Latest news with #MatthewMenard
Daily Mail
30-05-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Tech exec, 35, who 'groomed missing Alisa on her secret iPad' is finally arrested
A tech sales executive accused of trying to lure a missing girl across the country for sex has surrendered to police after eight days in hiding. Matthew Nicholas Menard, 35, allegedly spent months grooming Alisa Petrov, 15, after getting in contact via Instagram through her secret iPad. He slowly gained her trust and police alleged convinced her to send him nude photos and engage in perverted sexual fantasies before agreeing to meet in person. Alisa suddenly disappeared from her school in Utah on April 21, and messages between the two revealed they had arranged to meet in Las Vegas. Police believe they never actually met, but Alisa has not been seen or heard from since she was spotted asking for help to get a bus ticket to Las Vegas. Menard was charged with two counts of aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor, enticement of a minor, and three counts of criminal solicitation on May 20. Police earlier refused to say why he wasn't in custody, but late on Wednesday night he finally turned himself in after traveling to Utah from his home in Miami and was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail. A second man Alisa was talking to, identified by police as William Taylor Glines, 37, from Texas City, Texas, was arrested on May 8 and remains in custody. South Jordan Police also arrested a third man late on Wednesday, who was allegedly grooming Alisa days before she disappeared. Samuel Teancum Mitchell, 41, lived in Herriman, Utah, only streets away from Alisa's home in South Jordan, on the edge of Salt Lake City. He was also thrown in the Salt Lake County Jail and charged with sexual exploitation of a minor. Mitchell comes from a very large Mormon family originally from North Carolina, and moved to Utah as a child along with his 11 brothers and sisters. One of his brothers, Abe Mitchell, took his own life on February 24 last year and Mitchell started a fundraiser that collected $8,000 for his funeral costs. Police allegedly found perverted messages between the pair on Alisa's iPad, exchanged through Discord and Snapchat, according to a search warrant. Alisa asked Mitchell to 'kidnap' her while she was on a family ski trip, and revealed she was running away from home two days before she went missing. 'IM RUNNING AWAY, please don't contact me,' she wrote at 12.34am on April 19, the search warrant alleged. Messages between Alisa and Mitchell included her telling him she wanted to be a vlogger when she turned 18, but also allegedly contained graphic descriptions of sexual acts he wanted to do to her when they met in person. She was only saved from this fate when Mitchell told her they couldn't meet, the affidavit explained. 'Sorry I'm really sick,' Mitchell allegedly wrote. Alisa replied: 'So we meeting?' Mitchell responded: 'If you want to hear me sneezing and coughing and getting you sick, plus I wouldn't be much fun.' South Jordan Police requesting the search warrant alleged Alisa called Mitchell 'daddy' and they discussed 'couples twister' and 'sex monopoly' games. Alisa also requested multiple times for Mitchell to 'kidnap her' and eight days before she ran away sent him locations where she would be, the affidavit alleged. One of these was the Alta Ski Resort, where Alisa was on a trip with her parents the weekend before she disappeared - returning only hours earlier. Some of the photos her parents Olga and Nikolai released in the hope of finding her were taken on the same ski trip. After Mitchell said he was sick, Alisa instead allegedly arranged to meet Menard in Las Vegas while he was there on a business trip, and from there fly to Los Angeles, then his home in Miami. On April 21, Alisa was dropped off at her school, Canyon Grove Academy, in American Fork, about 32 miles south of Salt Lake City. But instead of going to class, she bought supplies at a nearby gas station and convinced a man there to drive her to the local train station. Alisa got off the train in Provo, about 14 miles south of American Fork, and asked multiple people there to help her get a bus ticket to Las Vegas. Alisa returned