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Utah teen Kylie Arellano found alive in Oregon after 500-day nationwide search
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A Utah teenager who disappeared almost a year and a half ago has been found safe in Oregon.
Kylie Arellano, now 17, was 15 when she was last seen by her family on May 29, 2025, at their home in Garden City, Utah, prompting a nationwide search.
The teenager was safely recovered by authorities on Sunday, November 1, the FBI’s Salt Lake City field office said in a statement.
Arellano was found in Oregon with a 39-year-old man whom she'd allegedly connected with on Snapchat. He has since been taken into custody.
Since her disappearance, a wide federal and state investigation was launched, leading officials through dozens of unconfirmed sightings, before she was finally located on Sunday.
Law enforcement officers in Oregon, working directly with the FBI's Salt Lake City field office and the Rich County Sheriff's Office, safely recovered the teen.
The FBI's Salt Lake City field office said in a statement: "The FBI and the Rich County Sheriff’s Office have been actively investigating this case for more than a year and pursuing every lead received from across the U.S. and in other countries.
"As this case is ongoing, no further information will be released at this time."
FBI Director Kash Patel told Fox News Digital: "Tonight, local police in Oregon brought a minor who had been missing for a year and a half to safety, acting on information provided by our FBI Salt Lake City Field Office.
"We are grateful she can return home, and we will continue working with our partners to hold those responsible accountable.
"To anyone using gore groups to target and exploit children: the FBI and our partners are coming for you.
"We are using every tool at our disposal to combat nihilistic violent extremism, bring offenders to justice and protect America’s children."
Arellano's grandmother added on X (formerly Twitter): "THANK YOU for all you and your agents and teams are doing to find our baby girl, Kylie Arellano and bring her home!!!"
Rich County Sheriff Dale Stacey last year had urged members of the public to preserve any photographic or timestamped evidence that could be related to the case.
Just days before Arellano was found, unsealed search warrants reviewed by KUTV showed that investigators had previously questioned Arellano's mother, Stephanie Coleman, about a 2024 allegation of physical abuse.
They'd also raised questions about missing text messages from the night her daughter had vanished, and suspicious marks around the home.
Coleman denied having any role in Arellano's disappearance or abusing her, providing timestamped "good night" text messages from May 29, 2025, and added that the marks were allegedly caused by an injured cat.
She maintained that she believed Arellano had been groomed and lured away by someone she'd met online, per the outlet.