Missing 15-year-old girl who had disturbing chats with men is found safe over 500 miles from home

Alisa Petrov, a 15-year-old girl from South Jordan, Utah, who had been missing for about six weeks, was found safe in Colorado Springs, which is more than 500 miles away from her home.

On June 1, 2025, she went to the Colorado Springs Police Department and told them she was a runaway. She wanted to talk to an officer about child abuse.

Fortunately, she was in good health. However, the police have not yet figured out how she got to the station or if she had been detained against her will while she was gone.

Alisa was reported missing on April 21, shortly after she sent a disturbing message to a 41-year-old guy, Samuel Teancum Mitchell, with whom she had been engaging in sexual talks.

She said in her last message, “I’M RUNNING AWAY.” “Please don’t get in touch with me,” which made many worry about her safety. The police investigation discovered that Alisa had been talking with many males online, leading to the designation of her as an endangered runaway.

Three males were arrested in connection with her case as part of the inquiry into her disappearance. Samuel Mitchell was charged with five charges of sexual exploitation of a juvenile and one count of luring a minor.

William Taylor Glines, 37, from Texas, and Matthew Nicholas Menard, 35, from Florida, were also charged with other crimes linked to their conversations with Alisa before she went missing.

Glines faces accusations of aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor and attempted aggravated sexual exploitation, while Menard is accused with aggravated sexual exploitation and enticing a minor.

Alisa’s disappearance began after she left her high school and was last seen boarding a train in Provo. While she was gone, she apparently asked a number of people for help getting to Las Vegas, Nevada, which shows that she wanted to see people she had met online.

The community and Alisa’s family expressed enormous joy and thanks upon her safe return, thanking law officers and all who supported the search efforts throughout the weeks she was missing.