‘We love her a lot’: Father of missing Utah girl speaks after 2 out-of-state men charged in connection to her disappearance

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — Utah officials confirmed that two men are being charged in connection with the disappearance of Alisa Petrov — a 15-year-old Utah girl who was last seen on April 21. Alisa has not yet been found, and her family is now offering messages they want to share with her and the public.

ABC4.com spoke with Nikolai Petrov, Alisa’s father, on Tuesday, May 20 — almost exactly a month since Alisa was last seen. He shared an “important message” for his daughter.

“We really want her to come back home. We will not get her in trouble. We want to be a complete family again,” Nikolai said.

Nikolai also encouraged parents to be aware of what their children are doing and to keep track of who their kids are talking to online.

“There should probably be some understanding that it’s not a privacy issue but a safety issue instead because there are a lot of really weird people online who may take advantage of kids being curious and naive,” Nikolai said.

Alisa’s father said her family wants her to come back home and said they “don’t care what she was trying to do.”

“We love her a lot and that’s why we want her to come back,” he said.

Who is Alisa Petrov?

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 Utah Transit Authority (UTA) 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 Utah Department of Public Safety, 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. South Jordan police have asked anyone with information on her whereabouts to call 801-840-4000 and reference South Jordan Case #SJ25-11568.

Who has been charged?

On May 20, the South Jordan Police Department confirmed that a Florida man and a Texas man were being charged in connection with Alisa’s disappearance.

Matthew Nicholas Menard, 35, of Miami, Florida, is facing six charges, including aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor, enticement of a minor, and criminal solicitation.

Another man — William Taylor Glines, 37, of Texas City, Texas — is facing 10 charges. According to the South Jordan Police Department, Glines was charged with attempted aggravated exploitation of a minor, sexual exploitation of a minor, enticement of a minor, and criminal solicitation.

Both men are accused of communicating with Alisa through social media and encouraging her to send inappropriate photos and videos.

Even after learning that the girl was underage, both men allegedly continued with the sexual conversations and asked the victim to send them inappropriate photos and videos. Utah prosecutors have requested that no bail arrest warrants be issued for both suspects.

Sarah Murphy contributed to this report.