Body Found in Submerged SUV Was Missing Teen

Autopsy identifies Kiely Rodni
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 24, 2022 2:20 AM CDT
Updated Aug 24, 2022 5:16 AM CDT
Missing Teen Found in SUV Submerged in Lake
In this undated photo released by the Placer County Sheriff's Office is Kiely Rodni. Authorities in Northern California are asking for the public's help in finding the 16-year-old girl who went missing after attending a party at a campground and may have been abducted.   (Placer County Sheriff's Office via AP)

The body discovered in a car submerged in a Northern California lake has been identified as missing California teen Kiely Rodni. The 16-year-old had last been seen at Prosser Family Campground—near Prosser Lake, where her body was eventually found in her SUV—around 12:30am on Aug. 6. She'd been attending a "campground party" with 200 to 300 other juveniles at the time, per CNN. The investigation into her death continues, and the cause and manner of death have not yet been released. "The Placer County Sheriff’s Office and the Nevada County Sheriff's Office are in communication with Kiely’s family and offer our deepest condolences to them during this extremely difficult time," the PCSO says in a statement cited by ABC News.

"We have weathered a storm of unfathomable force, and it is purely thanks to the army of warriors, matriarchs, healers, and helpers holding us up that we continue to stand today," Rodni's family says in a statement. "Mr. Rogers famously told a story of 'looking for the helpers' whenever he saw scary things in the news. We have not had to look for the helpers, as you have all come to our rescue in full force. We are forever indebted to you. While we accept this sadness cast under death's shadow, the rising sun shines light upon us, reminding us not to mourn our loss, but to celebrate Kiely's spirit and the gift that we all received in knowing her." (More California stories.)

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