Authorities have discovered the body of a Nevada teen who was allegedly kidnapped from a Walmart parking lot more than two weeks ago.
According to the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office, Naomi Irion, 18, was last seen inside her vehicle at a Walmart in Fernley, Nevada, just outside Reno, on March 12. Video surveillance shows a man getting into the driver’s seat of her car and driving away in an unknown direction, with Irion sitting in the passenger seat.
A tip about her abduction led detectives to a remote area of adjacent Churchill County on Tuesday, where they discovered a “possible gravesite” and collected the body of a woman. The Washoe County Medical Examiners Office identified the remains as Irion’s on Wednesday.
Authorities have stated that no further information will be disclosed at this time due to the current investigation.
“We would like to extend our sympathy and condolences to the Irion family and thank all the volunteers for their hard work in trying to find Naomi and bring closure to the family,” the Churchill County Sheriff’s Office and the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office said in a joint statement.
On March 12, about 5 a.m., Irion was waiting for a shuttle bus to take her to her job at Panasonic Energy of North America in the Reno region. When she did not return home from work the next day, her brother reported her missing.
The sheriff’s office originally described her abduction as “suspicious in nature.” The sheriff’s office said police discovered evidence to suggest her disappearance was “criminal in nature” after discovering her vehicle on March 15 in an industrial park about a mile from the Walmart.
Last Monday, a perpetrator in the suspected kidnapping was apprehended. According to Reno ABC station KOLO, Troy Driver, 41, of Fallon, Nevada, has been charged with first-degree kidnapping and is being jailed on $750,000 bail after his first court appearance on Wednesday.
The FBI was offering up to $10,000 in reward money for information leading to Irion’s whereabouts. In the hopes of identifying the individual who investigators claim entered Irion’s car, the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office published various images and a video of him.
The next hearing for Driver is set for April 5, according to KOLO.
