A Utah teenager who disappeared nearly 18 months ago was allegedly beaten repeatedly and forced to remove her braces with pliers in an effort to conceal her identity, according to newly released court documents.
Kylie Arellano, now 17, was 15 when she vanished from Garden City, Utah, on May 29, 2025. Federal authorities have charged 39-year-old Adam Hunter Harmel in connection with her alleged captivity.
According to the complaint, Harmel became “very violent and aggressive, often hitting” Arellano. He allegedly made her use pliers to remove her braces so she would be harder to identify.
The documents describe Arellano being kept in Harmel’s basement, where they shared a bed. Harmel allegedly kept a knife under his pillow and made her sleep against the wall to prevent her from escaping.
Investigators allege Harmel said he wanted to start a family with the teenager, expressed interest in minors and sexually assaulted her multiple times in 2025 and 2026. The complaint also alleges he took her across state lines intending to engage in criminal sexual activity.
The federal complaint, filed Nov. 2 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah, lays out an alleged pattern of grooming, isolation and abuse.
Arellano’s mother spent more than 500 days hoping her daughter would be found. Her jacket had been left in the driveway, and her phone was off.
That wait ended Nov. 1, when law enforcement rescued Arellano from a home in Oregon. Authorities were alerted after the parent of another player of the online game “Among Us” passed along information.
In an affidavit, FBI Special Agent Andrea Elder said Arellano’s family reported in 2025 that she had been groomed online. The communication reportedly began on gaming platforms and later moved to other social media apps. A law enforcement source said Harmel allegedly met Arellano on Snapchat before she disappeared.
Authorities allege Harmel met the teenager online in May 2025, told her he had a disability affecting his hips and offered her money to travel to Oregon.
On or around May 29, 2025, Harmel drove from Oregon to Perry, Utah, to pick her up. The complaint says he threw her phone into a river in Logan Canyon after she got into his vehicle, then drove her to his home in Huntington, Oregon, and told her she could not leave.
A housemate told the FBI that Harmel described Arellano as a “new girlfriend” he had brought home from Utah. The housemate said they did not see her until about two months later, when she ran back into the basement.
Harmel allegedly gave Arellano a phone without cellular data, leaving her able to access the internet only through Wi-Fi.
Arellano’s route to freedom began in mid-October 2026, when she connected with another minor while playing “Among Us.” After they moved their conversation to a different social media app, she shared her identity and said she was being held against her will in an Oregon home. She also said she believed police had stopped looking for her.
Her mother contacted the FBI. During a video call on Nov. 1, Arellano showed investigators the knife Harmel allegedly kept and other evidence supporting her account.
Oregon State Police and federal agents rescued her later that day and took her for medical care. A search of Harmel’s home turned up knives, BB guns and sexual lubricant, according to the complaint. He was arrested during a traffic stop in Ontario, Oregon.
Harmel was scheduled to make his first appearance in federal court Wednesday.
