A Utah teenager who had been missing for more than 17 months was safely recovered earlier this month after she managed to contact another young player through the popular multiplayer game Among Us and alert authorities to her situation.

Kylie Arellano was 15 years old when she disappeared from her home in Garden City, Utah, in late May 2025. Her case triggered a large-scale search involving multiple agencies. On November 1, 2026, she was rescued from a residence in Huntington, Oregon, after a tip reached the FBI. She is now 17.

According to charging documents, Arellano had been taken across state lines by Adam Hunter Harmel, 39. Authorities allege he met her online, traveled to Utah to pick her up, discarded her phone, and then confined her in the basement of his Oregon home. She was reportedly restricted from leaving and subjected to ongoing abuse during the roughly 500-day period she was held.

Harmel provided her with a phone that had Wi-Fi access but no cellular data. In October 2026, while playing Among Us, Arellano began communicating with another young player. She eventually revealed her real idenтιтy, shared that she was being held against her will, and expressed fear that police had stopped searching for her. The other player’s mother contacted the FBI.

Investigators arranged a monitored video call with Arellano on November 1. During that conversation she described her circumstances and showed evidence supporting her account, including a knife she said was kept near the bed. That same day, Oregon State Police and federal agents rescued her from the property and took her for medical evaluation. Harmel was arrested during a traffic stop in nearby Ontario, Oregon.

A search of the home reportedly uncovered knives, BB guns, and other items. Harmel has been charged with traveling across state lines with the intent to engage in criminal Sєxual activity involving a minor. He faces a potential minimum sentence of 10 years if convicted. Officials have also noted a prior allegation involving another child at the same residence, which remains under review.

A housemate living at the property told investigators that Harmel had claimed to have brought home a “new girlfriend” from Utah, though the housemate said he only briefly saw the girl months after her arrival.

The case highlights both the risks of online contact between adults and minors and the unexpected ways digital platforms can sometimes ᴀssist in locating missing children. Arellano’s resourcefulness in using a widely played game to reach someone outside her confinement ultimately led to her rescue after more than a year and a half.