Found Deceased CA - Kiely Rodni Missing From Party Near Prosser Family Campground in Truckee #6

[wary]

Would you like to help research? My understanding is AWP's small case group is too small and also too selective to provide any statistical information. Someone earlier had said they usually wouldn't work on a case suspected of foul play but I might have that wrong. It was unusual for them to work on a case like this one though with an active LE investigation from what I understand.

If you committed a crime and you have both a car and a body that can be easily rolled into a murky lake where evidence will quickly be compromised and they might never be found, it's not a stretch to put it there.

On the other hand, would someone wanting to hide a body even have thought that rolling a car into 18 or 19 feet of water of water would be successful?

 

[wary]

Im.hoping this post is allowed, but I've read several reports about the autopsy confirming the identity of keiley rodni, however they are not stating a cause of death...in a drowning isn't presence of water in the lungs enough to state drowning as the cause of death? I don't understand why that wouldn't be easy to check for and I figured that would be one of the first things they looked at given the circumstances..if there was water found in the lungs why wouldn't drowning be reported to the public ... even to end all the speculation of foul play and help give the family some peace...by this point I feel they know if she drown or not...maybe not what led to her drowning but at least if she was alive when she went in the water.... is it common for them to wait to give a cause of death if it is clearly an accident?

It’s extremely common to hold reporting until the toxicology results are back.

MOO

 

[getthefax]

With the police tape on the beach, I wonder if they found any evidence of an impact there if the car did roll into the water. Shards of glass from that window? It seemed odd they would tape that area off so long after she disappeared.

SBBM

Agree! The tape on the beach may have been to capture footprints/tracks, but too bad it was so long after finding her car. Maybe they just weren’t looking exactly there at that time. I hope it means the evidence there, if any, is still good.

 

[RANCH]

Thank you. I thought maybe I was unaware of this being a common occurrence

While I feel that this case is most likely an accident I think it's too early to say for sure that no foul play was involved in this case because of personal experience in the case mentioned above. I knew the victim and even drove his car.

I'm going to wait on the MAIT team to do their job and then we will know for sure. JMO.

 

[youarentsilly]

Interesting comment. I guess its good that they are asking the question.

""How did we not find it when we were searching? The lake was extensively searched with sight, sonar, with an ROV [remotely operated vehicle]. We had diver, we had swimmers," Brown said. "I think that’s part of what we’re going to have to go back to do and debrief... "

SUV pulled from lake after YouTube channel says they found Kiely Rodni

Within a day of a popular search-and-rescue YouTube channel arriving in Tahoe to find Kiely Rodni, an SUV has been dredged from Prosser Lake near where the teen was last seen.

www.sfgate.com

 

[Truckeeite]

On the other hand, would someone wanting to hide a body even have thought that rolling a car into 18 or 19 feet of water of water would be successful?

That's of course only one possible scenario. Someone other than her could have been driving the car and escaped. It's unlikely but it's possible until it's ruled out.

Anyone who has learned what we've learned the past couple weeks about cars disappearing under water would know what we all now know about how the car keeps moving underwater, how hard they are to find etc. And the lake is opaque. They couldn't see the car in 14 feet of water.

To be clear, I agree with many people here that a simple accident ATP is the highest probability. But until other possibilities are ruled out, this is not a closed case.

 

[getthefax]

Stupendous comunique, @RedHaus!!
Could you also write a few briefs for my clients hearings? lol
I am very grateful for your time. I’m sick of weasel word reporting and online editing when sites are presented with a threat of libel or do not honor off the record comments by sliding in unsubstantiated statements.
Thank you so much!

Hear, hear! Super appreciate your follow up @RedHaus.

 

[Bhodie]

I do not know the laws in CA but I have heard that the parents can withhold the autopsy results. I don't know if that pertains to if a crime was committed or if that information can be held from the public. Let's say there is no crime the family has been through a lot and I would understand if they wanted everything to remain private and the best the public can do is respect their privacy and let them grieve in peace. I can only imagine this has been an overwhelming time in their lives and they just probably want some semblance of peace.

