Police search for missing 16-year-old Kiely Rodni at Lake Tahoe campground
Authorities are trying to locate a 16-year-old California girl who mysteriously vanished from a campground party over the weekend.
California authorities are pleading with the dozens of attendees at a weekend high school graduation party over the weekend to come forward with any information they may have about a girl who never made it home.
Kiely Rodni, a 16-year-old who had just graduated from high school with honors, attended a party full of teens and young adults at the Prosser Family Campground in Tahoe National Forest, near the border of California and Nevada.
Police said during a Tuesday afternoon news briefing that they’ve received more than 100 tips so far, but none that have led to Rodni and none from anyone who saw her as she left the party.
"Somebody knows something about Kiely," Angela Musallam, the public information officer for the Placer County Sheriff’s Office, said during the briefing. "We are urging anybody who was at the party that evening to please come forward. We need to find Kiely."
Kiely Rodni was last seen at a rural campground near the border of California and Nevada around 12:30 a.m. Saturday, according to local authorities. (Placer County Sheriff)
She said investigators are not looking to penalize any underage partygoers who may have been using drugs or alcohol, both of which police say were likely present at the event.
"We are not investigating you," Musallam said. "We are partnering with you to obtain any information regarding Kiely."
Kiely Rodni shown in two undated photos (findkiely.com)
The high school graduation celebration at the Prosser Family Campground at the Tahoe National Forest involved mostly teens from the surrounding communities including Truckee, North Lake Tahoe and Reno – but also young people from as far away as San Francisco who are vacationing in the area, according to Sami Smith, a friend of Rodni’s who last saw the 16-year-old minutes before she disappeared.
On Tuesday, the sheriff's office shared a surveillance image that showed Rodni's outfit on the night she went missing.
Kiely Rodni's last known outfit seen hours before she went missing. (Placer County Sheriff's Office)
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Rodni’s phone last pinged about 12:33 a.m. on Aug. 6, less than 10 minutes after she last spoke with Smith — who’d spent most of the night with her.
Search teams gather to investigate Kiely Rodni's disappearance after she went missing on Aug. 6 following a party (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)
Rodni’s mother, Lindsey Rodni-Nieman, told Fox News Digital earlier this week that she received a text from her daughter around 12:15 a.m. saying she was headed home. The family lives about 10 miles away at a lodge south of Truckee.
Smith, 18, said she herself left the party at around 12:25, believing Rodni intended to spend the night camping there.
"At the point when I left, I thought she was going to stay there," Smith said. "Everybody was camping. It was late enough that she should have stayed. She’s not the type to go and drunk drive or anything."
Sami Smith, 18, a close friend of missing Truckee teen Kiely Rodni, speaks during a press conference. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)
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Kiely Rodni's mother cries during the press conference organized to give an update on the missing 16-year-old. (Fox News Digital)
She said that although they met a number of new people in two to three hours at the party, she did not think any of them were suspicious and did not notice any conspicuously older attendees.
Aerial searches involving planes and helicopters have uncovered no signs of a crash, Musallam told reporters near the end of the briefing.
She said Monday that investigators suspect a possible abduction because the teen’s SUV is also missing, but earlier Tuesday she said police were "exploring all possibilities."
Kiely Rodni was last seen after midnight on Aug. 6 at a high school party involving dozens of young people at the Prosser Family Campgrounds at Tahoe National Forest. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)
Roughly 100 law enforcement officers joined the efforts Tuesday, as well as dozens of volunteers, many who appeared to be fellow young people. Police and deputies from the surrounding counties and volunteers from as far as Marin County and San Francisco showed up to help search.
Searchers used planes, helicopters, boats, ATVs and dirt bikes. There were search dogs on hand — and concerned community members have placed missing person flyers all over Truckee and neighboring communities.
During the course of the search Tuesday, police cordoned off an area around one of the Prosser Creek Reservoir's boat ramps. Officers at the scene told Fox News Digital it was because it "was an active search area."
Search teams gather to investigate Kiely Rodni, who went missing on Aug. 6 after attending a party (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)
Rodni is described as 5-foot-7 and about 118 pounds. She has blonde hair and hazel eyes. She has a tattoo on her ribs of the number "17." She was last seen wearing green Dickie’s pants, a black tank top and jewelry, according to authorities. She has a nose ring and several other piercings.
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Anyone with information is asked to call the Placer County Sheriff’s Office’s dedicated tip line at 530-581-6320. Callers can remain anonymous.
The family is offering a $50,000 reward for Kiely’s return.
Fox News’ Ashley Papa, Jiovanni Lieggi and Sarah Rumpf contributed to this report.
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