A missing Indiana teen was found in Uintah County this week at a Vernal man’s home. 23-year-old Matthew Brian Barrow was arrested on charges of Felony Kidnapping and Sexual Exploitation of a Minor on Monday. He is being held in the Uintah County Jail and is being held without bail. According to the Affidavit of Probable Cause, Vernal City Police responded to a report of a missing 17-year-old juvenile from Indiana in the Vernal area. Their investigation led them to locate the missing juvenile in the trailer park on North 500 East. The juvenile was taken to Ashley Regional Medical Center for a mental health evaluation and Barrow was located and told officers he had met the victim while working as a suicide crisis worker over the internet and that he had gone to Indiana and brought her back to Vernal. He said he did this to help her. They had been interacting online for about 4 months and had begun plans for him to come get her for about the last month. A week earlier, the juvenile snuck out of a window at her home in the middle of the night and went with Barrow without her parents knowing. During the investigation Barrow shared that he had posted on Snapchat about his past experience with suicidal thoughts and that he was looking to help people. He said he had communicated with around 20 juveniles around the country about these things but had since been blocked on Snapchat by these individuals. He and the Indiana juvenile, however, had hit it off and the interaction became romantic in nature. Barrow admitted to engaging in sex with the juvenile and told officers that their intention was to live together until the juvenile turned 18 and then they would get married. The initial charges are related to Barrow moving the juvenile across state lines without the parents permission and due to him being in possession of nude images of the juvenile. The Affidavit of Probable Cause states that there is an extremely high likelihood that further criminal charges will be filed. Barrow is scheduled for his initial court appearance on June 21st.