 

[SteveP]

On the other hand, would someone wanting to hide a body even have thought that rolling a car into 18 or 19 feet of water of water would be successful?

That was my thought as well. If you are going to try to ditch a car and body in water, you better hope you get it right the first time, If it sinks in silt with half of the vehicle still exposed, you are probably in deep trouble. Statistically, it probably would be safer to drive it to a busy parking lot and walk away. JMO

 

[franker]

That was my thought as well. If you are going to try to ditch a car and body in water, you better hope you get it right the first time, If it sinks in silt with half of the vehicle still exposed, you are probably in deep trouble. JMO

Exactly! And how would anyone (not an expert) know how deep the lake was several feet offshore?

I have been around lakes a lot during my life and If I was ever in a position of having to push a vehicle into one of them and hoping that it sank? Don't think so.

 

[getthefax]

While I feel that this case is most likely an accident I think it's too early to say for sure that no foul play was involved in this case because of personal experience in the case mentioned above. I knew the victim and even drove his car.

I'm going to wait on the MAIT team to do their job and then we will know for sure. JMO.

I am so sorry you lost someone you knew that way. Very tragic, and adds so much more hurt that it turned out to be a homicide. Very hard. I am sorry.

 

[CharlestonGal]

Disposing of any kind of evidence into water is a common practice. Is it normally easy to put a car into the water with a person? maybe not. In this case, IF foul play happened, it was easy to put it in the water. It was a moonless night with no witnesses coming forward in a remote area with extremely murky water.

Let's be clear I am NOT saying this is what happened. It's probably a high probability that this was a simple tragic accident.

But for the sake of thinking it through, let's do a hypothetical. Let's say some sketchy person possibly not even known to a hypothetical woman came upon her car with her in it and did some horrible crime. Now they have a body and a car with DNA evidence all over it and with DNA testing now so sophisticated that they can identify perps through their relatives. But they also have a murky lake a few hundred feet away where both can conveniently disappear. Even if found later, the evidence will be compromised.

Honestly, we could do hypotheticals all day long. But, in my opinion, those hypotheticals should be at least loosely tied to the facts. Law enforcement has stated, repeatedly, that this is a missing persons case and there is NO evidence of an abduction. They have now stated it is a traffic fatality investigation being conducted by the California Highway Patrol. A traffic fatality. That is a long, long way from a homicide investigation. IMO

Autopsy confirms Kiely Rodni’s remains found in car at Prosser Creek Reservoir

Kiely Rodni has been officially identified as the person whose body was found along with her car at Prosser Creek Reservoir.

www.kcra.com

 

[getthefax]

Exactly! And how would anyone (not an expert) know how deep the lake was several feet offshore?

I have been around lakes a lot during my life and If I was ever in a position of having to push a vehicle into one of them and hoping that it sank? Don't think so.

I also think if this was a death caused by someone else, it may have also been an “accident” so to speak—in other words, MOO, we are not likely dealing with a homicidal maniac who set out to kill and hide the evidence. They would have run a huge risk of getting caught moving that car etc. If there was another person involved, it likely involved supplying booze or drugs, etc. at a random party, *possibly* with the intent to commit a sex assault. and then an accidental death/hide evidence scenario… and not a mission in the part of a perpetrator to show up at a huge party and commit a murder. MOO. Also, MoO, less plausible than straightforward accident.

So it really seems most likely to me (not positive, but most likely) that she accidentally drove there into the water . Can’t rule anything out because -dang! -that is why we are all here, cases take twists and turns all the time. But I’m pretty comfortable with traffic accident.

Praying for the least painful revelations on cause and manner for this family.

Edited by me because I get to typing too fast and make typos

 

[Truckeeite]

That was my thought as well. If you are going to try to ditch a car and body in water, you better hope you get it right the first time, If it sinks in silt with half of the vehicle still exposed, you are probably in deep trouble. Statistically, it probably would have been safer to drive it to a busy parking lot and walk away. JMO

definitely true. OTOH you've got a wide open hill for plenty of momentum. And I don't know about anyone else, there's been a tremendous education for me the past two weeks. How cars move in water. How they float first with the current before settling. It was only in 14 feet of water yet it would possibly never have been found if AWP didn't show up.

