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

[Truckeeite]

Walking just slightly down the road, you can see how it narrows. I forgot to bring a tape measure so used my shoes to get an approximate width. Only about 9 feet wide where those 2 trees are.

Note the road is actually much bumpier and uneven than it appears in these non 3D photos.

Also note the road she should have driven to get out to this asphalt is in the forest with trees. The nighttime video the other direction shows heading toward wide open terrain that is obviously toward the lake.

 

[OldCop]

Okay guys. I don't want to drive on the rough road again for the sake of my car. So I'm going to post a few shots to give more context to the road she should have driven home.

Here is the sign where the dirt "road" breaks off from the asphalt. As mentioned before, these "roads" are not recommended for cars.

I drive in national/state forests a lot. I think it is interesting that it says not recommended as opposed to 4wd recommended or no motorized vehicles. It shows a sedan and it’s like they’re saying, “It is not recommended that you drive a sedan/low riding vehicle here, but if you insist, don’t blame us”.
You know kids……

 

[SMK777]

Okay guys. I don't want to drive on the rough road again for the sake of my car. So I'm going to post a few shots to give more context to the road she should have driven home.

Here is the sign where the dirt "road" breaks off from the asphalt. As mentioned before, these "roads" are not recommended for cars.

Wow, looks much rougher than I had imagined. In fact, it doesn’t look like a dirt road at all. This is what I envision as a dirt road:

 

[gliving]

Were the airbags deployed? tia

 

[OldCop]

Are there "No Swimming" signs posted in most of the areas, that you know of? Just curious (and yes, I know she was not swimming) because those steep dropoffs could really harm even an experienced swimmer, unfamiliar with the location. Most "beaches" have warnings like crazy all over the place with designated swimming areas.

 

[wary]

Were the airbags deployed? tia

To the best of my knowledge, no one has told us. I think it falls into the same category as: “what gear was the vehicle in?” That is a question LE refused to answer.

 

[RedHaus]

All bets are off when drunk though as for using the equipment you have though, I agree. But I would wonder how she made it to the beach without decent lights? Seems she would have veered off the road/trail and there hasn't been any indication she did? But maybe she did at some point? Is there any place you could turn around? Maybe that is how she became disoriented?

RS&BBM
@Beekarina, you jostled an old thought that has been swimming around in my mind. I know others have mentioned part of the CHP investigation will of course include identifying what GEAR KR's car was in when it was found.

Neither Neutral or Drive could alone differentiate between an accident or foul play (or some hybrid, like Chappaquiddick), IMO. But Reverse, to me, could more fully support an accident. So hear me out - and please hold back the tomatoes.

What if KR had made that wrong right turn we see in the night video. She persevered down to that precipice point where the videographer stopped driving and walked down. When KR realized the route was wrong, maybe she tried to navigate a turn around - a three point turn kind of thing. But something went wrong with her execution (new driver... possible intoxication). Maybe she got herself facing up the road to retreat, but was still in Reverse. Hit the throttle and then...

Of course, unless the CHP report is public (not sure in case of a minor fatality), we may never know the GEAR detail...

All IMO.

ETA: serendipity and a good segue, @wary!

 

[SMK777]

Were the airbags deployed? tia

Some have said it looks like the driver’s side airbag is deployed here, but we have no official word:

208-ED3-B5-E14-E-4-AB5-8060-7832-E8-A5-B8-D6 hosted at ImgBB

Image 208-ED3-B5-E14-E-4-AB5-8060-7832-E8-A5-B8-D6 in SM Kovalinsky's images album

ibb.co

 

[SMK777]

Walking just slightly down the road, you can see how it narrows. I forgot to bring a tape measure so used my shoes to get an approximate width. Only about 9 feet wide where those 2 trees are.

Note the road is actually much bumpier and uneven than it appears in these non 3D photos.

Also note the road she should have driven to get out to this asphalt is in the forest with trees. The nighttime video the other direction shows heading toward wide open terrain that is obviously toward the lake.

These look more like what I pictured.

 

[getthefax]

IMO, they look more like just dirt roads. Do you happen to have a link that shows they are actually ATV trail

I have been studying a ton of maps lately—just posted this in the maps/media thread (I’m gonna try to comb through and post the tools we have here so folks can actually find all the helpful tools that quickly get buried in the discussion threads. )

The reservoir is definitely a big ATV/OHV use area, with concomitant pitfalls (less supervision, fewer requirements for vehicles, etc.).

