EPHRAIM—A 19-year-old Kaysville woman attending Snow College was found Dec. 18 after she was reported missing on Dec. 13. Madelyn Allen had last been seen leaving her residence in Snow Hall about 9:30 p.m.

“We all hoped for this outcome,” said Snow College Police Chief Derek Walk in a press conference. “Investigators spent countless hours following leads, using investigative tools, interviewing others and analyzing data. That focus, hard work and selflessness of law enforcement officers paid off.”

Walk said Allen was found in Wayne County. “One person, Brent Brown a 39-year-old man from Utah has been taken into custody. She was found in a house that at the present time is occupied by Brown.”

Brown was arrested for investigation of aggravated kidnapping, rape, object rape and obstruction of justice. 

According to the police booking affidavit, Allen was found in a coal storage area inside his parents’ home naked and covered in coal. 

“We don’t have a lot of information about him,” said Walk. “The investigation is ongoing and there are several aspects we are looking into.”

Police said Brown told investigators that he made contact with the woman through an app and they arranged to meet on Dec. 13. However, after driving her 87 miles from the college to his home Brown allegedly would not let her leave, the affidavit said. He allegedly held her captive for the next five days, physically and sexually assaulting her.

Brown allegedly forced Allen into the coal storage to hide from police, the arrest affidavit said. Allen told investigators that Brown let her turn on her phone briefly to text her parents. Authorities were able to track her location from the phone that led them to Brown’s home.

“We found her through a lot of hard work, dedication and digging into facts and leads that we discovered as we were investigating the case,” said Walk. “We did a fair amount of door knocking as well to locate her.”

“It’s striking how different our hearts have felt since our dear Maddie was found,” said the woman’s uncle. “We are overjoyed and relieved that she is safe. While she is now safe, the ordeal she’s been through is dangerous and traumatic, the experience and details of the effects of which we’ve only begun to understand.”

She’s a fighter and now she’s a survivor, he said. “We’re grateful she is with us again so we can help her heal and recover.”

“You can imagine the rollercoaster of emotions we’ve had over the last few days early in the week when we heard of her disappearance,” said her father. “You can imagine what we could have felt when we tried to think in our minds what could have possibly happened to her. When the chief called as he had done many times and said ‘I have her’ we dropped to our knees.”

“From the heart of a mother I want to express my gratitude for the hard work and dedication,” said her mother. “From our perspective to see this army that has surrounded us – thank you.”