Kiely Rodni case: Search for missing Tahoe girl scaled back as partygoers REFUSE to cooperate with cops
TRUCKEE, CALIFORNIA: Authorities are struggling to find significant clues in the mysterious disappearance of sixteen-year-old Kiely Rodni that would lead them closer to solving the investigation. Since Rodni's disappearance, many things have come forward. The 16-year-old was last seen just after midnight on August 6, near Prosser Family Campground in Truckee, where she attended an end-of-school party. However, many partygoers who were with Rodni during the night she disappeared have refused to cooperate with investigators.
Investigators announced that they are scaling back the search to find her missing daughter. According to the California authorities, among 200 to 300 attendees nobody has come forward to give their statement saying they saw Kiely because they fear that they could get charged over “illegal activity” and then kicked out of college. “People aren’t talking to us,” Placer County Sheriff’s Office public information officer Angela Musallam told The New York Post Thursday, August 18, adding that although some have come forward many are staying silent. According to a report by the Independent, now 13 days on, officials said the case will be transitioning into a more “background, investigative” phase from next week.
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“A lot of people from the party may be in college or maybe just about to start college and they’re afraid they will ruin their future if they say something,” Musallam said. “Just tell us what you know. Her family has suffered enough,” she pleaded. Despite the fact that police have photos of Kiely at the party, not a single partygoer has come forward to say they saw Kiely leave. According to Musallam, only a few of the paths leading out of the party site were equipped with cameras.
The department has constantly told community members that they will turn a blind eye to the illegal activities in order to find the teen. “While we don’t condone that illegal activity, for the purposes of this search and investigation, that is not our priority. We don’t want to take partygoers to jail for drugs or underage drinking — we want to find Kiely,” Musallam said, emphasizing cops will keep tips anonymous.
Musallam believes that the teens might know where Rodni went after the party. Authorities still can’t find the silver Honda CRV she drove to the party. “We ask people who know something, do you want this to weigh on your conscience?” Musallam said. “You will have to live for the rest of your life knowing a family won’t have closure about where their daughter."
The sheriff's office is also looking into online reports that older men at the party were possibly handing out drugs. “I can’t talk about how many older guys were at the party,” Musallam said. “But I can say the majority of partygoers were minors and young adults. Authority's main focus is to get information from the partygoers as they believe it is not possible that Rodni just disappeared. “All scenarios are still on the table because we don’t know what happened to Kiely,” Musallam said.
Many volunteers have come forward in search of Rodni. Lisa Petrucci's, 58, kids all went to Forest Charter School, where Kiely recently graduated from. “Every year they have that party,” Petrucci said. “My daughter graduated last year and she did it. Kids from other towns nearby come to the party. “They get together and have a good time before going off to college.” All the searchers are hopeful that Rodni will turn up.