Dog the Bounty Hunter claims he’s been sent slew of tips about Kiely Rodni as fans urge him to join search

Dog the Bounty Hunter has claimed that he has been sent a slew of tips about the disappearance of Kiely Rodni – almost one year after he controversially waded into the investigation around Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie.

The reality TV star, whose real name is Duane Chapman, has been receiving vague clues from some tipsters while fans are also emailing him urging him to get involved in the search for the missing teen, TMZ reported.

But – despite the purported demand – his rep told the outlet that he will not get involved unless he is personally invited to do so either by Kiely’s family or by law enforcement or if it reaches a point where 21 days has passed since the teen was declared missing.

The 21-day timescale is when Dog claims that missing persons cases typically go cold.

Thursday marks the 13th day of the search for Kiely, who vanished without a trace from the Prosser Family Campground in Truckee, California.

Kiely had gone to a party of around 200 to 300 teenagers and young adults at the campground on the night of 5 August.

She was last seen at around 12.30am on 6 August at the site – a hotspot for local teen gatherings – and her phone last pinged around that time close to Prosser Lake, which runs around the site. Kiely’s car – a silver 2013 Honda CRV – is also still missing.

The teenager’s mother Lindsey Rodni-Nieman told The Independent last week that her daughter sent her a final text message at 11.30pm saying that she would be leaving the party in around 45 minutes. The drive home takes around 25 to 30 minutes.

Kiely’s friend Samantha Smith told The Independent that she last spoke to Kiely on the phone at around 12.30am.

She had been planning to get a ride home from the party with Kiely but there was a change in plans because she said Kiely had been drinking and so was not in a position to drive. Instead, the two friends told each other “love you, good night, get home safe,” she said.

In the almost two weeks since a missing persons report was filed on 6 August, hundreds of law enforcement personnel from multiple agencies have combed through the area looking for the teen, with searches on the ground, in the air and dive teams in the waterways.

Despite the extensive search efforts, investigators have found no clues as to her whereabouts.

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The reported calls for Dog, who was convicted of murder back in 1976, to get involved in the case come as officials have started scaling back the search for the teen.

The TV star’s reluctance to get involved comes after he faced a backlash when he famously launched his own search for answers following the disappearance of Petito.

Young couple Petito, 22, and Laundrie, 23, set off on a once-in-a-lifetime cross-country trip in their campervan back in July 2021 and were documenting their travels on YouTube.

On 1 September, Laundrie returned to his parents’ home in Florida alone in the van – with no sign of his girlfriend.

After Petito’s parents reported her missing on 11 September, Laundrie went on the run.

His family told police that he was heading into the Carlton Reserve nature area close to their home.

Days later – on 19 September – Petito’s remains were found in a Wyoming national park with her autopsy confirming that she had been strangled to death.

The disappearance of Laundrie and discovery of Petito’s remains sparked a huge manhunt to track down the 23-year-old boyfriend and the case made international headlines.

Days after Petito’s remains were found, Dog waded into the case and announced he was launching his own search to find Laundrie.

In a controversial move, he showed up on the doorstep of Laundrie’s sister’s home on 25 September and the family called the police.

Over the next few weeks, he continued his high-profile search for Laundrie – documenting the saga on social media in a move that even his own daughter Cecily Chapman condemned as a “publicity stunt”.

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The reality star’s intentions in the search were called into question once again when reports emerged that he had pitched a TV show about his venture to a cable channel.

While law enforcement focused much of the search on the Carlton Reserve – where Laundrie’s remains were ultimately found – Dog honed in on a campsite where the 23-year-old had gone with his family days before his disappearance.

Dog said he believed Laundrie had never left the campsite and boasted about closing in on the fugitive.

In one bizarre incident, he paraded a Monster Energy can on his social media page – suggesting it was left behind by Laundrie and that the net was closing in on him.

But Dog was wrong.

On 20 October – almost one month after he launched his own investigation – investigators discovered Laundrie’s remains miles away inside the Carlton Reserve.

He died by suicide from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head and left behind a notebook where he confessed to murdering his girlfriend.

Kiely’s family are remaining hopeful that the 16-year-old will be found safe soon.

Her mother told The Independent she will “never give up hope” of finding her daughter as investigators scale back the search.

“I don’t think I will ever give up hope that she’ll come back safely back to us,” she said.

“The mind reels. That doesn’t stop. But I do have people coming forward and sharing stories of their loved ones who went missing and then came back days, weeks and months later.”

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California officials have so far received more than 1,100 tips but have still been unable to piece together any of her movements after around 12.30am on 6 August.

Investigators shared a new photo of Kiely’s vehicle on Monday, detailing hat it has a ram sticker below the rear wiper blade and Californian license plate number 8YUR127. Members of the public are urged to contact authorities if they spot a 2013 Honda CR-V with that same sticker.

On Sunday, Placer County Sheriff’s Office announced that investigators had uncovered footage of the 16-year-old at the party on the evening of 5 August.

In the footage, she is wearing a white hoodie covered in the phrase “odd future” in pink letters.

It is unclear if Kiely was still wearing or in possession of the sweatshirt when she went missing but officials are sharing the image in the hope that it could jog the memories of other partygoers.

This is the second sweatshirt the public has been alerted about in connection to the missing teenager.

Kiely also borrowed a dark hoodie with the Lana Del Rey lyrics “you don’t want to be forgotten, you just want to disappear” from someone at the party.

Surveillance footage, taken from a Truckee business about six hours before her disappearance, also shows the teenager was wearing a black spaghetti strap bodysuit, green Dickies pants with a black grommet belt and black Vans that night.

Law enforcement officials have also urged the public to keep a look out for a string of gold necklaces that Kiely is believed to have been wearing when she disappeared.

Anyone with information regarding the case is asked to call the Placer County Sheriff’s Office at 530-581-6320, and choose option 7. Tips can also be emailed to sheriff_tahoeinvesttips@placer.ca.gov and files, including images, can be uploaded to the Placer Sheriff’s Office here.