from a family trip to Alta Ski Resort in Utah only hours before she disappeared. Some of the photos her parents released were taken on the same ski trip Menard, an IT sales executive, grew up in Noblesville outside Indianapolis the youngest of four brothers, then moved to Chicago and finally Miami. But beneath his clean-cut, designer stubbled face was allegedly a depraved desire to sexually abuse young girls. Police detailed in affidavits the disturbing messages between Alisa and Menard dating back to January 17. '[Menard] over the course of several months, corresponded with [the teen] for the purpose of soliciting sex, sodomy, and child sex abuse material from the minor,' the affidavit continued. '[He] discussed in graphic detail his intent to sexually abuse the child. [He] encouraged and engaged with [the teen] all from the state of Florida, where all his substantial ties to the community and resources are.' Menard's lawyers, Collins Rupp in Bountiful, north of Salt Lake City, did not return calls. Glines was arrested in Texas City on May 8 and remains in custody charged with aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor, attempted aggravated exploitation of a minor, sexual exploitation of a minor, enticement of a minor, and criminal solicitation. He was also charged by police in Texas with possessing more than 50 child sexual abuse images or videos. He is yet to enter a plea. The probable cause affidavit detailed disturbing conversations between Glines and Alisa, including how he allegedly convinced he to send nude photos and videos. '[Alisa] expresses feeling extremely uncomfortable and anxious sending pictures and photos of herself, to the point it made her want to self-harm,' it alleged. She was so uncomfortable that on one occasion when Glines allegedly threatened to punish her if she refused, she asked for the punishment instead. He told her to beat herself with a piece of wood or a hairbrush as hard as she could, explaining 'I'm a sadist'. 'I'm just saying if the average person knew I was talking to you they'd want to cut my f**king d**k [off],' he said during another conversation. Police have not said if any of the three men knew each other. '[Police] say they cannot guarantee [that Alisa is still alive], but there was no indication that she's not,' Alisa's mother, Olga Petrov, told 'They say they still have some leads... but we have no idea what kind of leads, they're not saying anything.' Olga said she and her husband, Nikolai, were vigilant in protecting their daughter and educated her about the dangers of talking to strangers online. 'We regularly check her phone and there was nothing suspicious. Everything seemed to be normal, just classmates, neighbors,' she said. 'We never thought she could be talking to strangers in this way.' The worried mother hoped Alisa was just staying away because 'I would assume she's really embarrassed.' She said Alisa didn't have much money and that she didn't have a coat, even though it was below 40 degrees on some of nights after she went missing. 'So somebody else is either helping her and we don't know who or where... I'm not suspecting the worst,' Olga said. 'That means she's with somebody else and we don't know if it's a good person or a bad person.' Alisa was very trusting of people and liked to strike up conversations with others in the park while hiking or on family holidays. 'She was always trying to meet people to talk to people, like I mean she was just trusting, and we cautioned her about it all the time to at least to be careful,' her mother said. 'That's just how she is... and they took advantage of her.' Petrov's desperate family is offering a $20,000 reward for anyone with information on her whereabouts. They set up a website with a desperate appeal to the teen, insisting she wouldn't be in trouble if she returned. 'Alisa, if you can see this, please know that we love you, we will always love you. We miss you. All of your friends and our friends are very worried too,' her parents wrote. Police have classified the teen as an endangered runaway. She is described as standing about 5-foot-3 and weighing about 122 pounds. Surveillance footage from the gas station showed her wearing a white shirt with darker lettering on the front.
