Utah teenager, kidnapped in 2025, uses an online game to rescue herself from captivity after 500 days of intense search; here’s how it unfolded

A kidnapping case, an online game, and a rescue after 500 days. These details are linked to the shocking case of a Utah teenager who went missing in 2025 and how she helped her own rescue with the help of an online game. The chilling case unfolded in Oregon, where a man had kept 17-year-old girl Kylie Arellano captive for over 17 months.

She believed she had met the suspect through Snapchat. The girl was rescued from the home of the kidnapper, identified as Adam Hunter Harmel, 39, in Huntington, Oregon.

Following the rescue, he was charged with allegedly transporting the teenager across state lines for the purpose of exploiting her, according to The Newsweek. The teenager had been missing from her home in Garden City, Utah. She was 15 at the time when she disappeared on May 29, 2025.


While playing the online game ‘Among Us,’ she told another child she was held hostage while they played the whodunnit video game together, the news outlet reported. The rescue operation came to an end on November 1, 2026. It involved the FBI's Salt Lake City Field Office and the Rich County Sheriff's Office.

Investigators kept chasing dozens of leads and connected dots. They also relied on reported sightings across the United States and overseas for over 521 days. The entire rescue was well assisted by state and federal agencies.

What we know about the online game Among US

Among Us is an online game that requires players to try and fix a broken spaceship while secret traitors aim to kill faithful crew members and sabotage the repairs. Crew members must try to determine who is fighting against them.

Here’s how the rescue operation unfolded

A major breakthrough emerged in the case when the teenager told the player, while playing the game, that she was being held against her will at a man's home in Oregon, Newsweek reported citing federal court documents. This prompted the other child’s mother to contact the FBI.

Shocking details came to light

New details have emerged in the court documents and FBI affidavit obtained by FOX News and Newsweek. Court documents obtained by FOX News Digital suggest that Harmel allegedly became "very violent and aggressive, often hitting" the victim. He even forced her to remove her braces with pliers so that she could not be identified.

According to the news outlets, Harmel kept Arellano in his basement and put her through recurring assaults. According to an FBI affidavit, he also kept a knife beneath his pillow and made the teenager sleep against the wall in his bed so she could not escape.

What did Arellano’s mother say about her disappearance?

Arellano’s mother, Stephanie Coleman, said that she had exchanged goodnight messages with her daughter shortly before she vanished. Later, her phone went offline, and her jacket and other belongings were found left behind, Newsweek reported.

For long, Coleman has believed that her daughter was lured away by someone she met online. However, she has not been able to provide any strong evidence to provide clarity on what possibly happened. Citing a law enforcement source, Newsweek previously reported that Arellano was thought to have met the suspect through Snapchat before she disappeared.

Here’s what the complaint reveals

According to the two news outlets, the federal complaint stated that Harmel got in touch with Arellano online in May 2025. He had told her that he had a disability affecting his hips. He allegedly offered her money to travel to Oregon.

Investigators say Harmel drove from Oregon to Perry, Utah, to receive her on May 29, 2025, the day when she reportedly disappeared. As she sat inside the vehicle, he allegedly threw her phone into a river in Logan Canyon and brought her to his home in Huntington.

The complaint further revealed that after reaching his home, the kidnapper told the girl that now she could not escape. Harmel allegedly transported Arellano across state lines with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity. He was reportedly interested in minors.

How Arellano seized the moment to escape

With the passage of time, Harmel gave the girl a phone without cellular data. She had the access to the Internet through Wi-Fi. The girl took advantage and seized the opportunity to get herself some help to escape

In mid-October, 2026, Arellano began speaking to another child on Among Us. The conversation eventually shifted to another social media application, where Arellano revealed her real identity. She explained her situation, telling him how she arrived in Oregon and was taken hostage. She also said she believed police had stopped looking for her.

Later, a call was arranged after the other child's mother alerted the FBI. The call involving Arellano was closely monitored by the federal agency on November 1, 2026.

The call and the rescue

The teenager provided details to investigators over the call about how she met Harmel and was taken to Oregon. During the call, she also showed investigators the knife he allegedly kept beside his bed and other evidence supporting her account.

Soon, Oregon State Police and federal agents acted swiftly and rescued her from the property later on the same day. She was rushed to the hospital for medical treatment.

As the rescue operation, which grabbed national attention, came to an end, investigators searched Harmel's home and recovered items that supported parts of Arellano's account, according to the complaint. Harmel was arrested during a traffic stop in Ontario, Oregon