LOA, Utah — A missing Utah college student was found over the weekend after not being seen for a week, according to multiple reports.
Snow College, where the student was attending, announced on Sunday that Madelyn Allen, 19, was found safe by police. The college originally reported that Allen was last seen leaving her dorm on Dec. 13.
KTVX reports that authorities arrested 39-year-old Brent Brown in connection to Allen's disappearance. The news outlet says Allen was found covered in coal in Brown's basement.
According to the Salt Lake Tribune, Allen and Brown first met in an online "chat group," and Brown picked her up the night she went missing. Snow College security footage showed Allen leaving her dorm in a white fleece jacket and a dark skirt that night.
However, police say the relationship turned sinister the following day as Brown would not allow Allen to use her phone and tied her up when he was at work.
Law enforcement eventually was able to use cellphone tower information to locate the town Allen's phone was last used in, according to the Tribune. Police said when they arrived to the town of Loa, they noticed a person with light-colored hair through the basement window of Brown's home.
After obtaining a search warrant, police said Allen's Snow College ID was in plain view, and a gun was found in a suitcase with what appeared to be her clothes. Police would find Allen in the basement inside coal storage area, covered in coal, the Tribune reports.
Brown was arrested and charged with multiple felony charges including aggravated kidnapping and obstruction of justice, according to KTVX.
Allen has since been reunited with her family.
