Back in 2021, the nation was gripped by the suspicious details surrounding the Gabby Petito murder case. The 22-year-old was found dead in Wyoming only weeks after camping in the same area with boyfriend Brian Laundrie, who also went unaccounted for while being investigated by the police for his involvement in the incident, which in turn prompted Dog the Bounty Hunter to join the manhunt. The TV vet, whose real name is Duane Chapman, spoke out when that search finally ended (as law enforcement discovered Laundrie’s remains in Florida), saying he was grateful there was some resolution for the family. Now, the bounty hunter is getting tips about another high-profile disappearance.
The case this time involves a 16-year-old girl named Kiely Rodni, who mysteriously vanished on August 6 after being last seen at a Lake Tahoe high school party in Truckee, California. During a briefing this week, police officials announced they were in fact scaling back their efforts after 10 days and 16,000 man-hours were put in without any clues to Rodni’s whereabouts being found, per Fox News. However, they’re “still looking for any clues, videos, tips [or] any information” to help the now-limited search, which is where Dog the Bounty Hunter comes in.
Though he wasn’t directly involved in the recovery of Brian Laundrie, the former A&E star's connection generated thousands of tips in the case via his own hotline. His representative shared recently with TMZ that, pertaining to the Kiely Rodni case, he’s once again been receiving a slew of tips and emails asking him to join the hunt.
But apparently, the 69-year-old is hesitant to offer his services here in the wake of the criticism he received over the Brian Laundrie manhunt, says the rep. Most notably, fans and even Laundrie’s family had slammed Dog the Bounty Hunter for only appearing to get involved to gain publicity. It didn’t help, either, when reports suggested Dog was angling for a TV return around the same time with the production company that created the Marriage Boot Camp franchise and other major reality shows.
As a result, Duane “Dog” Chapman will only join up future investigations, including Kiely Rodni’s, under one of two conditions. He revealed that either a family member or law enforcement agency needs to invite him in to help, or that the person in question needs to have officially been declared a missing for 21 days. As of this writing, though, neither of the conditions have been met in order to make the infamous bounty hunter join the Rodni investigation.
Nevertheless, that doesn’t mean he hasn’t been busy elsewhere. After taking a tumble on Season 7 of The Masked Singer, which Hulu subscribers can stream presently, Dog the Bounty Hunter jumped into the manhunt over a Utah double murder. Two women, Kylen Schulte and Crystal Turner, were found dead in the La Sal mountains last August, and the delay in progress to find their suspected killer prompted the father of one to enlist the CMT alum. There was some talk of a connection to the Gabby Petitio-Brian Laundrie case, due to how one of the women in question worked as a cashier where the couple had been spotted previously, but law enforcement ruled out the possibility. Unfortunately, their case also remains unsolved to this day.
More than likely, Dog the Bounty Hunter is turning over whatever tips he has about Kiely Rodni, legitimate or not, to the police spearheading the search. But it seems his direct participation will require a bit more first.
