Missing 18-year-old Naomi Irion found dead in remote ‘gravesite,’ Nevada deputies say

The body of an 18-year-old Nevada woman who was feared kidnapped from a Walmart parking lot was found in a remote “gravesite,” deputies said.

Naomi Irion was last seen at about 5 a.m. on Saturday, March 12, in the parking lot of the Fernley Walmart, the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office said in a March 15 news release. Fernley is a city of about 20,000 people east of Reno.

She was likely waiting for a shuttle bus to get to her job in the Reno area, her mother told KOLO.

Security video shows a man lurking among cars in the parking lot, sheriff’s officials said in an earlier release. Video showed the man climb into Irion’s blue 1992 Mercury Sable and drive off with her in the passenger seat, sheriff’s officials said.

Deputies began searching for Irion. More than two weeks after she vanished, investigators responded to a remote part of Churchill County after a possible gravesite was found.

“The body of an adult Caucasian female was recovered from that gravesite,” deputies said in a March 30 release. “The body was transported to the Washoe County Medical Examiner’s Office for an autopsy and to confirm identification.”

The body was confirmed to be Irion on Wednesday, March 30, the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office said. Her family has been notified.

The sheriff’s office is continuing to investigate.

“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,” deputies said.

Troy Driver, 41, of Fallon, Nevada, was arrested in connection to the case Friday, March 25, the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office said. At the time, he faced a kidnapping charged.

This story was originally published March 31, 2022 at 8:12 AM with the headline "Missing 18-year-old Naomi Irion found dead in remote ‘gravesite,’ Nevada deputies say."