A teenager who was kidnapped by a sexual predator and held captive for more than 500 days was rescued after reaching out to another child on the popular online video game “Among Us,” officials said.
Kylie Arellano was just 15 years old when she vanished from her home in Garden City, Utah, in May 2025. She was abducted by Adam Hunter Harmel, 39, who kept her locked up in his basement, where he repeatedly sexually assaulted and beat her, according to charging documents.
Her disappearance sparked a massive search effort for nearly 18 months until Nov. 1, when police rescued Arellano from a home in Oregon following a tip from the parent of another player of the multiplayer online game “Among Us,” the criminal complaint states.
Arellano, now 17, had begun talking to the fellow game player, also a young girl, in October. They eventually took their conversations to another social media app, where she revealed her true identity.
She claimed she was being held against her will at a man’s home in Oregon and said she believed that police had stopped looking for her.
The girl’s mother contacted the FBI, which monitored a video call with Arellano during which she explained to investigators how Harmel had brought her to his house in Huntington. She also showed them a knife he kept beside her bed and other evidence corroborating her story.
That same day, Oregon State Police and federal agents rescued the teenager and took her for medical treatment.
A search of Harmel’s home revealed knives, BB guns and sexual lubricant, according to the complaint. The creep was arrested during a traffic stop in nearby Ontario, Oregon.
Arellano was allegedly groomed online, according to federal prosecutors.
Harmel met the teenager online in May 2025 and claimed he had a disability involving his “messed up” hips.
Harmel drove to Perry, Utah, to pick her up — and as soon as she got in his vehicle, Harmel hurled her phone into a river in Logan Canyon, drove her to his home in Huntington, Oregon, and told her she was not allowed to leave.
Harmel confined the teenager to the basement, where the two shared a bed. He “kept a knife under his pillow and made [Kylie] sleep against the wall,” according to court documents.
Harmel had expressed a desire to start a family with the teenager, stated that he was attracted to minors, and repeatedly sexually assaulted her in 2025 and 2026, according to the complaint.
He beat Arellano repeatedly and even forced her to remove her braces with pliers to hide her identity.
Harmel gave Arellano a phone without cellular data, limiting her internet access to just Wi-Fi.
A housemate living at the home told the FBI that Harmel claimed he had brought home a “new girlfriend” from Utah, but said he did not see her until about two months after her arrival when he saw her scurry into the basement.
Harmel is charged with traveling across state lines with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity and faces a minimum of 10 years in prison if convicted.
Just months before his arrest, Harmel was also accused of sexually assaulting a six-year-old girl who spent the night at his house.
The case ultimately went to a grand jury, which declined to indict Harmel, but kept the case open for future evidence, NBC News reported.
Officials said they have begun looking into the case again after his arrest, meaning Harmel could face additional charges.
