Kiely Rodni: Truckee police say ‘someone knows’ what happened to missing teen as cadaver dogs used in search
Police have deployed dogs, swimmers, and helicopters in search
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Northern California police don’t have any new evidence about the mysterious weekend disappearance of teen Kiely Rodni, but they believe “someone knows” what happened to the 16-year-old, even as cadaver dogs have joined the search.
“We believe that someone knows,” Nevada County Sheriff’s Office captain Sam Brown said during a press conference on Wednesday. “Someone saw her but they’re not coming forward.”
Officials said they were dismayed that their hunt for Kiely — which has now roped in multiple police departments, nearly 50 FBI agents, cadaver dogs, helicopters, search-and-rescue divers, and helicopter sweeps — still hasn’t yielded any new information.
“We do not have any new leads, and that I can tell you is very frustrating for us,” Josh Barnhart of the Placer County Sheriff’s Office said during the briefing.
Police have also made a big push to locate video evidence that would suggest more about what happened.
On Wednesday they described being in posession of clips from businesses, surveillance cameras, and Ring home security systems.
Kiely was last seen around 12.30am on 6 August near Prosser Family Campground in Truckee, where she allegedly attended a large party.
Samantha Smith, 18, told The Independent she was the last person to speak with her missing friend after midnight on Saturday.
“At 12.36am she called me … and this is the last call anybody had with her. We said ‘love you, good night. Get home safe,’ and that’s the last thing we heard of her,” Ms Smith said on Monday.
She described how earlier in the night, she and Kiely made arrangements for a ride home. Later, Ms Smith said her friend was visibly intoxicated, and wouldn’t have been able to drive herself.
“Right now we believe that it is an abduction case ... she was in no state to drive and she wouldn’t have made it far or would have crashed,” Ms Smith said.
That morning, police were alerted to Kiely’s disappearance when she failed to show up for a planned hike with friends.
The case is being treated as an abduction because Kiely’s car, a silver Honda SUV, is also unaccounted for, according to officials.