Authorities gave an update on the search for Naya Rivera.

Ventura County Sheriff’s Office Sergeant Kevin Donoghue spoke with the media at a press conference on Thursday (July 9) to update everyone on their efforts to find the 33-year-old actress, author and mother.

"In this particular lake, in that area, there's a lot of trees and plants and such that are under the water that can cause entanglements. It makes it unsafe for the divers and it makes it a more complicated search," Donoghue said, according to Entertainment Tonight. "If the body is entangled in something beneath the water, it may never come back up. We don't know."

Max O'Brien, a diver on the team, spoke with the press to explain how difficult the search is considering the lack of visibility.

"The visibility is about one to two feet and then in some clearings it's up to three to five," he said. "There's a lot of tree branches and overgrowth from when the lake was lower, so we're digging through, breaking through sticks and searching a heavy brush bottom. Under the water, it's a lot by feel. Again, there's a lot of shrubbery and sticks that we have to break through as we're going through, so it's kind of a Braille search."

The search for the former Glee star is now classified as a recovery mission as she is presumed dead.

Rivera disappeared on Wednesday (July 8) while on a boat trip with her 4-year-old son Josey. He told the police that his mother went swimming and never returned. Josey has since reunited with his father, Ryan Dorsey, and is said to be "in good health."

Watch a video from the scene, below.

Stars We Lost in 2020

 

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