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By Amanda Castro
Associate News Editor
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Adam Hunter Harmel, 39, is facing a federal charge after authorities found a 17-year-old Utah girl at his Oregon home more than 500 days after she disappeared.
The case has drawn scrutiny because another family accused Harmel of sexually abusing their 6-year-old daughter before the Utah teenager disappeared. The allegation did not result in criminal charges, but the Baker County district attorney says the investigation remains active.
Harmel is charged with transporting a minor across state lines with the intent that she engage in illegal sexual activity.
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The federal complaint alleges conduct beginning in May 2025 and continuing until the teenager was recovered on November 1, 2026.
An FBI spokesperson declined to comment, citing the ongoing investigation, and referred Newsweek to the federal court filings.
Newsweek has also contacted the Baker County District Attorney’s Office and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah for comment.
Who Is Adam Harmel?
Harmel was living in Huntington, a small Oregon community in Baker County near the Idaho border, when authorities recovered the missing Utah teenager. Authorities arrested him during a traffic stop in Ontario and initially booked him into the Malheur County Jail.
Little is publicly known about Harmel's life before the accusations. Eric Solari and Keriann Solari, whose 6-year-old daughter later accused Harmel of abuse, said their family knew him while they lived near one another in Huntington. Their children reportedly attended school and played together.
A person who shared Harmel's residence also told investigators about the Utah teenager, according to the federal complaint. The housemate said Harmel traveled to Utah in 2025 and returned with the girl, whom he described as his new girlfriend. The witness said they were unsure of her age and did not interact with her until about two months after she arrived.
Newsweek could not locate a contact for Harmel's attorney.
What Is Adam Harmel Accused of Doing?
The federal case centers on the teenager's disappearance on May 29, 2025. The FBI received information about the case in August and learned from a parent that she had, initially, allegedly been groomed on gaming platforms before conversations moved to other social media services, according to the complaint.
Investigators allege Harmel met the teenager online and offered her money to travel to Oregon. He then allegedly drove to Perry, Utah, picked her up and threw her cellphone into a river in Logan Canyon before taking her to his home.
The teenager told investigators that Harmel prevented her from leaving and made her sleep with him in a basement, where he allegedly kept a knife beneath his pillow and positioned her against a wall. She accused him of repeatedly hitting and sexually assaulting her.
She also alleged Harmel forced her to remove her braces with pliers to make her more difficult to identify. The teenager told investigators that Harmel expressed an interest in minors and talked about starting a family with her.
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How Was the Missing Utah Teen Found?
A chance online encounter ultimately helped investigators locate the teenager. According to the federal complaint, another minor encountered her while playing the game Among Us on October 15, 2026.
Their conversation allegedly moved to another social media platform, where the teenager disclosed her identity and said she was being held against her will in Oregon.
The other child's parent contacted authorities. On November 1, the FBI monitored a video call in which the teenager described how she said she met Harmel and traveled to Oregon, and alleged that he subsequently prevented her from leaving.
She also showed those on the call a knife she said Harmel kept near his bed and what she described as evidence of a sexual assault.
Authorities recovered the teenager and took her for medical treatment and evaluation. During a subsequent search, investigators found knives, female clothing, sexual lubricant and firearms that were later determined to be BB guns, according to the FBI affidavit.
Investigators said the discoveries corroborated portions of the teenager's account.
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What Are the Earlier Allegations Against Adam Harmel?
Before the federal case, Harmel faced separate accusations involving a child in Baker County. The Solaris say their daughter was six when she accused Harmel of sexually abusing her following a sleepover between neighboring families in 2024.
The girl did not immediately disclose the alleged abuse, according to her parents and court records reviewed by local news outlets.
Her parents said she told them what had happened in fall 2024. The family contacted Baker County authorities, and the girl underwent a forensic interview.
Neither Harmel nor his then-wife has been criminally charged over the girl's allegations.
What Do Court Records Say About the 6-Year-Old's Allegations?
The girl's parents sought sexual abuse protective orders against Harmel and his wife in Baker County. According to Baker County court records, the girl alleged that the couple made her sleep in their room during a sleepover and subjected her to sexual contact. She also alleged she was made to perform sex acts on Harmel.
A judge granted the protective orders in March 2025, and they remain in effect until 2037, according to 7Investigates. KUTV reported that the sexual abuse protection order was dated March 14, 2025.
Keriann Solari told KUTV that her daughter later became afraid to sleep in her own bedroom because its window faced Harmel's home. She said the girl reported that Harmel would look through the window at night.
The family subsequently moved away from Huntington.
The allegations were presented to a Baker County grand jury in 2025, but jurors declined to indict Harmel and recommended further investigation, according to District Attorney Greg Baxter.
The Baker County District Attorney’s Office told KUTV that the investigation remains “active and ongoing” and that it obtained a new search warrant following the recent developments in Huntington.
Harmel's federal case will now proceed through the court system following his initial appearance in Boise, Idaho. He is charged with transporting a minor across state lines with the intent that she engage in criminal sexual activity.
Harmel has not been convicted of the federal charge. The separate Baker County investigation into allegations involving the 6-year-old also remains unresolved.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Samantha Beech and Geoffrey Rowland.
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