The body and vehicle of Kiely Rodni, the 16-year-old girl who went missing in early August and was last spotted at a party near Truckee, California, have most likely been found in a reservoir, authorities said Monday.
At a news conference Monday morning in Truckee, north of Lake Tahoe, Nevada County Sheriff Shannon Moon said her agency was notified Sunday night that a vehicle matching the description of Kiely’s 2013 Honda CRV was found in Prosser Lake with a deceased person inside, just five miles north from where Kiely was last seen.
“Last night, we did receive some information of the recovery of a vehicle that we’ve been searching for, and it was located inside Prosser Lake,” Moon said. “It was located within a search zone that we had been searching since the very beginning of our operation.”
The car, which was upside down in 14 feet of water, was discovered by an Oregon dive team that specializes in searching for missing persons and property.
The dive team, Adventures With Purpose, announced on Facebook around 2:30 p.m. Pacific time on Sunday, “WE JUST FOUND KIELY RODNI ... Car is upside down in only 14' of water. We have CONFIRMED Kiely is inside.”
The group wrote that Kiely’s family had been notified, and video footage of the car being pulled from the water was published online.
At Monday’s news conference, Moon told reporters that the Sheriff’s Office had not positively identified the body as the missing teen, though it’s “more than likely” to be her.
“It’s still an active investigation,” Moon said, “and I understand we will continue to receive lots of questions regarding our investigation, and we will release what we can.”
Capt. Sam Brown of the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office said no official agency had asked Adventures With Purpose to assist in the search. The team expressed interest online in helping, and the Placer County Sheriff’s Office coordinated with the group, he said.
Brown could not explain why official agencies were unable to find the vehicle, but noted that the search, which involved more than 15,000 man-hours, “eliminated a lot of areas that we would still be searching if we didn’t have all the great people out there.”
Brown said the vehicle being upside down in the water complicated the search process.
Lt. Josh Elhers, assistant chief of the California Highway Patrol Valley Division, confirmed that the CHP is conducting a fatality traffic investigation and that Kiely’s vehicle was taken by the FBI.
Kiely went missing in the early morning hours of Aug. 6 after she attended a party near the Prosser Family Campground in the Tahoe National Forest.
