A missing Utah college student has been reunited with her family after they spent five days searching for her.
Madelyn Allen was last seen leaving her Snow College dorm around 9:22 p.m. on December 13. When she didn't return by the next morning, her roommates reported her missing.
On December 18, authorities were able to recover Allen with the help of a text message she had sent to her parents before she was even reported missing. She was being held captive in the basement of 39-year-old Brent Neil Brown. Allen reportedly met the man on a messaging app, though all the details are not known at this time.
Investigators took note of a text message saying "I love you" that Madelyn Allen sent to her parents on the morning of December 14, the day after she left her student residence. She later told investigators this was the only time that she was allowed to have her phone while being held by her captor.
The text, in itself, didn't reveal much, but location tracking indicated the text was sent from Loa, which is located 87 miles from Snow College. Madelyn didn't have a car or any access to one.
Yet in the video showing Allen leaving her student residence, she appears to be looking for someone who was picking her up. Police continued tracking the device and got consistent pings in a Loa location. Officers went to the home of Brent Brown, where according to the affidavit obtained by Gephardt Daily they saw a light-haired woman peeking out the basement window. They spoke to Brown, who said he was alone and denied police entry.
Police obtained a search warrant and returned to the home, where they located Allen's student ID. She was found in the basement of the home in a coal storage area. Brown had covered her naked body in coal to try to conceal her.
A gun was located in an open suitcase in the home that also contained Allen's clothes, as well as three knives. According to the probable cause affidavit, Brown is now facing felony counts of aggravated kidnapping, rape, object rape, and obstruction of justice.
Madelyn Allen told police she was restrained for part of the time she was being held captive. When she was removed from constraints, Brown "threatened her, saying if she left or told anyone about him, he would come after her family and sister." She also told police she was raped several times daily and subject to additional threats.
Her family thanked authorities in a press conference. "It is striking how different our hearts have felt ever since our dear Maddie was found last evening," Madelyn Allen's uncle, Jacob Allen, said on behalf of the family.
"We are overjoyed and relieved that she is safe. While she is now safe, the ordeal that she has been through was dangerous and traumatic, the experience and details and effects of which we’ve only begun to understand. She is a fighter. She is now a survivor. We are grateful she is with us again so that we can help her heal and recover."
"Over the past few days, we have been amazed at the tireless world-class efforts that have gone into the investigation regarding Maddie's disappearance," he continued.
"Led by Chief Walk, the team has local, state, and federal agencies, and has gone to extraordinary lengths to include us in the effort, listening to the family's concerns and ideas throughout the process. There was much they understandably could not share. But they did share everything they could to help us understand their efforts."
Madelyn Allen's parents briefly spoke to express gratitude. They'd feared this could go on much longer and are grateful to have their daughter home safe.
"We got the phone call, he called us as he had done many times," Jonathan Allen said of the moment they learned the good news.
"And he said 'I have her,' and we dropped to our knees."
"We are so excited to have our Maddie home. We love her so much. She has been such a light and a joy in our lives. We're so grateful that we can continue our lives together with her, and it took the effort of so many," said mom Taunya Allen.
"We are so grateful, and we love you and we pray for our Maddie as she moves forward that she can find hope and happiness and joy in her future."
