A Utah teenager who was found alive in Oregon nearly 18 months after she disappeared was allegedly beaten repeatedly and forced to remove her braces with pliers in an effort to conceal her identity, according to newly revealed court documents.
Kylie Arellano, now 17, disappeared from Garden City, Utah, on May 29, 2025, when she was 15. Federal prosecutors have charged a 39-year-old man in connection with her alleged abduction and captivity.
According to court documents reviewed by News Outlet, Adam Hunter Harmel allegedly became “very violent and aggressive, often hitting” the teenager. He also allegedly used pliers to force her braces off, making it more difficult for authorities to identify her.
Kylie Arellano was reported missing on May 30, 2025. (Rich County Sheriff’s Office / Facebook)
The federal complaint describes a disturbing period of confinement inside Harmel’s home, where the teenager was allegedly kept in the basement and made to share a bed with him.
The complaint alleges Harmel took steps to stop her from escaping, including keeping “a knife under his pillow” and making the minor victim sleep against the wall.
Investigators allege that Harmel expressed an interest in starting a family with the teenager, said he was interested in minors and sexually assaulted her multiple times in 2025 and 2026, according to the complaint.
Harmel is also accused of transporting Arellano across state lines with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity.
The teenager helped trigger her own rescue after revealing her identity to another player she met through the online game Among Us, authorities said. (Rich County Sheriff’s Office / Facebook)
Filed Nov. 2 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah, the criminal complaint details an alleged pattern of grooming, isolation and abuse.
For more than 500 days, Arellano’s mother continued searching for answers after finding her daughter’s jacket abandoned in the driveway and discovering that her phone had been switched off.
The ordeal ended Nov. 1, when law enforcement rescued the teenager from an Oregon home after receiving a tip from the parent of another player of the online game “Among Us.”
In an affidavit, FBI Special Agent Andrea Elder said Arellano’s family reported in 2025 that she had been groomed online. The communications allegedly began on gaming platforms before shifting to other social media applications.
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A law enforcement source said the suspect allegedly met the teenager on Snapchat before she disappeared.
Kylie Arellano was 15 when she disappeared from Garden City, Utah. She is now 17. (Rich County Sheriff’s Office / Facebook)
Authorities allege that Harmel met Arellano online in May 2025, told her he had a disability involving his “messed up” hips and offered her money to travel to Oregon.
On or about May 29, 2025, Harmel drove from Oregon to Perry, Utah, to pick her up. The complaint alleges that shortly after she got into his vehicle, he threw her phone into a river in Logan Canyon, drove her to his home in Huntington, Oregon, and told her she could not leave.
A housemate told the FBI that Harmel said he had brought home a “new girlfriend” from Utah. The housemate said they did not see the teenager until about two months after her arrival, when she ran back into the basement.
Harmel allegedly gave Arellano a phone without cellular data, restricting her internet access to Wi-Fi, according to the complaint.
A knife recovered from the Oregon home where Kylie Arellano was allegedly held. (FBI)
Arellano’s route to freedom began in mid-October 2026, when she connected with another minor while playing “Among Us.”
After the conversation moved to another social media platform, Arellano disclosed her identity and told the minor she was being held against her will in an Oregon home. She also said she believed police had stopped searching for her.
Her mother contacted the FBI. During a Nov. 1 video call monitored by investigators, Arellano showed them the knife Harmel allegedly kept and other evidence that supported her account.
Oregon State Police and federal agents rescued the teenager later that day and took her for medical care.
Investigators searching Harmel’s residence found knives, BB guns and sexual lubricant, according to the complaint. Harmel was arrested during a traffic stop in Ontario, Oregon.
Harmel was scheduled to make his initial appearance in federal court Wednesday.
