Missing Naomi Irion's family believes 'group' may be involved in abduction; possible 'sex trafficking' case

The family of missing Nevada 18-year-old Naomi Irion believes multiple people may have been involved in her March 12 abduction, which they also allege could be a sex trafficking case.

Irion was last seen in a Walmart parking lot in Fernley, Nevada, after 5 a.m. on March 12. It was where she typically parked her car and took an employee bus to her job manufacturing batteries at a Panasonic factory. The FBI said she was "abducted" from the parking lot "by a nondescript male."

"It really seems like this was maybe a group of people — more than one person. So we have that person on video, but there may be some indication that there might be other people involved, other vehicles involved," Irion's older brother, Casey Valley, told Fox News Digital. "And we are working very closely with law enforcement to help them with all of that. But we don't know who did this, and that's important to convey."

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"The obvious conclusion to me is some type of sex trafficking or something like that," Valley continued, "but we don't know that for sure. ... So far, this is a kidnapping case, and that's how it's being treated. There's a lot of moving pieces."

The 18-year-old woman had been on a date just the night before her abduction, but her brother does not believe the date is involved in this case.

"It was a daytime date. They went to thrift stores. … They went to a Mexican restaurant. And I definitely saw her afterward," Valley said. "She seemed fine. She seemed like she was ready for bed, and she told me she was going to bed early because she had to get up early in the morning."

Several months prior to her abduction, Panasonic closed a sexual harassment case that Irion had brought forward. Her family does not believe that case is involved in her abduction, either.

"There was one sexual harassment incident that was taken care of internally at Panasonic to Naomi's satisfaction. And we have no reason to believe at this point that any of that is related to this," Valley said.

Law enforcement officials "at the highest level" know of "everyone" Naomi has spent time with "in the last few months," he added.

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Security camera footage released by the Lyon County Sheriff's Office Tuesday shows a potential suspect in her kidnapping. It's a man wearing jeans and a gray, hooded sweatshirt walking from a nearby homeless camp into the Walmart parking lot. Authorities said in a March 15 Facebook post that the suspect got into the driver's seat of Irion's vehicle and left in an "unknown direction with Naomi in the passenger seat."

The suspect can be seen in the footage "walking directly in front of vehicles and their headlights."

Deputies located Irion's vehicle — a four-door sedan — in Fernley on March 15, two days after she was reported missing. Evidence authorities found in her abandoned vehicle suggested that her disappearance was criminal in nature.

Authorities said the suspect is believed to be driving a 2021 or 2022 Chevy 2500 truck that is dark blue or black. The truck is a high-country trim model with a single rear-wheel axle, chrome door handles and a sliding back window.

Irion's family is begging people to look out for the truck or share any information relating to the truck with the Lyon County Sheriff's Department.

The teenager's family described her as "an extrovert" who "loves to meet people and make friends." She is "independent" and was saving money to buy her own home before she disappeared. She had a love for music, games and drawing.

"Naomi, my boo boo bunny, I love you so much. We love you so much," Naomi's mother, Diana Irion, said in a tearful message to her daughter. "We're coming to get you, baby. Hold on, hold on. Please don't give up. We love you so much."

Irion moved from South Africa to Nevada, where she was living with Valley, in August 2021. 

"She was very interested in the American way of life," her brother said. "She really wanted that independence and freedom and everything that America has to offer."

Naomi's father, Herve Irion, and mother are in South Africa but traveled to Nevada this week to assist with the search for their daughter. Herve Irion works for the U.S. State Department in the foreign service. The Irions have lived in a number of foreign countries, including Germany and Russia.

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"I think she experienced in other countries what it's like to not be free and for the citizens of other countries to not be free," Diana Irion said. "The freedom that young people have to get a driver's license and get a job and go on dates and drive cross-country if you want to when you want to … just doesn't exist anywhere else."

"She was so excited to experience all of those things," the mother of seven continued.

A group of volunteers will gather Saturday at Love's Travel Stop in Fernley to help search for signs of Irion.

"We need EMTs, we need search and rescue professionals. We need maybe people with military experience who can help," Valley said. "We need anyone that can help with any type of inch-by-inch, on-the-ground search, people that have experience."

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The Lyon Sheriff's office is asking anyone with information about Irion's whereabouts to call 775-463-6620 or email detective@lyon-county.org.

The Irion family is accepting donations that will go toward the search for Naomi through a GoFundMe page and Findingkids.org, a nonprofit helping people for private investigations. Her family is asking the public to mention Naomi Irion in their donations.