A Utah teenager who had been missing for more than 17 months was rescued after sending a distress message in an online game. Kylie Arellano, 17, went missing in Garden City, Utah, on May 29, 2025, when she was 15. In mid-October 2026, she spoke with another underage player in Among Us and later moved the conversation to another social platform, where she revealed her real identity and said she was being held at a man’s home in Oregon. The other player’s mother notified the FBI, which arranged to monitor a video call on November 1; that day, Oregon State Police and federal agents rescued her from the residence and took her to a hospital.
Among Us is an online multiplayer game in which players must repair a broken spaceship while hidden traitors try to kill loyal crewmembers and sabotage repair progress; the crew must use voting and deduction to figure out who is working against them. The game went viral during the pandemic, and this time it became a teenage girl’s channel for calling for help.
Circumstances of disappearance: After a goodnight message, the phone went offline.
Arellano’s mother, Stephanie Coleman, said that shortly before her daughter disappeared, they had said goodnight to each other; then her phone went offline, and her jacket and other belongings were left in the driveway. The family had long suspected that she was lured away by someone she met online, but they have never been able to find out what actually happened.
The federal complaint states that Harmel contacted Arellano online in May 2025, told her he had a hip disability, and offered her money to travel to Oregon. Investigators said Harmel drove from Oregon to Perry, Utah, to pick her up; after she got into the car, he threw her phone into a river in Logan Canyon and then drove her back to his residence in Huntington. Once there, Harmel told her she could not leave. A roommate who lived there told investigators that Harmel introduced the teenager as his new girlfriend, but the witness first saw her about two months after she arrived. She was allegedly confined in the basement, where Harmel also slept.
Prosecutors allege: hiding a knife under the pillow, removing braces, and repeated assault.
Investigators stated that Harmel became increasingly violent toward Arellano, often hitting her and preventing her from leaving. The complaint states that Harmel hid a knife under his pillow and made her sleep against the wall so she could not escape. Prosecutors also said that Harmel had expressed wanting to start a family with her, said he was interested in minors, and sexually assaulted her multiple times between 2025 and 2026.
Prosecutors also allege that Harmel used pliers to force her to remove her own braces so that she would be harder to recognize. These allegations of imprisonment, sexual assault, and violence remain prosecution allegations and have not yet been determined by a court.
Harmel later gave Arellano a phone without cellular service, so she could only get online via Wi-Fi. That connection eventually put her in touch with the people who could help her: in mid-October 2026, she began chatting with another underage player in Among Us. Their conversation later moved to another social app, where Arellano revealed her real identity and explained that she was being held at a man’s home in Oregon; she also said she thought the police had stopped looking for her. The other underage player’s mother took it seriously and notified the FBI.
Rescue: Present Evidence During a Video Call
The FBI arranged to monitor a video call on November 1. During the call, Arellano described how she met Harmel, how she was brought to Oregon, and showed investigators the knife that Harmel allegedly kept by the bed, along with other evidence supporting her account. That same day, Oregon State Police and federal agents rescued her from the property and took her for medical treatment. Investigators then searched Harmel’s residence and found items supporting parts of Arellano’s account, including knives, women’s clothing, and several firearms later confirmed to be BB guns. Harmel was arrested during a traffic stop in Ontario, Oregon.
FBI Director Kash Patel said: “Tonight, Oregon local police brought a missing minor to safety after a year and a half, acting on intelligence provided by our FBI Salt Lake City Field Office.” He also said the FBI will continue working with partners to hold people accountable, and said it will use every tool to combat “Nihilistic Violent Extremism” (NVE) and protect American children. The fact that the person involved successfully sought outside help through a game has also drawn widespread attention to the entire incident, because playing games really can save lives.
Source: KOCPC Chinese