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Authorities acting on a tip rescued the girl Sunday at a home in
Huntington, Oregon, and arrested Adam Hunter Harmel, 39, in a
traffic stop about 30 miles away (48 kilometers).
The missing girl told another child she met online that she had
run away and was being held against her will at a man’s house in
Oregon.
On Sunday, a parent of the other child contacted the missing
Utah girl by video — and the FBI listened in.
During the call, the missing girl said that she met Harmel on
social media and that he had driven her from Utah to Oregon, an
FBI agent said in court records.
She also said Harmel threw her phone in a river; told her she
couldn't leave his home; made her sleep against a wall to
prevent her from escaping from the bed they shared; often hit
her; sexually assaulted her; and forced her to remove her braces
with pliers so she couldn’t be identified, according to the FBI.
No lawyer for Harmel was listed in court records.
The federal public defender’s office in Utah declined to comment
when The Associated Press asked if it represented Harmel. The AP
also reached out through social media to someone believed to be
related to Harmel.
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