The man accused of kidnapping Naomi Irion has appeared in court, although the 18-year-old is still nowhere to be found.
Troy Driver, who was arrested on March 25, appeared in court virtually on Wednesday. After Driver was allegedly spotted on surveillance footage from the parking lot of the Walmart in Fernley, Nevada, where Irion was last seen, she has been charged with kidnapping in connection with the 18-year-old’s disappearance, but her whereabouts are still unknown.
Irion’s family members were present at the hearing.
“He’s the only one who can help us get Naomi home,” Irion’s brother Casey Valley told reporters after the hearing. “He’s the only one we know about.”
Surveillance footage showed Irion in her car at the Walmart mall in Fernley at 5 a.m. A man in a hoodie and face mask walks towards her car. He then circles the car before seemingly squeezing in and eventually driving off.
Newsweek previously reported that Irion recently relocated to the area with Valley after landing a job at a nearby Panasonic manufacturing facility. She was in her uniform at the time of her alleged kidnapping and was waiting for the plant’s work shuttle to pick her up from the Walmart parking lot.
“It (the video) ruined me,” Valley previously told local news station KRXI. “I mean, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. You know, I didn’t want to believe it.”
Naomi Iron, seen here in this combined photo, has not been seen since March 12 after she went missing in Fernley, Nevada.
With the kind permission of the Federal Criminal Police Office
Her car was found shortly after she disappeared, in a manner that authorities found suspicious. Another car was located through surveillance footage similar to what Driver heard.
“The forensic evidence discovered to date leads Lyon County investigators to continue to believe that Naomi’s disappearance is suspicious and that the driver of the … vehicle has a direct link to her disappearance and current whereabouts,” the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office wrote in a statement from March 16th.
Although Irion’s whereabouts are currently unknown, volunteers have assisted in the search in a variety of ways. Local news channel KOLO profiled a group of volunteers at Lamar Advertising who have been creating billboards to be placed on major thoroughfares. These billboards feature Irion’s photo and provide information on where authorities can be contacted if passers-by have important information.
“When Naomi’s case became known, we wanted to take action and spread this message as quickly as possible,” account manager Nick Pribila told the news channel. “This missing person notice is visible on all 16 digital boards throughout the northern Nevada community. It’s seen by more than 2 million people a day in the Reno, Sparks and Carson City areas.”
Driver is currently held on a $750,000 bond. If this bail is posted, he cannot be released until authorities set up a GPS tracking device for him to wear.
Updated 3/30/22 5:27 PM ET: This story has been updated with additional information.
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