 

[Bhodie]

That was my thought as well. If you are going to try to ditch a car and body in water, you better hope you get it right the first time, If it sinks in silt with half of the vehicle still exposed, you are probably in deep trouble. Statistically, it probably would have been safer to drive it to a busy parking lot and walk away. JMO

You are thinking with a rational mind. Sometimes when bad things happen, intended or otherwise, people do irrational things. And if it was not premeditated, well then it's more of a beat-the-clock, destroy the evidence and hope no one finds out you were anywhere near the location or person.

 

[Truckeeite]

Honestly, we could do hypotheticals all day long. But, in my opinion, those hypotheticals should be at least loosely tied to the facts. Law enforcement has stated, repeatedly, that this is a missing persons case and there is NO evidence of an abduction. They have now stated it is a traffic fatality investigation being conducted by the California Highway Patrol. A traffic fatality. That is a long, long way from a homicide investigation. IMO

Autopsy confirms Kiely Rodni’s remains found in car at Prosser Creek Reservoir

Kiely Rodni has been officially identified as the person whose body was found along with her car at Prosser Creek Reservoir.

www.kcra.com

Again, the most likely scenario ATP is a simple accident. We have a participant on this thread who is personally familiar with a case investigated by the same CHP unit that was thought to be an accident and turned out to be a murder. It is my hope for the safety of my community that LE will do whatever it takes to figure out what happened to her so that - accident or not - it doesn't happen again.

 

[LifeLearner]

Agreed. An unrestrained (or passenger who had undone their restraints), would naturally arrive at the back of the car as it nosed over into a vertical position. It is no surprise such a passenger would wind up in the tail of the car. IMO

If she were conscious, that would be where to find the last of the air...

 

[Truckeeite]

You are thinking with a rational mind. Sometimes when bad things happen, intended or otherwise, people do irrational things. And if it was not premeditated, well then it's more of a beat-the-clock, destroy the evidence and hope no one finds out you were anywhere near the location or person.

which could also be even if the person didn't intentionally cause harm, like if there was an overdose or alcohol poisoning or whatever and they panicked

 

[EDGE1124]

Yes as my neighbor said, kids have been partying in that location for decades. Yet AFAIK this is the first tragedy like this. Kids here grow up in the outdoors. She was going camping the next day. She's familiar with the area. The beach looks totally unlike the dirt roads to take home. The water was not so much higher that there wasn't a substantial beach AFAIK.

I still am concerned that she might not have put herself in the water. From the beginning, I said if she's in the water she might not have put herself there. It's a common way to dispose of evidence.

- LE has not released a cause of death
- LE has not declared the case closed. It is an active investigation.
- LE has not ruled out foul play
- LE has not declared this a simple tragic accident

Anything is possible these days but if the timeline is true and KR did call her friend at 12:30am or even a few minutes before that and her phone last pinged at 12:33am, then it seems very unlikely someone was able to commit a murder and then dispose of her inside the vehicle and into the water in 3 to 6 minutes unless it was a quick gunshot which then would make no sense at all.

 

[ChiCubs2016]

Disposing of any kind of evidence into water is a common practice. Is it normally easy to put a car into the water with a person? maybe not. In this case, IF foul play happened, it was easy to put it in the water. It was a moonless night with no witnesses coming forward in a remote area with extremely murky water.

Let's be clear I am NOT saying this is what happened. It's probably a high probability that this was a simple tragic accident.

But for the sake of thinking it through, let's do a hypothetical. Let's say some sketchy person possibly not even known to a hypothetical woman came upon her car with her in it and did some horrible crime. Now they have a body and a car with DNA evidence all over it and with DNA testing now so sophisticated that they can identify perps through their relatives. But they also have a murky lake a few hundred feet away where both can conveniently disappear. Even if found later, the evidence will be compromised.

This is not exactly correct. DNA can survive being in water. Look at Libby Squire. She was raped/murdered and placed in a river on 2/1/2019 and after traveling some distance she was found by fisherman on 3/20/2019. They was sufficient DNA to match the suspect. MOO
Edit to add- I believe this was a tragic accident.