Daily Mail
29-05-2025
- General
- Daily Mail
BREAKING NEWS Tech exec, 35, who 'groomed missing Alisa on her secret iPad' is finally arrested
A tech sales executive accused of trying to lure a missing girl across the country for sex has surrendered to police after eight days in hiding. Matthew Nicholas Menard, 35, allegedly spent months grooming Alisa Petrov, 15, after getting in contact via Instagram through her secret iPad. He slowly gained her trust and police alleged convinced her to send him nude photos and engage in perverted sexual fantasies before agreeing to meet in person. Alisa suddenly disappeared from her school in Utah on April 21, and messages between the two revealed they had arranged to meet in Las Vegas. Police believe they never actually met, but Alisa has not been seen or heard from since she was spotted asking for help to get a bus ticket to Las Vegas. Menard was charged with two counts of aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor, enticement of a minor, and three counts of criminal solicitation on May 20. Police earlier refused to say why he wasn't in custody, but late on Wednesday night he finally turned himself in after traveling to Utah and was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail. A second man Alisa was talking to, identified by police as William Taylor Glines, 37, from Texas City, Texas, was arrested on May 8 and remains in custody. South Jordan Police also arrested a third man late on Wednesday, who was allegedly grooming Alisa days before she disappeared. Samuel Teancum Mitchell, 41, lived in Herriman, Utah, only streets away from Alisa's home in South Jordan, on the edge of Salt Lake City. He was also thrown in the Salt Lake County Jail and charged with sexual exploitation of a minor. Police allegedly found perverted messages between the pair on Alisa's iPad, exchanged through Discord and Snapchat, according to a search warrant. Alisa asked Mitchell to 'kidnap' her while she was on a family ski trip, and revealed she was running away from home two days before she went missing. 'IM RUNNING AWAY, please don't contact me,' she wrote at 12.34am on April 19, the search warrant alleged. Messages between Alisa and Mitchell included her telling him she wanted to be a vlogger when she turned 18, but also allegedly contained graphic descriptions of sexual acts he wanted to do to her when they met in person. She was only saved from this fate when Mitchell told her they couldn't meet, the affidavit explained. 'Sorry I'm really sick,' Mitchell allegedly wrote. Alisa replied: 'So we meeting?' Mitchell responded: 'If you want to hear me sneezing and coughing and getting you sick, plus I wouldn't be much fun.' Beneath Menard's clean-cut, designer stubbled face was allegedly a depraved desire South Jordan Police requesting the search warrant alleged Alisa called Mitchell 'daddy' and they discussed 'couples twister' and 'sex monopoly' games. Alisa also requested multiple times for Mitchell to 'kidnap her' and eight days before she ran away sent him locations where she would be, the affidavit alleged. One of these was the Alta Ski Resort, where Alisa was on a trip with her parents the weekend before she disappeared - returning only hours earlier. Some of the photos her parents Olga and Nikolai released in the hope of finding her were taken on the same ski trip. After Mitchell said he was sick, Alisa instead allegedly arranged to meet Menard in Las Vegas while he was there on a business trip, and from there fly to Los Angeles, then his home in Miami. On April 21, Alisa was dropped off at her school, Canyon Grove Academy, in American Fork, about 32 miles south of Salt Lake City. But instead of going to class, she bought supplies at a nearby gas station and convinced a man there to drive her to the local train station. Alisa got off the train in Provo, about 14 miles south of American Fork, and asked multiple people there to help her get a bus ticket to Las Vegas. Menard, an IT sales executive, grew up in Noblesville outside Indianapolis the youngest of four brothers, then moved to Chicago and finally Miami. But beneath his clean-cut, designer stubbled face was allegedly a depraved desire to sexually abuse young girls. Police detailed in affidavits the disturbing messages between Alisa and Menard dating back to January 17. '[Menard] over the course of several months, corresponded with [the teen] for the purpose of soliciting sex, sodomy, and child sex abuse material from the minor,' the affidavit continued. '[He] discussed in graphic detail his intent to sexually abuse the child. [He] encouraged and engaged with [the teen] all from the state of Florida, where all his substantial ties to the community and resources are.' Menard's lawyers, Collins Rupp in Bountiful, north of Salt Lake City, did not return calls. Glines was arrested in Texas City on May 8 and remains in custody