HERRIMAN, Utah — A 41-year-old Utah man who was allegedly in contact with a teenage South Jordan girl before she disappeared last month has been arrested, while another man previously charged in connection to the case is now in custody.
The South Jordan Police Department announced the arrest of Samuel Mitchell of Herriman, and that Matthew Nicholas Menard from Miami has surrendered, a week after he was originally charged with Aggravated Sexual Exploitation of a Minor, Enticement of a Minor and Criminal Solicitation.
Mitchell faces charges of Sexual Exploitation of a Minor.
Fifteen-year-old Alisa Petrov was last seen by her family on the morning of April 21 when she left her American Fork school. She was seen later that day at a UTA train station in Provo, where she asked for help getting to Las Vegas.
During a search of a secret iPad found hidden by Petrov in her home, detectives found an online conversation with an account named 'samitch,' which was later connected to the Mitchell.
Messages between Petrov and Mitchell were exchanged approximately eight days before she went missing.
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According to the warrant, Petrov asked Mitchell to "kidnap her," and provided him with locations where she was going to be. Petrov referred to him as "daddy" multiple times, the documents show, and that conversations between the two were "sexual in nature."
As the two spoke via the Discord app, they brought up "coupls twister" and "sex monopoly."
Despite the sexual conversations, no child sex abuse material (CSAM) was found on either Petrov or Mitchell’s accounts, the warrant states.
The two had planned to meet up before Mitchell became sick, with final contact coming from Petrov on April 19 when she said, "I'm running away, please don't contact me."
Charging documents against Menard show he began communicating with Petrov on or about January 17, and during conversations with her, verified that she was 15 years old. He is also accused of using graphic language in his communications.
Both Mitchell and Menard have been booked into the Salt Lake County Jail
