers are at the lake and involved in the effort to find Rivera, with 'multiple dive teams' searching the murky depths while two helicopters continue to scour the waves from above.
The task has been complicated by rising winds, with the surface becoming choppier. 
Two German Shepherds from the California Rescue Dog Association have also been added to the expanding search party for Rivera, the Ventura County Star reports
Two German Shepherds from the California Rescue Dog Association have also been added to the expanding search party for Rivera, the Ventura County Star reports
The dogs are trained to detect gasses that are released by human cadavers, performing a search along a grid of the lake and assisting divers in potentially locating the Rivera's body
The dogs are trained to detect gasses that are released by human cadavers, performing a search along a grid of the lake and assisting divers in potentially locating the Rivera's body

The small vessel Naya was using is moored at the dock, marked off with yellow police tape. Sgt Donoghue said her purse and ID was found alongside her son.
There was also a life jacket onboard and her son was wearing a second life jacket. 
'We know she has been to this lake before and is familiar with it but we aren't sure whether her son has been here,' he added.
He said officers are in constant contact with the actress' family. 'As far as we understand, her son is physically okay,' he said. 'From what I understand, he has told investigators his mother never made it out of the water.' 
Josey's father Ryan Dorsey was spotted holding the boy in his arms as they left the home of Naya's sister, model Nickayla Rivera in Valencia, California on Thursday.
Dorsey, who has joint custody of his son after he divorced Glee star Naya in June 2018, was visibly upset earlier in the day as he woke up to the reality of what had happened. 
Dorsey's housemate in Los Angeles told DailyMail.com that Dorsey immediately headed to the popular tourist spot as soon as he was notified that their son was found alone on a pontoon boat.
The housemate, who asked not to be named, said: 'Ryan headed up there as soon as their son was found to look after him. He was gone by the time I got home Wednesday. ' 
It is not clear whether Rivera had driven from her LA home or was staying somewhere closer to the lake. 
Rivera had last posted on social media on July 7, sharing a touching photo of her with her so Josey. 'Just the two of us,' she wrote as a caption. 
The actress starred in Glee from 2009 to 2015, playing high school cheerleader Santana Lopez for all six seasons of the popular series. 
Naya welcomed son Josey with then-husband Dorsey in 2015. She called her young son 'my greatest success, and I will never do any better than him' in her 2016 memoir 'Sorry Not Sorry.' 
Rivera's former Glee co-star Demi Lovato was among those to hold out hope last night, saying on Twitter that she still hoped Naya would be found alive. 
'I don't tweet often but sometimes my tweets come true so, together let's manifest on twitter that Naya will be found safe and sound!! Come on y'all! Let's put this energy out there: they will find her healthy and alive,' she said.
Heather Morris, another former Glee co-star, last night praised the California authorities for 'working tirelessly right now in the search and recovery of our Naya'.  
Morris had previously said after learning of Rivera's disappearance: 'We need all the prayers we can get to bring our Naya back to us... we need your love and light.' 
This diagram shows where Naya Rivera and her son rented a boat on Lake Piru before the four-year-old was seen alone. The map in the top left shows the location of the lake in relation to Los Angeles where Rivera lives
This diagram shows where Naya Rivera and her son rented a boat on Lake Piru before the four-year-old was seen alone. The map in the top left shows the location of the lake in relation to Los Angeles where Rivera lives 
A rescuer wearing a life vest stands on the edge of a boat on Lake Piru as the search continued without success on Thursday
A rescuer wearing a life vest stands on the edge of a boat on Lake Piru as the search continued without success on Thursday
Members of Ventura County Sheriff's Office Underwater Search and Rescue Team search for the actress. More than 100 personnel are currently looking for Rivera
Members of Ventura County Sheriff's Office Underwater Search and Rescue Team search for the actress. More than 100 personnel are currently looking for Rivera
A helicopter joins members of Ventura County Sheriff's Office Underwater Search and Rescue Team in search for Rivera
A helicopter joins members of Ventura County Sheriff's Office Underwater Search and Rescue Team in search for Rivera
Police have cornered off the pontoon boat believed to have been the one used by Rivera and her son
Police have cornered off the pontoon boat believed to have been the one used by Rivera and her son
Members of the Ventura County Sheriff's Office in a boat on Thursday
Members of the Ventura County Sheriff's Office in a boat on Thursday
Members of Ventura County Sheriff's Office Underwater Search and Rescue Team search for former 'Glee' actress Naya Rivera
Members of Ventura County Sheriff's Office Underwater Search and Rescue Team search for former 'Glee' actress Naya Rivera
Powered by Blogger.