The death of Kiely Rodni, the Northern California 16-year-old who went missing in August, was declared accidental by the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office Coroner on Thursday.
“This ruling is based on the pathologist’s finding that her death was the result of drowning and that there was no other information to suggest she was the victim of foul play,” the sheriff’s office said.
Rodni was last seen on Aug. 6, 2022, after reportedly attending a party with more than 100 minors and young adults near the Prosser Family Campground in Truckee, California, about 100 miles northeast of Sacramento.
With her car also missing, authorities at first treated it as a potential abduction. The last known ping from Rodni’s cellphone was near Prosser Lake but previous searches there had not turned up any signs of Kiely or her vehicle.
On Aug. 23, Adventures with Purpose, an independent group of searchers, found a car believed to belong to Rodni upside down, 14 feet deep in Prosser Lake. A body believed to be Rodni was found inside.
The body was confirmed by the coroner to be Rodni days later.