Reno, Nevada (AP) — Police officers in northern Nevada kidnapped an 18-year-old woman who went missing about 30 miles (48 km) east of Reno two weeks ago and detained the suspect, officials said. Stated.
According to the sheriff’s office, FBI and other supporters in Lyon County are still searching for Naomi Ilion. She was last seen on March 12, after a man got into a car outside the Wal-Mart store in the countryside of Fernley.
Before Friday, the sheriff’s office only said that Ilion’s disappearance was “essentially suspicious.” However, sheriff dispatch shift supervisor Melissa Thomson told The Associated Press Friday night that she was investigating her kidnapping.
“The FBI has changed the leaflet to call it kidnapping,” she said. She didn’t provide additional details and didn’t know when more information would be released.
The sheriff’s office said in a statement that agents and agencies “detained the suspect and seized pickup trucks that may have been involved.”
The sheriff’s office did not provide any further details, but said, “We will make additional information available as soon as possible.”
The family said at a press conference last week that Ilion hadn’t been seen since a man in a dark mask and hooded sweatshirt got into the car outside the store.
Naomi Ilion’s brother, Casey Valley, told reporters at the time that the store’s surveillance video showed a man approaching the driver’s side of his sister’s car before dawn, and the video showed her before. He got in and ran the car, saying that he said something to move or seemed to indicate that he had done something.
Lyon County Sheriff Frank Funewill said last week that evidence suggests that her car was found some distance away and that the suspect may be driving a dark pickup truck.
The sheriff’s office said Thursday that it had identified witnesses parked on Wal-Mart’s premises when Ilion went missing.