SALT LAKE CITY — A Herriman man charged with communicating with a 15-year-old girl who went missing for several weeks before being located in Colorado made his first court appearance on Wednesday.

Samuel Mitchell appeared remotely in Utah Third District Court where a detention hearing was set for June 12. During that hearing, Mitchell will learn if he will be released from jail.

Mitchell, 41, was arrested on May 28 and later charged with five counts of Sexual Exploitation of a Minor and one count of Enticing a Minor, a first-degree felony.

After the teen's disappearance in April, a search located a secret iPad in her home, where detectives found an online conversation with an account named 'samitch,' which was later connected to Mitchell.

Messages between the teen and Mitchell were

See Full Page