(FOX40.COM) — Sunday marks one year since 16-year-old Kiely Rodni went missing after a party in Nevada County.
After a more than two-week search, an autopsy revealed that a body found in Prosser Reservoir was identified as Rodni.
Adventures with Purpose, an independent group of search and rescue divers, said its volunteers of divers located the body and car of Rodni. Days later, the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office said the body was “likely” Rodni’s.
Her death was later declared accidental by the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office Coroner.
“This ruling is based on the pathologist’s finding that her death was the result of drowning and that there was no other information to suggest she was the victim of foul play,” the sheriff’s office said.
Rodni’s last whereabouts
Rodni was last seen on Aug. 6, 2022, after reportedly attending a party with more than 200 minors and young adults near the Prosser Family Campground in Truckee, about 100 miles northeast of Sacramento.
Initially, authorities teated Rodni’s disappearance as a potential abduction with her car, a 2013 silver Honda CRV, also went missing. The last known ping from Rodni’s cellphone was near Prosser Lake, but previous searches there had not turned up any signs of Kiley or her vehicle.
Authorities said Rodni’s phone was last pinged at “33 minutes after midnight” after she went missing. The night before her disappearance, officials said that she was seen at a store around 6 p.m. based on surveillance footage at a convenience store.
Officials shared photos during their search including one of a white sweatshirt Kiely was wearing at the party. Another picture showed she was wearing several pieces of jewelry including three “gold-colored” necklaces that her family was sure she was wearing the night of her disappearance.
The Placer County Sheriff’s Office asked the community to submit any photos or videos that may lead to finding Rodni.
Conducting the search
Numerous agencies, including the California Highway Patrol, the FBI, Homeland Security, Truckee Police Department, and the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office from the state of Nevada joined the Placer County Sheriff’s Office and the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office in the search to help locate Rodni.
The sheriff’s office in Placer County said numerous resources were utilized during the search.
Collectively, the agencies searched for Rodni for 19,951 hours and received 1,871 tips in the two weeks since she went missing.
Over 100 volunteers were searching for Rodni on foot within the first couple of days after she went missing.
The website, findkiely.com, was created by the family to gather information about Rodin’s disappearance.
Adventures with Purpose joins the search
Adventures with Purpose, an independent group of search and rescue divers, begin searching for Rodni two weeks after her disappearance.
FOX40.com spent the day with Adventures with Purpose with its members scouring Donner Lake for more than two hours and checking out several areas where Rodni’s car possibly could have entered the water.
The group concentrated on the boat launch and surrounding area near Donner Lake and were looking in areas that haven’t been checked yet.
On Aug. 21, Adventures with Purpose found a car they believed belonged to Rodi upside down 14 feet down in Prosser Lake. A body believe to be Rodni was found inside.
The body was confirmed by the coroner to be Rodni days later.
Family mourns loss of Rodni
After authorities from Placer and Nevada counties announced they “believe” Rodni’s body was found, the family of the teenager issued a statement thanking those who helped in the search to find her.
“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…We have not had to look for helpers, as you have all come to our rescue in full force. We are forever indebted to you,” the Rodni-Nieman family said.
