Kiely Rodni case: Body found in California reservoir is that of missing teen, officials say
The body found in Prosser Creek Reservoir over the weekend was confirmed Tuesday to be that of Kiely Rodni, a 16-year-old girl who went missing earlier in August after she was last spotted at a party near Truckee, Calif., according to authorities.
The Nevada County sheriff-coroner’s office identified the body as that of Kiely, according to a post by the Placer County Sheriff’s Office, adding that they are “in communication with Kiely’s family and offer our deepest condolences to them during this extremely difficult time.”
The investigation is ongoing and no other information was available Tuesday afternoon, the Sheriff’s Office said.
The body found in Prosser Lake has not been officially identified but is ‘more than likely’ that of 16-year-old Kiely Rodni, authorities say.
A vehicle matching the description of Kiely’s 2013 Honda CRV was found by a dive team on Sunday with a deceased person inside, about five miles from where Kiely was last spotted, Nevada County Sheriff Shannan Moon said at a news conference.
“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.”
Adventures With Purpose, the Oregon dive team that found the vehicle, announced on Facebook about 2:30 p.m. Sunday, “WE JUST FOUND KIELY RODNI... Car is upside down in only 14’ of water. We have CONFIRMED Kiely is inside.”
The group describes itself as an “underwater sonar search and recovery dive team helping families locate missing loved one’s underwater,” according to its Facebook page.
Jai Rmanii Hicks, also known as Rmanii, was last seen July 16 at around 3 p.m. on the 200 block of West Woodbury Road in Altadena, the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department said.
Kiely’s family thanked law enforcement, members of the media and their friends and family in a Monday statement after the body was found.
“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,” the family wrote. “Kiely will surely remain with us even though we will not get her back.”
Kiely was last seen at an Aug. 6 party about 12:30 a.m. near the Prosser Family Campground near the reservoir, police said. Her vehicle was also missing, and her phone hasn’t been in service since the party.
Authorities are treating the case as an abduction. The Sheriff’s Office confirmed in a social media post that it had received more than 1,800 tips about Kiely.
Kiely’s mother gave an impassioned plea earlier this month 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.”
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