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Lance Bandley and Jed Boal Reporting Walter White's family and his estranged wife say he met Samantha Mikesell about a year ago and the two saw each other often.
White's family told us they met through one of White's sons. Several family members told us it was a friendship that broke up Walter White's marriage. Another family member told us it was more than a friendship and seemed a lot like obsession.
They described a man who needs help and has a price to pay, but they want to make sure it's the right price; they say he did not have a violent past.
Walter White and Samantha Mikesell met a year ago. Some family members say they were just friends and never alone, others say it was more than that. All agreed it was not healthy, and both had a history of suicide attempts.
White's estranged wife issued a statement through her nephew and expressed their sympathies to the Mikesell family.
Thomas, Walter's White's Relative: "Walter's estranged wife left him in February because of the friendship he had with Samantha."
White's sister-in-law says the relationship was obsessive; they talked about being in love. She says he admitted he could not leave young girls alone.
Sister-in-Law: "Walter has a horrible, sexual abuse, um past, where he's been in trouble with the law."
The family urged him to stop seeing the teen. They tried to stay in touch and make sure he was getting counseling and taking his medicine.
Anita White: "And then, all of a sudden, for about a month we didn't hear from him. And that's when Mike called him a couple of weeks ago and said, 'Hey, what's going on? Have you started seeing Sam again or what?' And he says, 'Well, I never stopped.'"
She says White told them what happened in the canyon.
Anita White: "That's what we thought, so Sam committed suicide over Walter. And then it came back that Walter was being investigated for the disappearance."
Hollie Barenz taught Samantha Mikesell at Viewmont High School and described her as a quiet, thoughtful student, a good writer taking challenging classes, including an on-line class this summer.
Hollie Barenz, Teacher, Viewmont High School: "She had a lot of thoughts about things, and obviously more comfortable expressing that through her writing than talking in class. She's not someone who spoke up a lot in class. She though carefully about a lot of things."
Two teenage sons of White are now struggling to cope with the separation of their parents, the death of a friend and the criminal investigation.
The Mikesell family is devastated by the death of their daughter and did not talk with us on camera.
Walter White has been on Utah's sex offender registry since 1996 when he was convicted of misdemeanor lewdness with a child.
K-S-L Newsradio uncovered court documents,which show White pleaded guilty to drilling holes in his apartment wall, so he could look at young women in their bedroom. Those documents show he also stole their underwear.
That charge was pleaded down, and White served no jail time.
White's family told Eyewitness News he was supposed to be taken off the sex offender list within weeks.
