Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
- A missing South Jordan teen, Alisa Petrov, was found safe in Colorado, but many questions remain.
- Alisa contacted Colorado Springs police, ending a six-week search for her.
- Three men who were allegedly talking to Alisa before she disappeared face charges for online exploitation.
SOUTH JORDAN — A 15-year-old girl from South Jordan missing for more than a month was found in Colorado Springs on Sunday after police say she "voluntarily made contact with the Colorado Springs Police Department and identified herself as Alisa Petrov."
"Alisa is in good health and safe with Colorado officials," South Jordan police said in a statement Sunday night.
Nikolai Petrov, Alisa's father, posted a message on his Facebook page Sunday night stating, "Thank you everyone for all your help! Thank you for sharing the news, thank you for following, and thank you for the tips! Alisa walked into a police department today on June 1. She was gone for almost 6 weeks. Special thanks to the South Jordan Police Department who worked on weekends, and to the Salt Lake City FBI who helped them. ... Also special thank you to our local community for praying!"
But where Alisa has been since April 21, how she got to Colorado and whether anyone was helping her are all questions that police say remain under investigation and they can't answer at this time.
On April 21, Alisa's mother dropped her off at school in American Fork at 9:30 a.m. However, she "never went to class, and was later located on security cameras at a nearby gas station. She was later given a ride by an unknown male to the UTA TRAX station in American Fork, where she traveled to Provo. She was last seen on surveillance footage in Provo on foot," according to court documents.
While searching her room, police found an iPad hidden in her dresser.
"The iPad was later searched, and I located numerous alarming conversations and media within. I discovered a hidden Instagram account the juvenile had, where she had been conversing with an individual with the profile name 'Matt.' I read through their conversations, which were lengthy. I discovered Matt had identified himself to this juvenile as a 35-year-old male living in Miami. In their conversations, the juvenile is clear with Matt regarding her age being 15, and he makes many statements confirming his knowledge of this," the lead investigators wrote in one of the search warrant affidavits served in the case.
Detectives discovered that Alisa had allegedly been conversing with several men online before she disappeared. Three men have been charged as a result of those conversations. All three are accused of engaging in sexually explicit conversations online with Alisa before she ran away from home.
Matthew Nicholas Menard, 35, of Miami, was charged in Utah's 4th District Court with two counts of aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor, a first-degree felony; plus enticing a minor and three counts of criminal solicitation, class A misdemeanors.
On May 12, William Taylor Glines, 37, of Texas City, Texas, was charged in 4th District Court with two counts of aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor and two counts of attempted aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor, first-degree felonies; two counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, a second-degree felony; plus enticement of a minor and three counts of criminal solicitation, a class A misdemeanor.
Samuel Teancum Mitchell, 41, of Herriman, was charged Friday in 3rd District Court with five counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, a second-degree felony, and enticement of a minor, a class A misdemeanor.
On Tuesday, South Jordan officer Shaun Becker said the department would not release any additional information at this time, including whether Alisa's parents had flown to Colorado to reunite with their daughter or if the reunion would happen in Utah.
Other questions, such as whether she made it to Las Vegas as Alisa had allegedly discussed with others, where she has been staying for six weeks, whether she traveling alone, and whether police expect to make any additional arrests, are all part of the ongoing investigation, said Becker who emphasized that the girl's well-being is the department's primary focus at this time.
Contributing: Garna Mejia