charged with aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor, attempted aggravated exploitation of a minor, sexual exploitation of a minor, enticement of a minor, and criminal solicitation. He was also charged by police in Texas with possessing more than 50 child sexual abuse images or videos. He is yet to enter a plea. The probable cause affidavit detailed disturbing conversations between Glines and Alisa, including how he allegedly convinced he to send nude photos and videos. '[Alisa] expresses feeling extremely uncomfortable and anxious sending pictures and photos of herself, to the point it made her want to self-harm,' it alleged. She was spotted on surveillance footage making a purchase at a local gas station before boarding a UTA train. She was so uncomfortable that on one occasion when Glines allegedly threatened to punish her if she refused, she asked for the punishment instead. He told her to beat herself with a piece of wood or a hairbrush as hard as she could, explaining 'I'm a sadist'. 'I'm just saying if the average person knew I was talking to you they'd want to cut my f**king d**k [off],' he said during another conversation. Police have not said if any of the three men knew each other. '[Police] say they cannot guarantee [that Alisa is still alive], but there was no indication that she's not,' Alisa's mother, Olga Petrov, told 'They say they still have some leads... but we have no idea what kind of leads, they're not saying anything.' Olga said she and her husband, Nikolai, were vigilant in protecting their daughter and educated her about the dangers of talking to strangers online. 'We regularly check her phone and there was nothing suspicious. Everything seemed to be normal, just classmates, neighbors,' she said. 'We never thought she could be talking to strangers in this way.' Whether Alisa made it to Las Vegas and met either of the men is unclear, as is what happened to her after she was seen in Provo, Utah The worried mother hoped Alisa was just staying away because 'I would assume she's really embarrassed.' She said Alisa didn't have much money and that she didn't have a coat, even though it was below 40 degrees on some of nights after she went missing. 'So somebody else is either helping her and we don't know who or where... I'm not suspecting the worst,' Olga said. 'That means she's with somebody else and we don't know if it's a good person or a bad person.' Alisa was very trusting of people and liked to strike up conversations with others in the park while hiking or on family holidays. 'She was always trying to meet people to talk to people, like I mean she was just trusting, and we cautioned her about it all the time to at least to be careful,' her mother said. 'That's just how she is... and they took advantage of her.' Petrov's desperate family are offering a $20,000 reward for anyone with information on her whereabouts Petrov's desperate family is offering a $20,000 reward for anyone with information on her whereabouts. They set up a website with a desperate appeal to the teen, insisting she wouldn't be in trouble if she returned. 'Alisa, if you can see this, please know that we love you, we will always love you. We miss you. All of your friends and our friends are very worried too,' her parents wrote. Police have classified the teen as an endangered runaway. She is described as standing about 5-foot-3 and weighing about 122 pounds.
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Florida suspect in missing teen's disappearance self-surrenders, police arrest additional suspect
Related video: Father of missing Utah girl speaks after 2 out-of-state men charged in connection to her disappearance SOUTH JORDAN, Utah () — The in connection with the disappearance of self-surrendered to the South Jordan Police Department Wednesday evening, and South Jordan Police also arrested a third suspect in connection with the case. According to a press release, Matthew Menard, 35, of Miami, Florida turned himself in the South Jordan Police Department for charges of Aggravated Sexual Exploitation of a Minor, Enticement of a Minor, and Criminal Solicitation. PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Utah man, 41, messaged missing 15-year-old girl days before she disappeared: Documents South Jordan Police also confirmed that they identified a third adult man in connection with the case, Samuel Mitchell from Herriman, Utah. Mitchell was arrested on charges for Sexual Exploitation of a Minor. Both suspects were booked into the Salt Lake County Jail. This comes a day after reported that Mitchell was in her disappearance, as he allegedly communicated with Petrov on the Discord app. PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Men from Texas, Florida charged in connection to disappearance of 15-year-old Utah girl South Jordan Police stated that it will continue its efforts to locate Alisa and follow other leads. 