Garden City, Utah: Missing Teen Kylie Arellano Found Safe in Oregon After More Than 500 Days

A Utah teenager who disappeared from her home in Garden City more than 500 days ago has been found safe in Oregon, federal and local officials said on Sunday, ending a search that ran across the United States and into other countries.

Kylie Arellano, now 17, was last seen by her family at their home in Garden City, in Rich County in northern Utah, at about 10:52 p.m. on May 29, 2025, when she was 15 years old. She was reported missing the following day.

Recovered in Oregon 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 teenager on Sunday, according to a law enforcement news release. She was found with a 39-year-old man in Oregon, and the man was taken into custody without incident. Officials have not made public the man's name or any charges he may face.

Federal authorities credited the Oregon State Police, the FBI's Portland field office and the Utah Department of Public Safety for their help in the operation.

FBI Director Kash Patel told Fox News Digital that local police in Oregon brought a minor who had been missing for a year and a half to safety, acting on information provided by the FBI Salt Lake City Field Office. Patel said the bureau was grateful she could return home and would keep working with its partners to hold those responsible accountable.

The FBI's Salt Lake City field office said the FBI and the Rich County Sheriff's Office had been actively investigating the case for more than a year and pursuing every lead received from across the United States and in other countries. The office said the case is ongoing and that no further information would be released at this time.

According to a law enforcement source cited by Fox News, the man allegedly met the teenager on Snapchat before her disappearance. Officials have not confirmed that account in the release, and the circumstances of the recovery have not been made public.

A search that chased sightings across states

The disappearance drew a wide federal and state investigation. Officials followed dozens of unconfirmed sightings before the recovery on Sunday. Last year, Rich County Sheriff Dale Stacey said detectives had chased reports of sightings across multiple states and urged the public to preserve any photographic or timestamped evidence that could help.

New details about the investigation surfaced only days before she was found. Unsealed search warrants reviewed by KUTV on October 29 showed that investigators had previously scrutinized her mother, Stephanie Coleman, and questioned her about a 2024 allegation of physical abuse. The warrants also raised questions about discrepancies involving missing text messages from the night Kylie vanished and suspicious marks found inside the home.

Coleman denied having any role in her daughter's disappearance and denied abusing her. She provided timestamped good night text messages from May 29, 2025, said the marks were caused by an injured cat, and maintained that Kylie had likely been groomed and lured away by someone she met online, KUTV reported.

Garden City is a small town on the western shore of Bear Lake, near the Idaho border. What happens next in the case, including any court proceedings for the man in custody, had not been announced by Sunday night.