Teen girl missing from Utah for weeks found safe after walking into Colorado Springs substation
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – A 15-year-old girl missing for weeks from Utah has been found safe over 500 miles away in Colorado Springs after walking into a police substation late Sunday night, according to Utah's South Jordan Police Department (SJPD).
According to the Colorado Springs Police Department, 15-year-old Alisa Petrov walked into the Stetson Hills subdivision just after 7 p.m. on Sunday, June 1, where she told police she was a runaway and asked to speak to an officer about child abuse.
Petrov had been missing from her home in Utah since April 21. At this time, it's unclear how Petrov got to Colorado Springs, or whether she was being held against her will.
KRDO13 has spoken with Alisa's father over the phone, who says the whole family is now traveling to Colorado Springs after being notified their daughter is safe.
SJPD said on April 21, Petrov walked away from her high school in American Fork, Utah and purchased items at a local gas station before she was seen boarding a UTA train. She reportedly asked multiple people to help her travel to Las Vegas, Nevada.
In initial reports of her disappearance, police said they believed Petrov was "attempting to meet individuals she met online using multiple social media platforms and chat applications."
Alisa was classified as a "runaway juvenile who is endangered" by SJPD.
Three men facing charges for their communication with Petrov
On May 28 – more than a month after Petrov went missing – SJPD announced they had identified and charged two men who were in communication with Petrov just before her disappearance.
According to SJPD, Mathew Nicholas Menard, 35, from Miami, Florida, and William Taylor Glines, 37, from Texas City, Texas were both in communication with Petrov before she left school on April 21.
Following an investigation, Menard was charged with aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor, enticement of a minor, and criminal solicitation. Glines faces those same charges, along with additional counts of attempted aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor and sexual exploitation of a minor.
A third man, Samuel Mitchell, 41, from Herriman, Utah, was later charged in connection. He now faces five counts of sexual exploitation of a minor and one charge of enticing a minor. Mitchell was in court Monday morning for a hearing related to those charges.
According to court documents obtained by KRDO13, all three men are accused of having sexually explicit conversations online with the 15-year-old, including asking her to send explicit photos and videos. Investigators also found "multiple files of child sex abuse material" on all three men's phones.
Messages revealed that all three were aware that Petrov was a minor.
In one series of messages between Petrov and Menard, the two discussed meeting up in Las Vegas.
Mitchell also admitted to law enforcement that he had "planned to meet up with (Petrov), but cancelled due to illness," court documents read.
This is a developing story and may be updated as we learn more.
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