Volunteer divers said Sunday they believe they found the vehicle and body of Kiely Rodni, a 16-year-old girl who had been missing since early August and was last seen at a party near Truckee. Authorities verified a body was found, but said the identity has not been confirmed.
The dive team, Adventures With Purpose, posted on social media about 2:30 p.m. from Prosser Reservoir, which was adjacent to the campground where the party was held: "Car is upside down in only 14' of water. We have CONFIRMED Kiely is inside." The group wrote that the family had been notified, and Sacramento news station KCRA later showed video footage of a car being pulled out of the water.
But the Nevada County Sheriff's Office, in a Facebook post four hours later, wrote that the identity had not been "confirmed". The post said representatives from Nevada County and Placer County sheriffs' offices, the FBI and allied agencies had converged on the scene to investigate the divers' findings, and set a news conference Monday at 11 a.m. at the Truckee-Donner Recreation & Park District office.
Through a spokesperson, the Rodni family told the Reno Gazette-Journal that they hadn't yet heard from law enforcement. "At this time, the family has no statement on the social media rumors from this afternoon," said Linda Luchetti, the family's media representative. "If and when law enforcement has a response, we will proceed accordingly."
Rodni was last seen about 12:30 a.m. at an Aug. 6 party attended by 200 to 300 teens near the Prosser Family Campground, which sits next to the reservoir, authorities said. Her vehicle, a silver 2013 Honda CRV with California license plate 8YUR127, was also missing.
Rodni's phone hadn't been in service since the party, and authorities had been treating the case as an abduction. Earlier Sunday, the Sheriff's Office said in a social media post that the public had submitted more than 1,800 tips about Rodni's potential whereabouts.
Adventures With Purpose is an "underwater sonar search and recovery dive team helping families locate missing loved ones underwater," according to its Facebook page. Prosser Reservoir is in Tahoe National Forest, 10 minutes north of Truckee.
Kiely's mother gave an impassioned plea Aug. 7 for the public to help find her daughter.
"We just want her home, we're so scared, we miss her so much," Lindsey Rodni-Nieman said in a Sheriff's Office Facebook post. "And Kiely, we love you so much and if you're seeing this, please just come home. I want nothing more than to hug you."