'Alisa is listed as a Runaway Juvenile who is endangered,' police stated, 'Any knowledge of her whereabouts should be reported to Law Enforcement immediately.' Anyone with information about the whereabouts of Alisa Petrov has been asked to call 801-840-4000 and reference South Jordan Case #SJ25-11568. Alisa Petrov, 15, was dropped off at school in American Fork, Utah, on April 21. Instead of going to school, family members said the teenager boarded a train toward Provo, Utah. Family members said nearby security footage shows the teenager walking away, and she hasn't been found since. She is said to be about 5'3″ tall and weigh about 122 pounds, with brown eyes and brown hair. She is listed as a runaway juvenile and is said to be endangered. According to the , Alisa was last seen wearing a grey Harvard University shirt, a black hoodie, baggy jeans, and a dark backpack. It was later reported that she may have been trying to get to Las Vegas, and another tip revealed that she may have been communicating with a man in Texas. Officials in Texas City posted on social media on May 9 to ask for the public's help in the search for Alisa. As of May 16, Alisa's family was reporting that she still has not been found. Charges are allegations only. All arrested persons are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Daily Mail
28-05-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Third 'pedophile' grilled by cops over missing Alisa, 15... as depraved messages emerge
A third pedophile was grooming a teen girl days before she disappeared from her school without a trace, police allege. Alisa Petrov, 15, has been missing since April 21 when she ran away to meet a different alleged pedophile after being dropped off at school. The teenager exchanged graphic sexual messages and nude photos with the men for months using a secret iPad she hid in her dresser. Matthew Nicholas Menard, 35, from Miami and William Taylor Glines, 37, from Texas City, Texas, both face serious child sexual abuse charges. A third man, Samuel Mitchell, 41, who lived in Herriman, Utah, only streets away from Alisa's home in South Jordan, on the edge of Salt Lake City, is now under investigation. Police allegedly found perverted messages between the pair on Alisa's iPad, exchanged through Discord and Snapchat, and filed for a search warrant. Alisa asked Mitchell to 'kidnap' her while she was on a family ski trip, and revealed she was running away from home two days before she went missing. 'IM RUNNING AWAY, please don't contact me,' she wrote at 12.34am on April 19, the search warrant alleged. Messages between Alisa and Mitchell included her telling him she wanted to be a vlogger when she turned 18, but also allegedly contained graphic descriptions of sexual acts he wanted to do to her when they met in person. She was only saved from this fate when Mitchell told her they couldn't meet, the affidavit explained. 'Sorry I'm really sick,' Mitchell allegedly wrote. Alisa replied: 'So we meeting?' Mitchell responded: 'If you want to hear me sneezing and coughing and getting you sick, plus I wouldn't be much fun.' South Jordan Police requesting the search warrant alleged Alisa called Mitchell 'daddy' and they discussed 'couples twister' and 'sex monopoly' games. Alisa also requested multiple times for Mitchell to 'kidnap her' and eight days before she ran away sent him locations where she would be, the affidavit alleged. One of these was the Alta Ski Resort, where Alisa was on a trip with her parents the weekend before she disappeared - returning only hours earlier. Some of the photos her parents Olga and Nikolai released in the hope of finding her were taken on the same ski trip. Alisa returned from a family trip to Alta Ski Resort in Utah only hours before she disappeared. Some of the photos her parents released were taken on the same ski trip Police did not find any sexual images shared between the pair, and Mitchell has not been charged with a crime. However, police wrote in the warrant application that 'there is probable cause that there is evidence of enticement of a minor and exploitation of a minor on this phone'. After Mitchell said he was sick, Alisa instead allegedly arranged to meet Menard in Las Vegas while he was there on a business trip, and from there fly to Los Angeles, then his home in Miami. On April 21, Alisa was dropped off at her school, Canyon Grove Academy, in American Fork, about 32 miles south of Salt Lake City. But instead of going to class, she bought supplies at a nearby gas station and convinced a man there to drive her to the local train station. Alisa got off the train in Provo, about 14 miles south of American Fork, and asked multiple people there to help her get a bus ticket to Las Vegas. Police don't believe she met Menard, but the teenager hasn't been seen since, and no one knows where she went, who