A chance encounter in social deduction game Among Us led to the discovery of a Utah teenager who had been missing for over 500 days. The 17-year-old was found in Oregon after information passed along by a family of another young Among Us player reached federal investigators.
The teenager, Kylie Arellano, disappeared from Garden City in Northern Utah on May 29, 2025, aged 15. Authorities located her on November 1, 2026, exactly 521 days later. The breakthrough came through a multiplayer lobby in Among Us.
Among Us Player’s Mother Alerted the FBI About Missing Teenager
Arellano began communicating with another minor through Among Us around mid-October 2026, Newsweek reports, citing federal court documents. She allegedly had access to a phone without cellular service but with Wi-Fi connectivity, allowing her to play the social deduction game online. Among Us supports both public and private lobbies, allowing players to join strangers or specific individuals, respectively. However, the precise circumstances of the two teenagers’ initial encounter remain unclear. The two teenagers eventually continued their conversation on another app, where Arellano disclosed her real identity and said she was being held against her will in Oregon. She also expressed concern that authorities had stopped searching for her after more than a year had passed since her disappearance. The other teenager alerted their mother, who contacted the FBI.
39-Year-Old Oregon Resident Arrested in Connection with Arellano’s Disappearance
On November 1, federal agents arranged a video call with Arellano, who recounted her disappearance and described conditions at the Oregon residence. She outlined alleged efforts to keep her from escaping and displayed a knife that her suspected captor was said to have stored beneath his pillow. Oregon State Police and federal agents jointly recovered Arellano from a residence in Huntington, Oregon, later that day. She was subsequently taken for medical evaluation. State prosecutors said investigators searched the residence and discovered evidence that supported parts of her account. Police later apprehended the homeowner, 39-year-old Adam Hunter Harmel, during a traffic stop in Ontario, Oregon, about 30 miles southeast of Huntington.
According to investigators, Harmel approached Arellano online in May 2025 and offered to pay for her trip to Oregon. He allegedly traveled to Utah to collect her on May 29, disposing of her phone in a river during the interstate journey. Taking her across state lines brought the alleged kidnapping within federal jurisdiction. Prosecutors accuse Harmel of keeping Arellano in his Huntington basement, repeatedly abusing her physically and sexually, and making her remove her orthodontic braces with pliers to conceal her identity. The phone that ultimately enabled Arellano to indirectly alert authorities to her whereabouts via Among Us was allegedly supplied by Harmel himself.
The U.S. Department of Justice has charged Harmel with transporting a minor across state lines with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity. The federal complaint was filed on November 2, and Harmel made his initial court appearance in Boise, Idaho, on November 4.
- Release Date
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June 6, 2026
- Showrunner
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Owen Dennis
- Writers
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Aisha Atherly
- Franchise(s)
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Among Us
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Yvette Nicole Brown
Orange
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Sources: U.S. Department of Justice, Gephardt Daily, Fox News
