Police search for missing Glee star Naya Rivera after son found alone on boat

Sheriff's officials have said former Glee actor Naya Rivera is feared to have drowned after going missing at a lake in southern California on Wednesday.

A search operation at Lake Piru was suspended overnight and is due to resume on Thursday as officials search for the 33-year-old actor. Local news reports suggest she and her four-year-old son had rented a smallpontoon boat. The boy was found alone on the boat in a lifejacket alongside Rivera's purse containing her identification. The boy reportedly told investigators that his mother was swimming and could not make it back to the boat.

At a press conference, Eric Buschow, a spokesman for the Ventura County sheriff’s department, said there was “no evidence of foul play at this point” and “this may well be a case of drowning.”

Rivera is best known for playing Santana Powell, a cheerleader, in musical comedy Glee, which aired from 2009 until 2015. In recent years she has appeared in TV show Step Up: High Water and Devious Maids.