Body of Kiely Rodni Possibly Found in Submerged Car

Teen was last seen at campground party in Truckee early on Aug. 6
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 10, 2022 2:47 PM CDT
Updated Aug 22, 2022 1:00 AM CDT
Teen Who Vanished From Party May Have Been Abducted
Lindsey Rodni-Nieman, center, mother of missing 16-year-old Kiely Rodni, listens to law enforcement during a news conference, Tuesday, in Truckee, Calif.   (Paul Kitagaki Jr./The Sacramento Bee via AP)

Update: The YouTube-famous recovery dive team Adventures with Purpose on Sunday claimed they had located the car of a missing California 16-year-old. They say the presumed body of Kiely Rodni was inside, reports the Sacramento Bee. "Car is upside down in only 14 (feet) of water" at Prosser Creek Reservoir near where she went missing, Adventures with Purpose said in a brief Facebook post. "We have CONFIRMED Kiely is inside." A subsequent post described the discovered car as Kiely's: a silver 2013 Honda CRV with California license plate number 8YUR127. Earlier Sunday, the Placer County Sheriff's Office said nearly 20,000 hours had been dedicated to the search for the teen, who was last seen on Aug. 6. Our original story from Aug. 10 follows:

A 16-year-old girl who vanished after attending a party in northern California may have been abducted, according to authorities, who are offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to the whereabouts of Kiely Rodni. The teen was last seen around 12:30am Saturday at the Prosser Family Campground in Truckee, about 17 miles north of Lake Tahoe, where she was one of as many as 300 attendees of a party. Kiely texted her mother late Friday saying she was leaving the gathering in 45 minutes and would come "straight home," per ABC News. "I told her to be safe and that I loved her. And she said, 'OK, mom, I love you, too,'" Lindsey Rodni-Nieman tells the outlet.

That was around 11:30pm. By 12:15am, the teen told her friends she wanted to go home, Angela Musallam, a spokesperson for the Placer County Sheriff's Office, tells the Daily Beast. A friend tells ABC that she was the last person to speak with Kiely at the party. "There was nothing that seemed off about her," the girl says. Her cellphone died and "became virtually untraceable shortly after," Musallam tells ABC. "We are treating her disappearance as an abduction right now because we have not been able to locate her vehicle," a silver 2013 Honda CRV. Sheriff Troy Sander said Tuesday that "there is no evidence that supports an abduction, but we are not ruling anything out," per CNN.

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An extensive search—involving 150 law enforcement officers, more than 100 volunteers, helicopters, and canines—has failed to turn up any sign of the teen. Rodni-Nieman says she doesn't believe her daughter ran away as it's "already so out of character" for her to be out of touch. "We're so scared, and we miss her so much," she says in a video, per People. Kiely is white, 5'7", about 118 pounds, with blond hair, hazel eyes, and a nose ring. She was last seen wearing a black spaghetti strap bodysuit, green Dickies pants, a black grommet belt, and black Vans shoes. Her vehicle bears the California license plate 8YUR127. Anyone with information, including photos or videos from the party, should contact police. (More missing person stories.)

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