Naomi Irion has been missing for 17 days. She vanished while waiting for a shuttle bus at the Fernley Walmart. The ordeal has been devastating for her family.
"Every day has been unspeakable pain and every day that goes by is worse than the day before," Diana Irion, Naomi Irion's mother said. "I don't think we have words in the English language to describe how a mom feels when something like this happens to her girl."
Law enforcement, Irion's family and the public have been using social media to help get important information out, since the case began. Diana Irion says people from around the world are contacting them through different social media platforms.
"We've been overwhelmed with the outpouring of love and concern for us from around the world," Irion said. "I'm hearing from people all over the place. It's been amazing."
Many of them are offering to help in any way they can, including joining the search parties.
"The part that I love is all the people saying 'Where's the next search? When can I come? I'm coming from Iowa. I'm coming from Texas. I'm coming from California. Where can we go? Where should we search?'" Irion said.
Troy Driver will make his initial court appearance, Wednesday. Officers arrested the 41-year-old Fallon resident, Friday. Diana Irion says news reporting and social media helped catch the kidnapping suspect.
"He was careless," Diana Irion said. "He left his garage door open, one day, and they saw the truck in his garage and thought 'Huh, I saw that on the news.'"
The technology is also important for detectives. They can get important information out to the public and members of the community can submit tips to law enforcement. There is a downside to social media though. False information can hurt the investigation. One post falsely claimed that the 18-year-old had been found alive in Reno.
"That raises such a stir for everybody, the community that's been searching so hard for her, not only emotionally but damaging to the case because now people are thinking she's been found in Reno," Melissa Thomson, Dispatch Supervisor for the Lyon County 911 Center said.
Investigators release important information to the public when it thinks it is necessary or can help the case. It also holds back a lot of information. Especially, if a suspect could be watching.
"We don't want it to hinder the investigation," Thomson said. "We don't want everybody to know everything that's going on. Especially, with social media. If we're not releasing it, there's a reason for that and we release what we can as soon as we can."
Other posts can be based on speculation. That is also hard on the family.
"When I hear people talking online about 'Oh, she's dead,' things like that, it hurts," Diana Irion said. "It doesn't help."
Casey Valley is Naomi Irion's brother. He says they can usually tell if a post is false, fairly quickly. If it is not false, they send it to the Lyon County Sheriff's Office.
"There's a lot of rumors out there and everybody wants to feel like they're a part of this but we have to be really careful to not spread misinformation," Valley said.
He says the family can get overwhelmed with tips and that they should be sent to that agency or to Secret Witness.
"If you know anything about the habits of the suspect or anybody that might be involved with him, talk to law enforcement," Valley said.
Officials say every tip is important, even if it may seem small. Diana Irion is asking anyone with a dash cam to review footage to see if there is any tips that can help find her daughter. People in the area who have ring doorbells are encouraged to check their videos, too. Information is time sensitive, so any tips are welcome as soon as possible.
"Every day that passes is another day that she could be being tortured, raped, tied up, all those horrible things," Diana Irion said. "We have to find her."
Driver is in the Lyon County Jail in Yerington. His court hearing will be virtual through the Canal Township Justice Court.
