A JET skier seen in CCTV near Naya Rivera's boat may hold clues related to the Glee star's presumed drowning.

Video shared by cops shows the actress pulling up to the dock of Lake Piru in her Mercedes-Benz G Wagon before heading out on a rental boat with her son Josey.

The footage captured Wednesday afternoon also showed a jet ski zipping by the 33-year-old's vessel, prompting some to suggest the rider may have witnessed the apparent accident in California.

Rivera was declared missing hours later – and is now presumed dead – after authorities found Josey sleeping alone on the boat with her life jacket on board.

The four-year-old reportedly told cops his mom had "jumped into the water but didn't come back up".

A Change.org petition signed by more than 4,600 people claims the jetski seen in the video had been following the Glee star's boat before she vanished.

"Before Naya Rivera went missing, there was a jet ski that had been following her boat," wrote Rebecca Pennock, who created the petition to the Sheriff's Office on Friday.

"The jet ski had stopped to watch her and after Naya had started to go faster the (sic) followed her.

"If anyone knows what happened to her it was most likely the people on the jet ski."

As cops continue the desperate hunt for Rivera, search volunteers revealed the tough conditions they face in combing the bottom of Lake Piru.

Volunteer diver Max O'Brien told reporters Thursday night that overgrowth from the lake has forced divers to mostly search "by feel".

He described the recovery effort as "kind of a Braille search".

"The visibility is about one to two feet," O'Brien said, as reported by PEOPLE.

"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."

Authorities described the efforts as a "very slow process" because of the lake's conditions.

About 100 people participated in Thursday's search, according to PEOPLE.

The revelation came on the same day the Sheriff's Office announced the search and rescue effort had become a search and recovery effort.

Deputies said they believe Rivera's disappearance "may well be a case of drowning.

The actress possibly "drowned in what appears to be a tragic accident," Sgt Kevin Donoghue said during a press conference.

Police said Josey "gave enough information to investigators to conclude that Naya never made it out of the water," Donoghue said.

Source: Read Full Article