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Community steps up to find missing 15-year-old Alisa Petrov

Community steps up to find missing 15-year-old Alisa Petrov
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PROVO, Utah — It's been more than a month since anyone has seen 15-year-old Alisa Petrov, and the Utah community is coming together to help bring her home.

"Let's share her face, let's help to find her," said Rhonda Dequier, founder of Missing in America Network.

A UTA station in Provo was Petrov's last known location when she disappeared on April 21 after walking out of her American Fork school. Police said she was asking people at the station for help getting to Las Vegas.

"Have been working with Alisa's family since pretty much the very beginning, and I talk to them regularly, and the most important thing that I want to get out there is that their family is hurting," said Dequier.

Father of missing Utah teen pleads for her safe return:

Father of missing Utah teen pleads for her safe return

On Wednesday, two people who were in communication with Petrov before she went missing were arrested and taken into custody, but neither faces charges connected to her disappearance. Both Samuel Mitchell of Herriman and Matthew Nicholas Menard were arrested on Sexual Exploitation of a Minor charges.

"[Petrov] was targeted by adults in a vulnerable situation, and she needs to be brought home," said Shayna Richard, founder of Light the Way Missing Person Advocacy Project.

As South Jordan Police and other agencies continue searching for Alisa, so are Utahns.

"I've seen flyers around Provo, and a bus stop I've seen through the UTA I've seen a poster there," said Provo resident Mitchell Haws.

Haws is at the Provo train station often. He says he knows how supportive Utah's communities can be.

"Posts on social media, stuff like that, will definitely help with awareness, word of mouth, so on and so forth," he said.

What red flags should parents see to protect kids from online threats?

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Richard believes there is power in sharing through social media.

"You can be living on the East Coast and see a West Coast missing persons flyer, and it's so important to know that your share could hit the right person who might have seen this child," she explained.

Richard is asking Alisa to trust her family, come home, and know that's where she belongs.

"We just want you all to be safe there's a lot of people who care about you and that's the most important thing is getting you home so you can be safe," she pleaded.

The hope is that people never stop sharing Petrov's story and keep looking.

"I wish, I hope she finds her way back home," said Haws.

South Jordan Police ask if anyone has information to please call them.

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