EPHRAIM, Utah (NewsNation Now) — Police in central Utah announced Sunday that a missing 19-year-old college student had been found safe almost a week after she was last seen and that a man has been arrested in the case..
NewsNation first brought you this story Thursday.
Madelyn Allen, a Snow College student, was reported missing Wednesday after she was last seen leaving her dorm Monday night. Her parents believed she may have been suffering from a mental health crisis.
Snow College police Chief Derek Walk said 39-year-old Brent Brown, of Utah, was arrested. Allen was located Saturday inside a Wayne County home where Brown was living.
“Walk called us, as he had done many times, and he said, ‘I have her’ and we dropped to our knees,” said Madelyn Allen’s father, Jonathan Allen. “We were so grateful, elated, couldn’t describe the feelings that we had.”
According to court documents, Brown faces charges including aggravated kidnapping and rape. He and Allen met online, documents show.
Authorities say Allen was taken to a local hospital for an examination before reuniting with her family.
“The ordeal that she has been through is dangerous and traumatic.” said Jacob Allen, a family spokesperson, “the experience and details and effects of which we’ve only begun to understand. She is a fighter. She is now a survivor.”
“From the heart of a mother, I express my gratitude to you, to each and every one of you for the hard work and dedication,” said Madelyn’s mother, Tanya Allen.
NewsNation affiliate KTVX contributed to this report.