SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS RADIO) – Friends and family of a missing Tahoe teenager on Monday announced a $50,000 reward for information leading to her whereabouts.
Kiely Rodni, 16, has not been seen after a large party at a campground off State Route 89 in Truckee over the weekend. Authorities said the gathering included an estimated 200-300 "juveniles and young adults" from across the Tahoe area, including Truckee, Reno, Sparks and Auburn.
Investigators are treating the disappearance as an abduction.
Anna Larson – whose daughter, Mags, is Kiely's best friend and accompanied her to the party – told KCBS Radio the grassroots effort to find the teenager includes "an army of volunteers" working behind the scenes to find her. "Everybody's coming," Larson said in a phone interview on Monday afternoon. "The parents, children, people from out of town that are a little familiar with how to organize things and deal with this sort of situation."
Along with law enforcement, the group is looking on Tahoe area trails, highways and popular spots in the area.
"Not only that my dear friend's daughter and my daughter's best friend is missing, but just a daughter (and) young woman in our community," Larson said, fighting back tears. "It's the kind of story you hear and you…know that horrific things happen and you just hope to never be touched by them. Now here we are."
Larson described Rodni as "outgoing, very smart" and "just a really dynamic young lady."
Sami Smith, an 18-year-old Truckee High School graduate, is "the head coordinate and organizer" of the effort to help find Rodni – one that's launched a website and social media accounts using the hashtag #FindKiely.
She told KCBS Radio that Rodni already graduated from Forest Charter School in Nevada City, having enough credits to get her diploma early. "We are just doing everything we can to get this word out as far as possible so that maybe somebody or anybody sees Kiely and we can find her," she said.
Smith was the last person to speak with the 16-year-old last Saturday morning.
"I was in a car going home…(and) she called me from the party," Smith described, saying Rodni was offering her a ride home. "After that, nobody is reported to have any contact with her or has seen her."
That was early Saturday at about 12:30 a.m.
She and her vehicle – a silver 2013 Honda CRV - have not been seen since and her phone "has been unreachable," according to investigators. The search effort has employed the use of helicopters, which authorities on Monday said are concentrating "over the Interstate 80 corridor between Donner Summit and the Nevada state line, and will continue searching around the Prosser Lake area."
There's also a GoFundMe to help offset the cost of a $50,000 reward.
"She's just such a loving and kind girl who would do anything for anyone," Smith described. "That's why I'm willing and everyone's willing to do anything and everything for her."
Multiple agencies are assisting in the search, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, California Highway Patrol, Nevada County Sheriff's Department and Placer County Sheriff's Department.
Larson also described frustrations among Rodni's family and friends that law enforcement have not yet called for an Amber Alert in the hours and days following her disappearance, being told there was not enough known about the case to do so. "I know in anything there's always someone that can tweak the rule a tiny bit to make something happen. I'm not really sure why that's not happening."
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