Kiely Rodni news: Body found in Prosser lake is missing Truckee teen, autopsy confirms
Autopsy confirmation ends two-week search
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Kiely Rodni has been confirmed dead after an autopsy positively identified her as the body found in Truckee’s Prosser Creek Reservoir.
More than two weeks after 16-year-old Kiely went missing after a graduation party on 6 August, volunteer divers from Adventures with Purpose discovered a car with a body inside at the reservoir on Sunday.
The search finally came to a tragic conclusion on Tuesday as the autopsy confirmed the body was hers.
It comes after Kiely’s family released a statement Monday afternoon, saying: “We are eternally grateful for the love and support you have shown us in the last couple of weeks.
“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.
“Kiely will surely remain with us even though we will not get her back.”
Investigators are still working to determine how the car ended up in the reservoir and whether foul play was involved.
Truckee police defend against criticism of search for Kiely
Law enforcement officials offered a plethora of reasons why they had failed to find the body in the weeks since Kiely was last seen at a party in Prosser Family Campground, which 200 to 300 teenagers and young adults attended.
The Prosser Creek Reservoir, a lake next to the campground, had previously been searched extensively by law enforcement who had spent more than 20,000 hours trying to find the missing teen.
Nevada County Sheriff Captain Sam Brown credited authorities, peace officers and volunteers for “eliminating areas we’d still be searching,” and paving a way for AWP to find the body - which has not yet been officially identified.
Andrea Blanco has the story with details about authorities’ response to criticism:
Truckee police defend against criticism of search for Kiely Rodni after body found
Authorities said they will de-brief their handling of the search with AWP
Kiely Rodni’s family breaks silence after discovery of body
The family of Kiely Rodni released their first public statement following the discovery of the body, which is likely to the missing teen.
“We are eternally grateful for the love and support you have shown us in the last couple of weeks,” the Rodni-Nieman family said in a statement.
“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.
“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.”
“Kiely will surely remain with us even though we will not get her back.”
Water “receded’ at lake where Kiely’s car was found
Captain Sam Brown with the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office said that some of the information circulating in media reports was “deceiving.”
When asked by reporters how the agencies had missed the car — said to be only 15 feet deep underwater, according to AWP — Captain Brown said that since Kiely’s disappearance on 6 August, the water level had dropped a vertical three feet and a potential 20 to 25 feet off offshore.
Gabby Petito's father offers condolences
Joe Petito, the father of Gabby Petito who disappeared during a cross-country trip last year, offered condolences to Kiely Rodni’s family.
“My condolences to Kiely Rondi’s family. May she rest in peace (sic),” he tweeted on Monday.
Mr Petito added: “The emotions all come back to the surface when you see things like this.”
Last September, Gabby, then 22, went missing during a cross-country trip with her fiance Brian Laundrie.
Her strangled body was discovered the next month on the edge of Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming.
Laundrie admitted killing her in a notebook discovered near his body in a Florida swamp, where he took his own life, authorities have said.
Divers joined searched efforts just as police began to scale back response
On 19 August, volunteer dive team Adventures with Purpose arrived in Truckee and said it would start looking for Kiely while police began to scale back their own response, the Sacramento Bee reported.
The volunteer divers then began searching the water at Prosser Creek Reservoir by Sunday.
Spokesperson Josh Cantu said although police told the Prosser Creek Reservoir had already been covered by police in a “rigorous” search, his diving team located an object that shouldn’t have been there. That was the car and body potentially belonging to Ms Rodni.
Gino Spocchia has the full story here:
Who are the AWP divers who discovered body in search for Kiely Rodni?
Sonar technology helped team of six volunteers make significant discovery
Adventures with Purpose has helped solved over 20 cold cases since 2019
Among the 23 cases the diving group has solved is the 2003 disappearance of Philadelphia father James Amabile, who was found in a lake in the state in March after his family said he experienced a diabetic shock before driving into the water.
At a press conference the day after a body was found in the search for Kiely, AWP said it would be joining another search in California for 22-year-old Jolissa Fuentes of Selma.
AWP was founded in 2019 by volunteers wanting to dive for rubbish before transforming into a search and rescue diving team committed to helping families find their loved ones in cases of missing people, such as the Kiely Rodni case.
According to ABC News Australia, the group transitioned to helping find missing people about two years ago when they started uncovering clues to missing person cases. Today, there are six members of the team.
Gino Spocchia has more here:
Who are the AWP divers who discovered body in search for Kiely Rodni?
Sonar technology helped team of six volunteers make significant discovery
Search for Kiely may finally be over as her presumed remains are found by dive team
The desperate search for 16-year-old Kiely Rodni may finally be over after volunteer divers said that they had found her body inside an upside-down car under 14 feet of water.
But the mystery remains over exactly what happened to the California teenager after she vanished from a party at a northern California campground on Saturday 6 August.
Yet on 21 August, a volunteer diving group called Adventures With Purpose said it had found Kiely’s body inside a sunken car in Prosser Lake. A spokesperson for the sheriff’s office said it could not yet confirm whether the body was her.
Here’s everything we know about the case:
Everything we know about 16-year-old Kiely Rodni’s disappearance
Kiely Rodni is described as white, 5’7” tall, and 115 pounds with blonde hair and hazel eyes. She was last seen wearing green Dickies pants and a black tank top
Adventures with Purpose to join new case
After announcing the discovery of Kiely’s car in Prosser Lake, AWP said they will be joining the search for 22-year-old Jolissa Fuentes.
Ms Fuentes was last seen at about 4am on 7 August driving a 2011 Hyundai into and out of a AM/PM gas station near her home in Selma on Nebraska Avenue and has not been heard from since.
The dive team has received widespread praise for their breakthrough discoveries in the investigation.
Ginno Spocchia has the story:
Jolissa Fuentes: Everything we know about 22-year-old missing in California
Fuentes was last seen at about 4am on 7 August in Selma, California
Authorities face criticism of search for Kiely
California authorities have dismissed criticism of their search for Kiely Rodni after a body believed to be that of the missing teen was found by an amateur diving team.
Officials were questioned about how volunteer group Adventures with Purpose (AWP) was able to locate the vehicle believed to contain Kiely’s remains within the space of a few short hours in the same lake that law enforcement had been searching – unsuccessfully – for over two weeks.
“The Adventures with Purpose folks did a fantastic job at being able to locate the vehicle as quickly as they did, based on, again, a lot of heavy lifting that the folks behind me have done over the last couple of weeks,” Sheriff Shannon Moon said, as officials with California Highway Patrol and Nevada County stood behind her.
The Independent’s Andrea Blanco has the full story:
Truckee police defend against criticism of search for Kiely Rodni after body found
Authorities said they will de-brief their handling of the search with AWP
Adventures with Purpose used sonar technology to find Kiely’s car
Nick Rinn, an AWP diver, told the New York Post he found a body in a car within minutes of entering the water, and while it was close to the shoreline, it had not been visible above the water – only via Garmin sonar technology.
“I went down and did my inspection. I saw the vehicle upside down, verified the license plate and that there were remains in the vehicle,” he said.
“Then I came out, we called the family and authorities and let them take it from there.”
Captain Brown with the Nevada County Sheriff’s office said that although local agencies had used sonar technology in an attempt to find Kiely, AWP had an advantage in equipment and expertise.
Gino Spocchia has more details:
Who are the AWP divers who discovered body in search for Kiely Rodni?
Sonar technology helped team of six volunteers make significant discovery
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