A Utah college student was found this weekend thanks to a mysterious text message she sent before she was even reported missing.
Nineteen-year-old Madelyn Allen was reunited with her family on December 18 after allegedly spending five days held captive by Brent Neil Brown, KTSU reported.
Brown, 39, is facing counts of aggravated kidnapping, rape, object rape, and obstruction of justice. Snow College Police chief Derek Walk said "we don't have a lot of information about him," adding that "we don't know how extensive his relationship or her knowledge of him is thus far."
The Salt Lake Tribune reports that the pair met online before deciding to meet up on 13 December. Allen's roommates reported her missing the following day when she did not return home.
According to court documents, Brown tied the 19-year-old student up in his Loa home and confiscated her phone - but only after allowing her to send one final text to her family on the morning of December 14.
At 7:00AM that morning, Allen's parents received a text message from her saying only "I love you!"
Alarmed by the unusual message, they decided to contact the cell phone carrier. With their help, Allen's parents managed to locate their daughter's cell phone. It was in Loa - about 87 miles from Ephraim, where Allen was last seen.
Authorities went to check out the location. Court documents describe how although Brown answered the door and claimed to be alone, police glimpsed a light-haired person through a basement window which prompted them to search the premises. Allen was found tied up in the basement, naked and covered in coal, where she had allegedly been kept all week.
The missing teenager was reunited with her family on December 18 after being checked out of the hospital.
In an address to all students, Snow College President Bradley Cook said that Allen's kidnapping was a reminder to stay vigilant online.
"It reminds us of some dangers, especially our young people who are online," he said. "You need to be careful… We just have to be ever vigilant about those kinds of interactions," he said.