Link to US Forestry Map of Prosser Creek Reservoir area

 

[SpideySense]

That FB night-time video is really telling, particularly the video of the incline from the beach crest down to the water. My personal theory is that she went to stash their booze, but that’s solely based on conjecture she had some in her car and what I did as a teen (booze was hard to get and a precious commodity you didn’t want others drinking). Based on the drone video, Kiely’s probable location appears to be within eye-shot of the lower party location down in the saddle between the “island” and the shore.

If you don’t want to draw attention to yourself and the goodies you might be stashing for the night, you’d probably turn off your headlights. She may have driven down there, crested the shoreline onto that steep slope to be out of sight, turned off her headlights and put it into “park.” She may have even gotten out and started to get things out of her car. But the FB video shows that slope wasn’t sand, it was “fine dirt” likely silt. And it had rained recently and could have been very slick.

As much as I now know about sinking vehicles, if my car started to slip into a reservoir either while I was still inside or just outside, I don’t know that my first thought wouldn’t be trying to save my car. A 16 yo, that might be her only thought. She may have even jumped back in to try to stop the slide.

The sinking truck video I posted upthread was exactly that. A parked truck slowly slipping down a slick boat ramp, and then under water in under 30 seconds. If her lights were off and the car slipped, there wouldn’t be a splash and no one would see lights coming from the water.

It could be (pure speculation based on nothing more than an idea) that the small square taped off section of the beach at the recovery site was a cluster of footprints in sediment showing someone trying to re-enter a car, digging in to stop its slide, then maybe even jumping back in to try braking or turning the car on to reverse out. A 16 yo probably wouldn’t think she was risking her life for her car until it was too late.

MOO

 

[Truckeeite]

Some have said it looks like the driver’s side airbag is deployed here, but we have no official word:

208-ED3-B5-E14-E-4-AB5-8060-7832-E8-A5-B8-D6 hosted at ImgBB

Image 208-ED3-B5-E14-E-4-AB5-8060-7832-E8-A5-B8-D6 in SM Kovalinsky's images album

ibb.co

Wow weird. From the position of the diver on the right (which looks very similar to the NY Post side view photo), it looks like this photo may have been taken almost at the same time. But from the side view nothing was apparent around the driver seat like this.

 

[Curiosa20]

No, that's the water height which translated into 25 feet on the shore. The sheriff explained it.

The measurements would be from waters edge. As it appears now or last week, the steep drop off and edge of beach would account for at least half the approximated 25 feet difference, as far as I can tell. There’s a good calibrated drawing showing the calculated distances on the ground back a few threads ago.
It only takes 2-3 feet of water to lose control and be swept off traction or the ground. I, too, have wondered if she tried a hard right turn and between the loss of traction and increasing water depth, maybe the car gently toppled over to the left, knocking the mirror off and denting the door.

 

[SpideySense]

I have been studying a ton of maps lately—just posted this in the maps/media thread (I’m gonna try to comb through and post the tools we have here so folks can actually find all the helpful tools that quickly get buried in the discussion threads. )

The reservoir is definitely a big ATV/OHV use area, with concomitant pitfalls (less supervision, fewer requirements for vehicles, etc.).

Link to US Forestry Map of Prosser Creek Reservoir area

Thank you!

 

[SquirrelNutkin]

I don't really even want to go back in the daytime because it's hard on my car. Hoping to keep my car running another 10 years at least. It was a bunch of money to replace the shocks this year and not looking to do it again anytime soon.

Not faulting the videographer at all. Her video is a significant contribution and very brave to go down there in the dark. Obviously she knew it was the beach because she got out of the car. How did she know that? because it was obvious as the driver of the car.

We have no footage of how it looks with headlights starting to drive down the beach. Based on the rest of the video, I still believe it would have been obvious.

It was obvious that it was a beach to her because she stated she went down there earlier in the daytime.

 

[Truckeeite]

I have been studying a ton of maps lately—just posted this in the maps/media thread (I’m gonna try to comb through and post the tools we have here so folks can actually find all the helpful tools that quickly get buried in the discussion threads. )

The reservoir is definitely a big ATV/OHV use area, with concomitant pitfalls (less supervision, fewer requirements for vehicles, etc.).

