Utah man charged in South Jordan teen’s disappearance makes first court appearance
Jun 4, 2025, 12:47 PM | Updated: Jun 5, 2025, 9:26 am
41-year-old Samuel Mitchell of Herriman appears virtually before the Utah 3rd District Court on sexual charges in the case of a South Jordan missing teenager. (Brian Carlson/KSL TV)
(Brian Carlson/KSL TV)
SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah man facing charges in the case of a missing South Jordan teenager made his first court appearance Wednesday.
Samuel Mitchell of Herriman appeared before a commissioner over sexual messages he allegedly sent to her before she disappeared.
The public got a first look at Mitchell in a video call Wednesday with Utah’s 3rd District Court. Mitchell was in jail at the time of publication, and by the sound of the hearing Wednesday, he won’t find out if he can get out for another week.
Mitchell, 41, was seen in the video wearing a yellow inmate jumpsuit. His attorney, Ed Stone, told presiding Criminal Commissioner Todd Olsen that he had just been assigned to the case which was being prosecuted by the Utah Attorney General’s Office.
41-year-old Samuel Mitchell of Herriman appears virtually before the Utah 3rd District Court on sexual charges in the case of a South Jordan missing teenager. (Screenshot, Brian Carlson, KSL TV)
Mitchell is facing six felony charges in total, five of them for sexual exploitation of a minor, and a final charge for enticing a minor, which appeared to be the sole charge related to the South Jordan teen.
Related: South Jordan missing teen found alive
Mitchell allegedly had lengthy conversations with the teenager on the Discord app, where she requested multiple times for him to kidnap her, just eight days before she ran away.
Many of their alleged conversations were sexual in nature, and the two planned to meet. However, he supposedly got sick, and it didn’t happen.
Two days before she disappeared, Mitchell was the one who received the message from her, saying, “I’m running away,” and “please don’t contact me.” Although the teenager went missing on April 21, Mitchell was only arrested a week ago.
Wednesday, the commissioner told Mitchell he’s staying in jail, at least for now.
“Your matter is assigned to Judge Skanchy,” Olsen said. “Judge Skanchy is going to have a detention hearing on this matter to determine whether or not you can be safely released.”
Mitchell isn’t the only one charged in this case. The teenager was also allegedly talking with two other adult men, including Matthew Menard from Miami, who is accused of planning to meet her in Las Vegas.
She went missing for six weeks, then finally walked into a police station in Colorado Springs, Colorado, last Sunday and voluntarily identified herself.
Most of the charges Mitchell is facing appear to be related to naked photos and videos of two other teenagers police found while investigating him for the South Jordan teen’s disappearance.
His court hearing to determine whether he can be released from jail is set for next Thursday, June 12, at 9 a.m.
