California authorities believe that the body found in a vehicle submerged in a reservoir is that of missing teenager Kiely Rodni, the Placer County Sheriff’s Office said at a press conference Monday.
Earlier, authorities had confirmed the body was found in a vehicle that matches the description of the SUV that Rodni was driving, authorities told ABC News on Monday. The sheriff’s office said it expects to have an official confirmation that the body belongs to Rodni soon
Rodni, 16, was last seen on Aug. 6 around 12:30 a.m. local time near the Prosser Family Campground in the small town of Truckee, California, some 20 miles north of Lake Tahoe.
She was at a party with upward of 300 people when she vanished along with her vehicle, a silver 2013 Honda CRV with California license plates and a sticker of a ram below the rear wiper blade, according to the Placer County Sheriff’s Office, which had led the search and investigation.
Kiely Rodni’s car is pictured in an image posted by the Placer County Sheriff’s Office on their Facebook account. The vehicle has a ram sticker right below the rear wiper blade. Rodni disappeared from a campground near Lake Tahoe in the early morning hours of Aug. 6, 2022.
Placer County Sheriff’s Office/Facebook
The vehicle, which was pulled from the water overnight, matches the description of Rodni’s SUV, a spokesperson for the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office, which is assisting in the investigation, confirmed to ABC News.
Authorities are expected to hold a news conference at 11 a.m. local time. Rodni’s family declined comment on the investigation pending communication from authorities, according to a statement provided to Sacramento ABC affiliate KXTV.
Rodni’s cellphone had been out of service since she went missing.
“Her cellphone went dead and became virtually untraceable shortly after,” Angela Musallam, public information officer for the Placer County Sheriff’s Office, told ABC News during an interview that aired Aug. 9 on “Good Morning America.”
Last week, authorities said they were conducting sex offender compliance sweeps as part of their search for Rodni.
Kiely Rodni is pictured in an image posted by the Placer County Office on their Twitter account. The Placer County Sheriff’s Department is treating the case of Rodni, 16, as a potential abduction after she disappeared from a campground near Lake Tahoe early Saturday morning.
Placer County Sheriff’s Office/Twitter
Rodni’s mother, Lindsey Rodni-Nieman, told “Good Morning America during an interview” on Aug. 8 that the last text message she received from her daughter said she was planning to leave the party in about 45 minutes and would be coming “straight home.”
Following her disappearance, Rodni was added to the FBI’s missing persons database.
Kiely Rodni is pictured in an image posted by the Placer County Sheriff’s Office on their Facebook account. Rodni disappeared from a campground in Northern California, near Lake Tahoe, in the early morning hours of Aug. 6, 2022.
Placer County Sheriff’s Office/Facebook
ABC News’ Nadine El-Bawab, Marilyn Heck, Alex Stone and Morgan Winsor contributed to this report.