Man, 39, Federally Charged: Girl Held 521 Days Was Rescued After a Gaming Contact Alerted the FBI
The U.S. Department of Justice announced on November 4 that Adam Hunter Harmel, 39, of Huntington, Oregon, has been federally charged with transporting a minor across state lines with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity. Prosecutors allege that on May 29, 2025, he took a girl who was then 15 from Utah and held her for 521 days. In October this year she reached out through an online game to another player, whose mother contacted the FBI; she was rescued in Oregon on November 1.
According to the criminal complaint, Harmel first groomed the girl on gaming platforms, obtained explicit photos, moved to other social apps, claimed a disability and offered money, then drove to Perry, Utah, on May 29, 2025 to collect her, threw her phone into a river in Logan Canyon, and took her across state lines to his home in Huntington, where he confined her and subjected her to sexual and physical abuse. These are allegations; Harmel has not been convicted.
In October, Harmel gave the girl an old Wi-Fi-only phone with no cellular service. Playing the game Among Us, she befriended another minor, reported to be in Colorado, moved the conversation to another social app, and disclosed who she was and that she was being held. The other player's mother contacted the FBI. On November 1 the FBI arranged a monitored video call in which the girl showed the house and a knife kept by the bed. That day, Oregon State Police and federal agents rescued her in Huntington and took her for medical care. Harmel was arrested the same day in a traffic stop in Ontario, Oregon.
The federal complaint was filed on November 2 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah, and Harmel made an initial appearance on November 4 in Boise, Idaho. If convicted, he faces 10 years to life in prison. FBI Director Kash Patel and U.S. Attorney for Utah Melissa Holyoak issued statements on the case, which was led by the FBI's Salt Lake City Field Office with the Rich County Sheriff's Office.
(Source: U.S. Department of Justice)
Source: U.S. Department of Justice
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于华盛顿的联邦调查局总部胡佛大楼。CC BY 2.0，Tony Webster，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: The J. Edgar Hoover FBI Headquarters building in Washington. CC BY 2.0, Tony Webster, via Wikimedia Commons.
