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Brent Brown, a 39-year-old man from Utah, has been arrested for allegedly kidnapping 19-year-old student, Madelyn Allen. The latter was reported missing after she was last seen leaving her dormitory around 9:22 PM on December 13, 2021.
The Snow College student was reportedly expecting Brent Brown to pick her up that night. The duo met online and started chatting on the Kik messaging app before they decided to meet in person.
On December 14, Allen’s parents received a concerning “I Love You” text from her phone and alerted law enforcement officials. The mobile phone was later located in the Loa region of Utah, nearly 87 miles away from the victim’s college campus.
This led to extensive search operations throughout the week until authorities discovered Madelyn Allen’s student ID and suitcase at Brent Brown’s home following a ground search. On December 18, the teenager was found inside a coal bunker without any clothes and covered in coal.
Heavy reported that VINE link listed Brent Brown as being detained in custody at the Sevier County Jail as of December 19, 2021. The man reportedly told officers that he had started talking to Madelyn Allen in a online “slave domination group” and initially thought the entire ordeal was part of a “role-play.”
According to the Tribune, the relationship between Brown and Allen became non-consensual shortly after they met. The suspect then took away the victim’s phone and wallet, and tied her inside the bunker when he went to work.
He also allegedly threatened to harm her and her family if she informed anyone else about him. Brent Brown was immediately detained by police and Madelyn Allen was sent to a hospital.
Brent Brown has not been formally charged at the time of writing. However, he is being held in custody, without bail, on suspicion of four felony counts including “aggravated kidnapping, obstruction of justice, r*pe and object r*pe.” It remains to be seen if he will be convicted of the charges in the days to come.
All about the Kik messaging app that readers need to know
Kik is a free, instant messaging app that allows users to maintain anonymity while chatting with family and friends using Wi-Fi or mobile phone data. The app only requires users to sign up with an email address to ensure increased privacy.
It is available on Android, iOS, and Amazon's Kindle, Fire and has hundreds of millions of registered users around the world. The app allows features like multimedia exchange, live video chats, promoted chats and even anonymous chats.
The dangers associated with the Kik app due to its widespread and anonymous nature
The private and convenient nature of the app has made it extremely popular among teenagers. However, the anonymous chat feature makes Kik risky for young users, who can end up speaking to unknown individuals possessing potential threats or danger.
The current age restriction for registering in Kik is 13 but the Apple App Store has deemed it inappropriate for individuals younger than 17.
Kik has suggested users block and report senders of inappropriate messages and has also issued a guideline policy for minors. Parents of underage Kik users are also allowed to contact the support team to request that their children's account be deactivated.
Following the arrest of Brent Brown for kidnapping Madelyn Allen after speaking to her through the app, Snow College President Bradley Cook asked students to be more careful about their online activity:
"It reminds us of some dangers, especially our young people who are online. You need to be careful. We just have to be ever vigilant about those kinds of interactions."
Everything to know about Brent Brown
Brent Brown hails from Wayne County, Utah, and has made the news for being arrested for the kidnapping of teenager Madelyn Allen. As per the Tribune, the police affidavit has described Brown as a tall man of 6'2 height, weighing 250 pounds and having light-colored hair.
According to his Facebook account, he reportedly works as an equipment operator.
As per his social media activities, Brown is a supporter of former president Donald Trump and has often expressed supportive sentiments about police and gun rights.
