TEEN ALLEGEDLY HELD CAPTIVE 500 DAYS RESCUED USING AMONG US
A 17-year-old girl who was allegedly held captive for 500 days in an Oregon basement was rescued after she secretly used the video game Among Us to ask another player for help.
Kylie Arellano disappeared from Utah in May 2025 at age 15, and federal prosecutors allege that 39-year-old Adam Hunter Harmel groomed her online before driving across state lines to abduct her.
Harmel allegedly threw Arellano’s phone into a river and held her in the basement of his home in Huntington, Oregon, according to Dexerto. He allegedly prevented her from leaving, repeatedly assaulted her and forced her to remove her braces with pliers to make her harder to identify.
Despite the alleged captivity, Harmel gave Arellano a phone that had no cellular service but could connect to Wi-Fi. In mid-October 2026, she began communicating with another child through the multiplayer game Among Us.
Their conversations moved to another social media platform, where Arellano revealed her identity and explained that she was being held against her will. She also reportedly believed police had stopped searching for her.
The other child’s mother contacted the FBI, which arranged to monitor a video call with Arellano on November 1, 2026. During the call, the teenager showed investigators evidence of her captivity, including a knife court documents allege Harmel kept under his pillow to prevent her from escaping.
Authorities rescued Arellano from the Oregon property that same day and took her for medical treatment. Harmel was arrested during a traffic stop.
The FBI Salt Lake City Field Office investigated the case alongside the Joint Terrorism Task Force. The U.S. Department of Justice stated that the minor was allegedly groomed on gaming platforms commonly used by extremist groups to solicit sexually explicit photos.
“According to the criminal complaint the minor was groomed on gaming platforms and engaged in acts of self-harm and sexually explicit activity,” the DOJ statement said, quoting FBI Director Kash Patel.
Harmel was charged in a federal complaint with transportation with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity. He made his initial court appearance on November 4, 2026, in Boise, Idaho.