Link to US Forestry Map of Prosser Creek Reservoir area

On this map if I'm reading it right, they are classifying the dirt "road" that I photographed today as a "trail" open to vehicles 50 inches wide or less.

Not that most people read the maps and follow rules in that area. It does appear her vehicle was wider than the 50" allowed: Used 2013 Honda CR-V Specs & Features | Edmunds

 

[Beekarina]

OK, I've been rewatching videos. Agree the woman who did the night drove seems exceptionally kind. The mom in me was really wishing SHE had brought along a friend for the ride though.

I feel as though it would have been too dark for even a teenager with excellent vision to have navigated those roads/trails in basically inky darkness without headlights. It is possible she had poor headlights, or one burned out.

I am puzzled how she made it down with no evidence of taking out some sage brush IF she was "totally effed up", as witnesses suggested/alleged? I still have questions about this, but obviously tox will sort that out. I do think she drank, etc just question the extent.

Next thought:

When we have asked why no one saw her: IF they saw her, they likely would have seen her make 2 wrong turns, since the turns are so close together. (Unless they were beating on their own car and just got out of dodge.) This would leave anyone who DID see Kiely also heading down to the water with her...i.e. making the same set of turns.

Which made me want to go look at the taped off section again. When you pull up a video, it is not actually that small. In fact, it looks about the size of at least one, if not two SUVs. (I'm not theorizing two were parked together. But I am curious if Kiely was parked in or near the taped off spot?)

Here is a link to video of the retrieval of her SUV from KCRA news station. Screenshots are towards the 12-13 minute mark.

I also noticed circles--recalling someone earlier in discussion mentioned possibility of kids doing donuts. I think these look more like ATV tracks, but I marked with stars the approximate locations.

 

[PiperAria]

What if KR had made that wrong right turn we see in the night video. She persevered down to that precipice point where the videographer stopped driving and walked down. When KR realized the route was wrong, maybe she tried to navigate a turn around - a three point turn kind of thing. But something went wrong with her execution (new driver... possible intoxication). Maybe she got herself facing up the road to retreat, but was still in Reverse. Hit the throttle and then…

rsbm and all moo

I had a somewhat similar and nightmarish thought.
It is easy (at least for me) when slightly panicking, even when sober, to somehow think I put a vehicle in one gear and have it turn out I did not. Example: stuck in snow/ice and trying to maneuver out alternating between first and reverse, getting stressed, getting more stuck because I swore I had put it in reverse but had a brain slip and after alternating back and forth so many times, had not.

I have not driven on this particular beach, and do not know the conditions on this particular night. However, I do know how easy it is to get stuck in a non-4WD SUV on dirt roads, pebble roads, sand, silt…(we’ve had some adventures with that).
My absolute nightmare would be getting stuck, trying to maneuver out, absentmindedly thinking I had put the vehicle in reverse and flooring the gas only to realize too late it was going forward…and over the edge I go.

I really don’t know what to say. I hate to say “I hope she just wasn’t aware what was happening” because that sounds just as terrifying as knowing. The whole thing breaks my heart.

I think it’s too soon to tell anything at all. I briefly worked with collision reconstruction pretty long ago, and know that the really experienced can do wonders, so I’m anxiously awaiting any information they provide
MOO

 

[Beekarina]

Hmm...on the getting stuck theory: could there be evidence of another vehicle trying to tow her out and failing? I would think vehicles with that capability are a popular choice.

Speculation ONLY, and connected ONLY to the theory of her getting stuck.

 

[SteveP]

Some have said it looks like the driver’s side airbag is deployed here, but we have no official word:

208-ED3-B5-E14-E-4-AB5-8060-7832-E8-A5-B8-D6 hosted at ImgBB

Image 208-ED3-B5-E14-E-4-AB5-8060-7832-E8-A5-B8-D6 in SM Kovalinsky's images album

ibb.co

As there is no obvious airbag visible from the side in other pictures of the vehicle recovery, I wonder if perhaps the front view pic that appears to possibly show a deployed airbag may actually be showing the reflection of a partially shattered windshield on the driver's side. There did appear to perhaps be windshield damage on the driver's side corner in other pics. JMO