A nationwide search spanning more than 500 days concluded on Sunday when federal and local law enforcement recovered 17-year-old Kylie Arellano safe in Oregon, nearly a year and a half after she vanished from her home in Garden City, Utah. Arellano was 15 years old when she was last seen by her family on May 29, 2025, in the Rich County resort town, according to case records.
Operation and Arrest in Oregon
Law enforcement officers in Oregon safely recovered the teenager alongside a 39-year-old man, who was taken into custody without incident, according to reports. The recovery was the result of a joint operation involving local Oregon police, the FBI’s Salt Lake City and Portland field offices, the Rich County Sheriff’s Office, the Oregon State Police, and the Utah Department of Public Safety.
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,
FBI Director Kash Patel told Fox News Digital, adding that authorities would continue working to hold responsible parties accountable.
A law enforcement source told reports that the suspect allegedly made contact with the teenager on Snapchat prior to her disappearance.
Investigation, Search Warrants, and Family Milestones
Before her recovery, the case involved extensive cross-state inquiries. Rich County Sheriff Dale Stacey stated that detectives had chased reports of sightings across multiple states while urging the public to preserve photographic or timestamped evidence. In December 2025, the Rich County Sheriff’s Office confirmed it was conducting its search in conjunction with the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force and entered her details into national databases, including the National Crime Information Center and NamUs.
Days before Arellano was located, unsealed search warrants reviewed by KUTV revealed that investigators had scrutinized the teenager’s mother, Stephanie Coleman. Authorities questioned Coleman regarding a 2024 allegation of physical abuse, discrepancies involving missing text messages from the night her daughter vanished, and suspicious marks inside the home.
Coleman denied any involvement in her daughter’s disappearance or any abuse, providing timestamped good night
text messages sent on May 29, 2025. She explained that the marks in the home were caused by an injured cat and maintained that Arellano had likely been groomed and lured away by someone she encountered online.
Following the recovery, Arellano’s grandmother posted a message on X, stating, THANK YOU for all you and your agents and teams are doing to find our baby girl, Kylie Arellano and bring her home!!!
Investigation Active, No Further Information Released
The FBI’s Salt Lake City field office noted in a Sunday statement that because the investigation remains active, no further information would be released at this time.
