Naya Rivera's dad George helps co-ordinate hunt for his missing daughter

Naya Rivera’s dad George on Sunday appeared to help co-ordinate the hunt for his missing daughter after police confirmed ‘nothing came’ of their search of cabins along Lake Piru.  

As the search for Glee actress Rivera entered its fifth day her father was seen chatting with those on site. He appeared animated, raising his hands and hugging loved ones. 

Rivera, 33, disappeared while out boating on the lake with her four-year-old son Josey on Wednesday. Josey was found alone in a rental boat with no sign of his mother, who is now presumed dead.  

On Sunday, the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office had announced that cabins on the banks of the lake would be searched after social media users theorized that Rivera could have ended up in one. 

But Sgt. Shannon King later told People: ‘They’re not occupied. Nothing came of it. 

‘There’s no evidence to say she left the water. It appears to be 100 percent just a tragic drowning.’ 

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Ventura County Sheriff’s Office Search & Rescue Team spokesman Robert Inglis told Us Weekly Rivera had sent a picture of her son to a relative ‘that showed the boy on the boat by a cove’ around two hours before he was found alone. 

Inglis added: ‘We are confident that we will locate her body.

‘What I suspect is that the winds kicked up. Those pontoon boats are very light, and when you push them, it can get away from you. She might’ve tried to swim after the boat. But that’s all speculation. Once we do locate her, that’ll answer a lot more questions.’ 

Rivera’s co star Heather Elizabeth Morris had pleaded with rescue crews to be allowed to help in the search, writing: ‘I’m Nayas close friend and co-worker, and I’m trying to conduct an on foot search and rescue mission along with a small group of friends at Lake Piru. I understand your team is doing EVERYTHING in their power, but we are feeling helpless, powerless.’

She later added: ‘I have spoken to Sheriff Eric Buschow and rest assured they are using every single one of their resources to locate our Naya. I have full confidence that they’re doing everything they can, and probably more. 

‘We will hold off on the citizen search and rescue until we get the go ahead that they’ll allow volunteers. 

‘Understand it’s 110 degrees here and if you’re not highly trained in search and rescue, this could end up a much more dangerous situation for everybody involved. Please be kind, compassionate and caring for those who are looking for our Naya.’

Police had earlier warned people about trying to search for her themselves and tweeted: ‘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.’   

Officials say the search will continue until at least Tuesday. 

Sgt King added: There’s no talk of either one way or the other after Tuesday.

‘Tuesday’s sort of the projected date that we’re discussing, and we’re going to continue doing what we have been doing.’ 

The search has been difficult due to extremely poor visibility due to debris in the water, prompting searchers primarily rely on sonar technology to search the waters.

Sgt King said: ‘It’s not like typical waters, which are crystal clear, this is murky, cold lake water.

‘The ground is covered in trees and shrubs, so it’s hampering our efforts for sure.’ 

Rivera’s heartbroken family had already been seen on the banks of the California lake where she disappeared. 

Her father George was seen running into the lake on Saturday and splashing water over himself in an emotional moment as he tried to connect with his missing daughter. 

Rivera’s distraught mother was also pictured crumpled on the banks of the lake where her daughter vanished. The distraught family was seen sharing a moving moment where they came together and hugged each other. 

The actress’ devastated former Glee castmates were forced to defend themselves Sunday after fans accused them of not speaking out about the incident. 

Amber Riley, who played Mercedes Jones in the hit show, tweeted: ‘Show some respect. All our energy is going toward helping find Naya and praying for her safe return and for her family. 

‘No one owes anyone online a performance of grief. This is very real and devastating. Focus on Naya and her family. Not us. We don’t matter right now.’

Naya’s mom Yolanda Rivera was pictured kneeling with her arms outstretched in a moment of desperation in front of Lake Piru in Ventura near Los Angeles on Saturday alongside Naya’s brother Mychal as the duo joined in the recovery operation for the missing star’s body.  

Yolanda and Mychal put on life jackets and joined the Ventura County Sheriff’s search team as they scoured the lake. The pair were seen embracing along the banks of the lake. 

At other points during the day, younger members of the family were seen playing on a beach at the lake. 

‘They’re obviously devastated, grieving,’ Sgt. Marta Bugarin, a public information officer with the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office said Saturday. ‘Our goal is to try and bring some closure to the family today.’   

The lake itself is 1,200 acres and can reach depths of up to 130 feet. 

In it, authorities point to a barely visible tree limb highlighting the challenges divers are facing in trying to find the missing mother-of-one.  

‘Here’s an example of the underwater visibility at a 30-foot depth in Lake Piru,’ the Sheriff’s Department tweeted.  

A second social media post shows footage of the a remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV) being lowered into Lake Piru and details that specialized equipment including sonar, divers and dogs have also been deployed in the hunt.

‘Here’s the ROV used by @TulareSheriff in the search for Naya Rivera at Lake Piru today,’ the Sheriff’s Department wrote.     

With almost zero visibility, human divers are resorting to searching by feel, meaning it could take several days before crews can locate her body, Eric Buschow, Ventura County Sheriff’s Office spokesman, said at a press conference Friday evening.

‘We don’t know if she’s going to be found five minutes from now or five days from now, so we’re still going to be continuing this effort,’ he said. ‘The visibility in the water is one to two feet,’ Buschow added. 

Buschow said ‘promising’ images had shown up on the sonar Thursday night but when the ROV was dropped into the water the objects turned out not to be Rivera’s body.  

‘What they do is they go out and they tow these devices in the water that scan the bottom of the lake for any objects that might look like a body.

‘Last night, they had a couple of images that showed up on the sonar that they thought might be promising to investigate,’ he said. 

‘This morning, they sent an ROV, or a small robotic device, down into the water to examine those objects. Unfortunately, they did not locate Naya Rivera. They are still searching.’ 

Buschow admitted the conditions of the lake made the search ‘difficult’ but said he is confident Rivera’s body will be recovered. 

‘It’s very effective,’ he said of the sonar system. 

‘They get a really detailed image and they can go down and focus on specific things rather than putting divers in the water where they’re literally feeling around because they can’t see.’  

A specially-trained dog is also being used in the search to sniff above the water’s surface and alert handlers to a body beneath. 

Authorities confirmed the mission had shifted to a recovery Thursday as hope of finding Rivera alive vanished.  

The actress’s distraught family said they just ‘wish’ she could be found so they could get some ‘closure’ over what is believed to have been a tragic drowning accident. 

A man thought to be 65-year-old Arnold Dorsey, the father of Rivera’s ex-husband Ryan Dorsey and the grandfather to Josey, told The Sun the whole family was ‘sad’ and were rallying around Rivera’s son.  

‘We are sad, we just wish they could find her so we can have some closure,’ he said outside Rivera’s mother Yolanda’s home in Valencia.

He said Josey was having some ‘good days’ after the four-year-old’s terrifying ordeal.    

‘We still have good days [with him], I can’t make any other comment at this time.’  

Josey was found asleep and alone on the rental boat Wednesday evening. 

He told police his mother had ‘jumped’ into the water to go swimming and never came back, but police admitted it was ‘challenging’ to interview a four-year-old.  

The lake was said to be a ‘sanctuary’ for Rivera and somewhere she had been going to for years. 

However, the waters are also known for their rip currents and for being full of debris, and eight people have drowned there since 1994. 

Authorities have said there is no evidence of foul play or suicide and that everything points to the young star accidentally drowning.