ST. GEORGE — Law enforcement recovered two missing juvenile girls in a Mcdonald’s parking lot in Beaver after they were last seen in Aurora, Colorado.
At approximately 10:30 a.m Tuesday, the Utah Highway Patrol received a bulletin asking law enforcement to be on the lookout for a gray Nissan Sentra traveling from Colorado toward California, UHP Sgt. Cameron Roden said.
The suspect was identified as Jonathan Michel Lewis in a Facebook post by the Aurora Police Department in Colorado. He reportedly was driving with two juvenile girls who were last seen in Aurora, on April 15.
Sheriff Brett Hightower from the Warren County Sheriff’s Office in Kentucky said one girl went missing from Peoria, Illinois, while the other was reported missing in Warren County.
State troopers on watch in Beaver County located the Nissan in the McDonald’s parking lot. The Beaver County Sheriff’s Office coordinated with UHP to stop the car. Roden said the suspect attempted to leave the area, hitting and damaging a deputy’s vehicle in the process. No injuries were reported, he said.
Roden said that law enforcement took the suspect into custody and recovered the juveniles.
The Utah State Bureau of Investigation is cooperating with multiple agencies, including the Aurora Police Department, the Peoria Police Department and officers from federal task forces. He said the case possibly may involve sex trafficking but noted this remains unconfirmed as the investigation is ongoing.
Aurora Police Department officer Elizabeth McGregor said the department was acting as a “middleman” for other agencies in locating the girls. She said no criminal charges have been filed in Colorado at this time.
Hightower told St. George News a warrant has been signed in Kentucky and they’re in the process of extraditing Lewis. He said Lewis will initially be charged with custodial interference but believes more charges could be filed at a later date.
“I’ve just very appreciative of the fact that there was a collaboration in an effort to be able to locate these two juveniles and to be able to get them returned back to their homes and to be in a safe place,” Hightower said.
This is a developing story. This report is based on statements from law enforcement officials and may not contain the full scope of findings. Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.
Update April 20, 4:10 p.m. Added pictures of the scene provided by the Utah Highway Patrol
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