South Salt Lake police are asking the public for help locating a 15-year-old girl who ran away earlier Wednesday. Nieves Carpenter was last seen in South Salt Lake wearing a gray or tan T-shirt and baggy blue jeans, according to a description shared by investigators.
According to the South Salt Lake Police Department, Carpenter stands about 5 feet 3 inches tall, weighs approximately 160 pounds, and has brown hair and brown eyes. The department is asking anyone with information about her whereabouts to call 801-840-4000. Her case has been assigned reference number LK2026-25854, the department noted in its post.
Why No Amber Alert Has Been Issued
Cases like Carpenter's do not automatically trigger the kind of statewide emergency broadcasts that many people associate with missing children. Under Utah Code § 53-10-1002, enacted in 2023, state law explicitly bars police agencies from issuing an AMBER Alert for a reported runaway unless investigators confirm a credible threat of imminent danger of serious bodily injury or death, per the Utah Legislature. That statute reserves AMBER Alerts specifically for confirmed non-custodial abductions or cases where officers have evidence of severe risk to life, rather than for runaway reports generally.
Instead, when a juvenile case falls outside those strict AMBER Alert criteria, Utah law enforcement agencies have the option to request an Endangered Missing Advisory through the Utah Department of Public Safety, a mechanism that broadcasts information directly to media outlets and regional agencies without requiring proof of abduction, only evidence that the missing person is at risk. It's unclear whether South Salt Lake police have made such a request in Carpenter's case, and the department's public post focused on physical descriptors and the tip line rather than any escalation of alert status.
Tips Route Through Countywide Dispatch Network
The phone number South Salt Lake police provided, 801-840-4000, connects directly to the Salt Lake Valley Emergency Communications Center, which handles non-emergency dispatch for 22 police and fire agencies across Salt Lake County, according to information published by Riverton City. That same regional dispatch line was used in South Salt Lake's recent search for missing 50-year-old Wendy Welch, underscoring how tip lines are shared and coordinated across the county rather than run separately by each department.
Under the Utah Juvenile Code, running away is treated as a status matter handled through juvenile court jurisdiction rather than as an adult criminal offense, with an emphasis on non-secure shelter placements and family reconciliation services rather than detention, according to Runaway Rights for Youth. Separately, Utah Code § 80-6-201 gives law enforcement officers statutory authority to take a minor into temporary custody without a court order if there is probable cause to believe the child has run away from home, allowing officers to transfer a located juvenile safely back to parents, guardians, or child welfare services.
Recent Cases Highlight Risks Facing Runaway Teens
South Salt Lake has dealt with more than one runaway-minor case in recent weeks. Earlier this month, a 25-year-old Murray man was charged after allegedly meeting and harboring a runaway 14-year-old girl from South Salt Lake whom he had first contacted via Instagram, a case Hoodline previously reported. Utah law places strict obligations on adults in that position: under Utah Code § 80-5-601, anyone who knowingly shelters or harbors a runaway minor must notify the youth's parents, a youth services center, or law enforcement within 48 hours, or risk facing criminal charges, according to FindLaw.
It's not the first time South Salt Lake police have had to search for a missing teenage girl in recent years. In August 2024, the department issued a public Endangered Missing Advisory while searching for 14-year-old Leiyah Johnson after she disappeared within the municipality. Nationally, runaways represented 92% of the 32,167 missing child cases the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children supported in 2025, according to the organization's Impact Report, while roughly 360,000 children are reported missing annually to the FBI's National Crime Information Center database, per the National Child Identification Program. It remains unknown whether investigators in Carpenter's case suspect any online contact or third-party involvement in her disappearance; police have not said publicly. Anyone with information about Carpenter's location is urged to contact South Salt Lake police using the tip line listed above.