she is with, or how much danger she is in. Menard last week was charged with two counts of aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor, enticement of a minor, and three counts of criminal solicitation. Police seized his phone at his home in Miami on April 30, but he was never arrested, even after a search of his device allegedly uncovered disturbing messages. South Jordan Police, which is leading the case, told that Menard was not on the run, but refused to say why he wasn't in custody, despite a no-bail warrant being filed by the Utah Attorney General. Menard's lawyers, Collins Rupp in Bountiful, north of Salt Lake City, did not return calls. Menard, an IT sales executive, grew up in Noblesville outside Indianapolis the youngest of four brothers, then moved to Chicago and finally Miami. But beneath his clean-cut, designer stubbled face was allegedly a depraved desire to sexually abuse young girls. Police detailed in affidavits the disturbing messages between Alisa and Menard dating back to January 17. '[Menard] over the course of several months, corresponded with [the teen] for the purpose of soliciting sex, sodomy, and child sex abuse material from the minor,' the affidavit continued. '[He] discussed in graphic detail his intent to sexually abuse the child. [He] encouraged and engaged with [the teen] all from the state of Florida, where all his substantial ties to the community and resources are.' Glines was arrested in Texas City on May 8 and remains in custody charged with aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor, attempted aggravated exploitation of a minor, sexual exploitation of a minor, enticement of a minor, and criminal solicitation. He was also charged by police in Texas with possessing more than 50 child sexual abuse images or videos. He is yet to enter a plea. The probable cause affidavit detailed disturbing conversations between Glines and Alisa, including how he allegedly convinced he to send nude photos and videos. '[Alisa] expresses feeling extremely uncomfortable and anxious sending pictures and photos of herself, to the point it made her want to self-harm,' it alleged. She was so uncomfortable that on one occasion when Glines allegedly threatened to punish her if she refused, she asked for the punishment instead. He told her to beat herself with a piece of wood or a hairbrush as hard as she could, explaining 'I'm a sadist'. 'I'm just saying if the average person knew I was talking to you they'd want to cut my f**king d**k [off],' he said during another conversation. Police have not said if any of the three men knew each other. '[Police] say they cannot guarantee [that Alisa is still alive], but there was no indication that she's not,' Alisa's mother, Olga Petrov, told 'They say they still have some leads... but we have no idea what kind of leads, they're not saying anything.' Olga said she and her husband, Nikolai, were vigilant in protecting their daughter and educated her about the dangers of talking to strangers online. 'We regularly check her phone and there was nothing suspicious. Everything seemed to be normal, just classmates, neighbors,' she said. 'We never thought she could be talking to strangers in this way.' The worried mother hoped Alisa was just staying away because 'I would assume she's really embarrassed.' She said Alisa didn't have much money and that she didn't have a coat, even though it was below 40 degrees on some of nights after she went missing. 'So somebody else is either helping her and we don't know who or where... I'm not suspecting the worst,' Olga said. 'That means she's with somebody else and we don't know if it's a good person or a bad person.' Alisa was very trusting of people and liked to strike up conversations with others in the park while hiking or on family holidays. 'She was always trying to meet people to talk to people, like I mean she was just trusting, and we cautioned her about it all the time to at least to be careful,' her mother said. 'That's just how she is... and they took advantage of her.' Petrov's desperate family is offering a $20,000 reward for anyone with information on her whereabouts. They set up a website with a desperate appeal to the teen, insisting she wouldn't be in trouble if she returned. 'Alisa, if you can see this, please know that we love you, we will always love you. We miss you. All of your friends and our friends are very worried too,' her parents wrote. Police have classified the teen as an endangered runaway. She is described as standing about 5-foot-3 and weighing about 122 pounds. Surveillance footage from the gas station showed her wearing a white shirt with darker lettering on the front.
Daily Mail
27-05-2025
- General
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE NIC WHITE: Tech exec, 35, 'groomed Alisa on her secret iPad' before she vanished without a trace... so why is he not in jail?
