Body of 18-year-old Naomi Irion found in remote area of Churchill County
CHURCHILL COUNTY, Nev. (News 4 & Fox 11) — After she went missing 18 days ago, the body of 18-year-old Naomi Irion was found in a remote area of Churchill County Tuesday.
Irion’s body was found in a gravesite on March 29 after investigators were sent to the area based on a tip. DNA evidence collected from the scene was determined to be that of Irion's on Wednesday, according to a statement from the Churchill County Sheriff's Office.
Troy Driver, 41, is accused of kidnapping Irion from the Walmart parking lot in Fernley during the early morning hours of March 12.
Driver was arrested on March 25 and the truck suspected in the case was towed and impounded from a house off Alcorn Road in Fallon.
A criminal complaint obtained by News 4 & Fox 11 alleged the “defendant did abduct Naomi Irion and did hold or detain her for the purpose of committing sexual assault and/or for the purpose of killing her."
Investigators found Irion’s car three days after her disappearance a short distance from the Walmart in Fernley. Police said evidence found inside indicated her vanishing was suspicious and criminal in nature.
Driver appeared in court for the first time on Wednesday afternoon. The arraignment was brief, and a judge agreed to keep his bail at $750,000. This is not his first run in with the law, Driver spent more than a decade behind bars in a California prison for his role in a 1997 murder and several other violent crimes, according to court records and newspaper stories.
The Irion family, who is from out of the area, said on social media they plan to stay in Nevada for the court proceedings.
Driver is set to appear for a pre-trial hearing on April 5.
The Churchill County Sheriff's Office released the following statement regarding the discovery of her body:
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 will continue to work closely on these cases.
