Sandy MaloneLoa, UT – A 19-year-old Snow College student who disappeared after leaving her dorm on Dec. 13 was found alive, naked and buried in coal, in the basement of her kidnapper.
Police reports said that security cameras on campus showed that Madelyn Allen left her dormitory at 9:22 p.m. on Dec. 13, KTVX reported.
Someone who saw her leaving said that Allen looked like she was dressed to go meet up with someone.
She didn’t return home that night, but one of her parents received a random text from her at 7:20 a.m. the next morning that read “I Love You!” KTVX reported.
The text concerned her parents, and they contacted Verizon and had her phone tracked.
Verizon’s records showed that Allen’s phone was in Loa at 12:06 a.m. and 7:20 a.m. on Dec. 14, about 87 miles from her college campus in Ephraim, KTVX reported.
Her parents reported their daughter missing and police launched an investigation.
NOW: A vigil for 19-year-old Madelyn Allen who was found alive and safe last night
It’s to show their gratitude for those who helped find Maddie
The latest on the vigil amd arresting documents tonight at 10 on @abc4utah pic.twitter.com/T3uWUqsRbX
— Jordan Burrows (@jordan_burrows) December 20, 2021
Investigators found more cell phone pings on Dec. 18, KTVX reported.
They tracked Allen’s phone to an area on Main Street in Loa, a town of about 500 people, and began searching for the missing woman.
When officers approached the house, they spotted someone matching Allen’s description through the basement window.
Police went to the door and spoke with 39-year-old Brent Neil Brown and said no one else was inside the house, KTVX reported.
Ephraim police in Utah are searching for a missing Snow College student who was last seen possibly leaving her dorm Monday night. Security video appears to show #MadelynAllen, 19, leaving Snow Hall at 9:22 p.m. Monday with a plastic bag. #MISSING pic.twitter.com/dTIVCkQTpn
— Joseph Morris (@JosephMorrisYT) December 16, 2021
Brown refused to allow a search of the home without the consent of his parents, who were the owners.
So police contacted Brown’s parents and got consent to search the property, KTVX reported.
Police said officers found Allen’s Snow College ID sitting in plain sight in the house.
Officers also found a gun sitting in an open suitcase that also appeared to contain clothes that belonged to the missing woman, KTVX reported.
Allen was found alive – naked and completely covered in coal – in the home’s basement.
Police reports said her hair had been cut.
She was taken to the hospital and reunited with her family, according to KTVX.
Court records showed that Allen met her kidnapper on the messaging app KIK.
Officers detained Brown and when they searched him, found he had three knives, KTVX reported.
Brown confessed to police that he had seen a news report about Allen’s disappearance and then got rid of her cell phone in a trash can at a local store.
He told officers that he told Allen that he had sent the phone to Arizona, KTVX reported.
Police said Brown allegedly held Allen captive in his home for five days.
He said he left her tied up while he was away at work, the Daily Mail reported.
Brown later tried to claim that he and Allen were role-playing a kidnap fantasy.
Allen told police that Brown had her wallet with personal information about her family and that he had threatened that if she left or told anyone, he would come after her family, KTVX reported.
She said he told her that police had stopped looking for her, according to court documents.
Court documents showed that Brown is facing a myriad of charges including aggravated kidnapping and rape.
Holly Matkin