A tech sales executive accused of trying to lure a missing girl across the country for sex is still a free man despite sickening charges - and police won't say why. Matthew Nicholas Menard, 35, allegedly spent months grooming Alisa Petrov, 15, after getting in contact via Instagram through her secret iPad. He slowly gained her trust and police alleged convinced her to send him nude photos and engage in perverted sexual fantasies before agreeing to meet in person. Alisa suddenly disappeared from her school in Utah on April 21, and messages between the two revealed they had arranged to meet in Las Vegas. Police believe they never actually met, but Alisa has not been seen or heard from since she was spotted asking for help to get a bus ticket to Las Vegas. Menard last week was charged with two counts of aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor, enticement of a minor, and three counts of criminal solicitation. Police seized his phone at his home in Miami on April 30, but he was never arrested, even after a search of his device allegedly uncovered disturbing messages. South Jordan Police in Utah, which is leading the case, told that Menard was not on the run, but refused to say why he wasn't in custody, despite a no-bail warrant being filed by the Utah Attorney General. The Miami Police Department refused to explain why Menard was not in custody, or even confirm South Jordan police asked it to help. 'City of Miami PD is always willing to assist other agencies if the call upon us. If there was an investigation from the City of Miami we would not share that information,' it said. Every other police agency in South Florida said they were not involved in the case and the FBI said it was only helping in the search for Alisa, and referred questions to South Jordan PD. Menard's lawyers, Collins Rupp in Bountiful, north of Salt Lake City, did not return calls. A second man Alisa was talking to, identified by police as William Taylor Glines, 37, from Texas City, Texas, was arrested on May 8 and remains in custody. His charges alleged he started talking to Alisa on February 3 and at one point said he was 'double checking' that she was 14 or 15. Many other conversations detailed in charging documents included explicit sexual language and nude photos. Glines was charged with aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor, attempted aggravated exploitation of a minor, sexual exploitation of a minor, enticement of a minor, and criminal solicitation. He was also charged by police in Texas with possessing more than 50 child sexual abuse images or videos. He is yet to enter a plea. Police have not said if Menard and Glines knew each other. 'My youngest and his sweetie,' Menard's mother Elizabeth wrote next to a photo of the couple in January. It's not clear if they were still together when he was charged Menard works as a client executive at cybersecurity firm Acronis and previously at the cloud computing company ITsavvy, which was bought by Xerox last year, according to his now-deleted LinkedIn profile. He described himself as a 'results-oriented sales professional with a passion for building strong client relations'. The youngest of four brothers, Menard grew up in Noblesville outside Indianapolis, with his parents Elizabeth and Oliver, who died in 2023. He moved first to Chicago, then to Miami and brought home a pretty, blonde girlfriend to Thanksgiving last year, where they all wore matching 'thankful for family' jumpers. 'My youngest and his sweetie,' Elizabeth wrote next to a photo of the pair in January. It's not clear if they were still together when he was charged. But beneath Menard's clean-cut, designer stubbled face was allegedly a depraved desire to sexually abuse young girls. Police detailed in affidavits the disturbing messages between Alisa and Menard dating back to January 17. 'At one point [Menard] asked [the girl], "Are u secretly 15 lol" to which [she] responded... "of course [y]eppers I'm actually in middle school",' police wrote in charging affidavits. Despite allegedly knowing how young she was, they continued to talk and 'the conversations are largely sexual in nature'. '[Menard] over the course of several months, corresponded with [the teen] for the purpose of soliciting sex, sodomy, and child sex abuse material from the minor,' the affidavit continued. '[He] discussed in graphic detail his intent to sexually abuse the child. [He] encouraged and engaged with [the teen] all from the state of Florida, where all his substantial ties to the community and resources are.' Some of the texts included in the affidavit included incredibly graphic descriptions of sexual acts he allegedly wanted to perform on the teen. Eventually, the pair made plans to meet in Las Vegas - where Alisa told witnesses she was heading - and then go to Menard's home in Miami. 'Matt tells the victim he will fly to Las Vegas for a business trip later in May, and she can lay low until he gets there,' the warrant stated. 