A California teen is missing after a massive party over the weekend — and police fear the worst.
According to the Placer County Sheriff’s Office, over 100 “juveniles and young adults” gathered for a party near the Prosser Family Campground in Truckee, California on Friday night, August 5. Other sources put the number well over 200 teens! It was in this midst of this chaotic gathering that a 16-year-old girl went missing.
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Kiely Rodni texted her mother just after midnight to tell her she was coming home. But she never showed. Soon after Lindsey Rodni-Nieman contacted the police. She told local news outlet ABC7:
“I called her, and sent her texts, too, and she didn’t answer, and that’s when I knew something was wrong.”
She added a plea:
“For anybody who was there, we’re just begging, begging for you to please come forward and share your story.”
Kiely’s pal Sami Smith believes she was the last person to see her friend, in the wee hours of the morning on Saturday, August 6. She told ABC7 there was no reason to think she had chosen to run away:
“She was having a fun time at the party, just being a teenager.”
As for the party itself, which was in a wooded area about 17 miles north of Lake Tahoe, Sami is convinced she and Kiely were being safe. She attested:
“Everything she drank I drank out of, and there was nothing that seemed off about her.”
Sami added in disbelief:
“I can’t believe it. There has to have been one person — there were people sitting in cars, there were people everywhere around this place.”
Kiely now hasn’t been heard from in over 80 hours as of this writing. Her car, a silver Honda SUV — CA license plate 8YUR127 — is also missing. The vehicle being gone has police especially concerned; they’re treating the disappearance as an abduction.
The FBI is even getting involved as the search area is being widened. The Placer County Sheriff’s Office told KCRA after covering the area in a helicopter search on Monday:
“Despite the numerous resources we have utilized, Kiely and her vehicle are still missing. We are currently coordinating with the California Highway Patrol, Truckee Police, FBI, and the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office as we continue our search for Kiely.”
Spokeswoman Angela Musallam declared to ABC7:
“We have no plans to leave any stone unturned until we get Kiely home.”
Kiely is described as white, 5′ 7″, about 118 lbs. with blonde hair and hazel eyes. She has a nose ring as well as other piercings. She was last seen wearing a black tank top and Dickies slacks.
The family has set up a website called FindKiely.com, as well as GoFundMe. A special hotline has been set up for any information at (530) 581-6320. Callers can press option 7 to leave any info — anonymously if they prefer.
It sounds like everyone is doing what they can. We hope this search ends well.
[Image via Placer County Sheriff’s Office.]
