A Utah teenager who had been missing since May 2025 was recovered in Oregon on November 1 after she used a restricted phone to tell another player she had been taken while they were playing Among Us.
Kylie Arellano, now 17, was last seen at her family’s home in Garden City on the night of May 29, 2025. She had texted her mother, Stephanie Coleman, a goodnight message; within minutes her phone stopped responding. The next morning her jacket was found left in the driveway. What followed was a search that stretched past 500 days and produced dozens of tips that never led anywhere.
According to a federal criminal complaint, Arellano had been in contact online with 39-year-old Adam Hunter Harmel of Huntington, Oregon. The contact reportedly began on gaming platforms before moving to Snapchat. Harmel is alleged to have offered her money, driven from Oregon to the Perry, Utah area, picked her up, and thrown her phone into a river in Logan Canyon before taking her across state lines to his home. Once there, he allegedly told her she was not allowed to leave.
Court documents outline the conditions that followed. Arellano told investigators she was kept primarily in the basement, where she and Harmel shared a bed. She said he repeatedly assaulted her, frequently became violent, and forced her to remove her braces with pliers so she would be harder to recognize. He is also accused of keeping a knife under his pillow and positioning her against the wall at night. A housemate later described Harmel returning from Utah in 2025 with a new girlfriend whose age the housemate did not know.
At some point Harmel gave Arellano a phone that had no cellular service but could still connect to Wi-Fi. In mid-October she started playing Among Us on that phone and connected with another minor. Their conversation shifted to a different social media app. There she identified herself, said she was being held against her will in an Oregon house, and sent the other player news articles about her disappearance. She reportedly believed the search for her had ended.
The other player’s mother contacted the FBI. On November 1 agents arranged to listen in on a video call. During that call Arellano described what had happened and showed investigators the knife Harmel allegedly kept under his pillow. Later the same day Oregon State Police and federal agents recovered her from the Huntington property. Harmel was arrested during a traffic stop in Ontario, Oregon.
He has been charged with transporting a minor across state lines with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity and made an initial appearance in federal court in Boise on November 4. The allegations have not been tested at trial. FBI Director Kash Patel yeah go to go on mission leg and I should be up confirmed the recovery and warned about online groups that target minors on gaming and social platforms.
Coleman posted that her daughter had been found safe. The tip that closed the case arrived through a game most people treat as casual entertainment. Arellano is now home. Harmel remains in custody.