'They then planned to fly to Los Angeles, CA, together for several days, before ultimately going back to Miami, FL, where Matt lives.' Alisa secretly made the plans with Menard using a long-forgotten iPad she dug out of a dusty box and hid in dresser, her mother said. The device was only found when police rummaged through the family's suburban home in American Fork, about 32 miles south of Salt Lake City. She was spotted on surveillance footage making a purchase at a local gas station before boarding a UTA train. On April 21, Alisa was dropped off at her school, Canyon Grove Academy. But instead of going to class, she bought supplies at a nearby gas station and convinced a man there to drive her to the local train station. She got off the train in Provo, about 14 miles south of American Fork, and asked multiple people there to help her get a bus ticket to Las Vegas. The teenager hasn't been seen since, and no one knows where she went, who she is with, or how much danger she is in. '[Police] say they cannot guarantee [that Alisa is still alive], but there was no indication that she's not,' Alisa's mother, Olga Petrov, told 'They say they still have some leads... but we have no idea what kind of leads, they're not saying anything.' Olga said she and her husband, Nikolai, were vigilant in protecting their daughter and educated her about the dangers of talking to strangers online. 'We regularly check her phone and there was nothing suspicious. Everything seemed to be normal, just classmates, neighbors,' she said. 'We never thought she could be talking to strangers in this way.' The worried mother hoped Alisa was just staying away because 'I would assume she's really embarrassed.' Olga (pictured with a young Alisa) said the iPad was so well hidden that she and her husband missed it when they searched their house for clues after she didn't come home She said Alisa didn't have much money and that she didn't have a coat, even though it was below 40 degrees on some of nights after she went missing. 'So somebody else is either helping her and we don't know who or where... I'm not suspecting the worst,' Olga said. 'That means she's with somebody else and we don't know if it's a good person or a bad person.' Olga believes Menard and Glines likely lied about their ages and sent her fake or younger photos of themselves to lure her in. 'I don't believe that was her idea talking to those guys, I think they convinced her to keep talking to them,' she said. 'She told them she is a minor and they still proceeded with the nasty stuff, which is really gross.' Alisa was very trusting of people and liked to strike up conversations with others in the park while hiking or on family holidays. 'She was always trying to meet people to talk to people, like I mean she was just trusting, and we cautioned her about it all the time to at least to be careful,' her mother said. 'That's just how she is... and they took advantage of her.' Olga said Alisa wanted to study forensics and was taking some AP classes this semester before she went missing. 'Everything was really good, but those guys messed everything up,' she said. Glines was arrested after being identified through a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The probable cause affidavit detailed equally disturbing conversations between Glines and Alisa, including how he convinced he to send nude photos and videos. '[Alisa] expresses feeling extremely uncomfortable and anxious sending pictures and photos of herself, to the point it made her want to self-harm,' it alleged. She was so uncomfortable that on one occasion when Glines allegedly threatened to punish her if she refused, she asked for the punishment instead. Alisa was very trusting of people and liked to strike up conversations with people in the park, while hiking, or on family holidays He told her to beat herself with a piece of wood or a hairbrush as hard as she could, explaining 'I'm a sadist'. 'I'm just saying if the average person knew I was talking to you they'd want to cut my f**king d**k [off],' he said during another conversation. Petrov's desperate family are offering a $20,000 reward for anyone with information on her whereabouts. They set up a website with a desperate appeal to the teen. 'Alisa, if you can see this, please know that we love you, we will always love you. We miss you. All of your friends and our friends are very worried too,' her parents wrote. 'We all want you to return. You will not get in trouble for running away. We are not mad at you. We absolutely love you regardless of what happened. 'We just want you to return back so that we are together as a happy family who care about each other, and we will try our hardest to make you happy. Please come back.' Police have classified the teen as an endangered runaway. She is described as standing about 5-foot-3 and weighing about 122 pounds.
