FOUND: Police Searching For Missing Utah College Student
Update 12/20/2021: MADELYN ALLEN HAS BEEN FOUND!!
A week after going missing, Allen has been found and a man has been placed under arrest.
After using phone records to trace Allen’s phone to Loa, Utah, police were lead to a house on Main Street. As authorities approached the house, they were able to see a young woman in the basement of the home. A 39-year-old man identified as Brent Neil Brown answered the door and said no one else was in the home. He also would not allow a consensual search of his home without the permission of his parents, the owners of the home. The parents were contacted and a consensual search granted.
Officers quickly noticed a Snow College ID belonging to Allen sitting in plain sight. Near the ID was an open suitcase that appeared to belong to Allen containing a firearm. Officers detained and searched Brown, finding three knives on his person. Brown faces charges including aggravated kidnapping and rape, according to court documents.
Allen was found in the coal storage area of the home and was completely covered in coal. Authorities say Allen was taken to a local hospital for an examination before reuniting with her family.
According to court documents, Allen and Brown met online.
“The ordeal that she has been through is dangerous and traumatic,” family spokesperson Jacob Allen said. “The experience and details and effects of which we’ve only begun to understand. She is a fighter. She is now a survivor.”
Update 12/18/2021: Officials believe Madelyn Allen has left the Ephraim area. The college has confirmed Allen does not maintain a driver’s license, nor does she have access to a car from their knowledge.
Allen’s father recently stated that the family is worried that she may be facing a mental health crisis.
“At her birth, she experienced a brain bleed and had a number of issues at that time and since then, she’s face a myriad of challenges, including disability as well as mental and emotional difficulties,” he said.
19-year-old Madelyn Allen has been missing since late Monday and police are searching for clues. According to security footage, she was last seen leaving her dorm room.
Allen is currently a student at Snow College in Ephraim, Utah. She was reported missing by her roommates after she failed to return to her dorm on Tuesday.
The college has released a still image from security cameras that shows Allen leaving around 9:22 pm carrying a white plastic bag. Her hair is tied back in a braid and she is wearing a white fleece jacket and a dark skirt.
The spokesperson for the school, Marci Larsen, stated it was finals week at the school and it is normal for kids to go home after they are completed. Allen has not completed her exams, according to Larsen. Police doubt Allen was attempting to go home, given that she wasn’t carrying a duffel bag or other luggage.
Allen’s parents live in northern Salt Lake County and told police they haven’t seen their daughter. Larsen said they are currently in Ephraim, searching for their daughter.
“They’re very worried,” Larsen said.
Police are trying to track Allen’s phone records, the spokesperson added, to see if that will help locate her. For now, the circumstances are considered suspicious.
Anyone with information about 19-year-old Madelyn Allen’s whereabouts or who saw anything suspicious in the area may call 435-283-7170.
