Glee actress Naya Rivera, who played Santana Lopez on the Fox musical series, is feared to have drowned in a swimming accident at Lake Piru in California. Rivera's rented boat was found with her four year-old son in it, who reportedly said that they had gone swimming but she hadn't returned to the boat.
Rivera, who is 33 years old, starred in Glee for six years and more recently has appeared in a recurring role in the series Step Up: High Water. Rivera was married to actor Ryan Dorsey between 2014 and 2018. They are currently separated and have shared custody of their son. Rivera posted a photo of herself and her son to Instagram yesterday with the caption, "Just the two of us."
CBS Los Angeles reports that Rivera rented a boat at around 1pm, and it was found by another boater three hours later with only her son inside. A search quickly began using divers, drones, and helicopters, but as of yet there has been no sign of Rivera. Ventura County Sheriff's Department has since said that search and rescue has been suspended until first light. Rivera's son is reportedly unharmed and according to USA Today is now being cared for by other family members.
Per USA Today, Captain Eric Buschow of Ventura County Sheriff's Department said that Rivera is presumed drowned and that the teams are searching for her body. However, until there's confirmation of her fate fans are holding onto hope that she may be found alive when the search and rescue operations resume in a few hours.
Tragedy first struck the cast of Glee in 2013 when actor Cory Monteith, who played Finn Hudson, died of a drug and heroin overdose. In December 2015, Glee actor Mark Salling was arrested and charged with possession of child pornography. He pleaded guilty to the charges but committed suicide in January 2018, before sentencing could take place. More recently, lead actress Lea Michele made headlines after her former costars called her out for alleged bad behavior towards them on set during their time on Glee. The string of tragedies and negative headlines associated with the series has become commonly referred to as the "Glee curse."
Source: CBS Los Angeles, USA Today