A former Mapleton City controller who missed an arraignment last week on a felony theft charge has been found in Las Vegas and arrested.

Jeannie Bell, who is charged with one count of second-degree felony theft, was reported missing Nov. 3, according to Mapleton police. On Nov. 5, she did not appear at an arraignment hearing in Provo's 4th District Court, and a no-bail warrant was issued for her arrest.

Utah County Sheriff's Lt. Darren Gilbert said Utah's Joint Criminal Apprehension Team, the Utah County Sheriff's Office, Mapleton police and the Utah County Attorney's Office worked together and were able to locate Bell Monday. "We received information that stated she was in Las Vegas," he said.

Gilbert said officials worked with the U.S. Marshals in Utah and Nevada to track Bell down. She was located around 3 p.m. at a casino on the Las Vegas Strip.

"We tracked her down to a specific location, to a specific room," he said.

Bell was immediately taken into custody and booked into the Clark County Jail. Utah County officials will work to extradite her, but she has the right to fight extradition, he said. If she waives extradition, she will likely be in the Utah County Jail in about two weeks. If she fights it, officials will need to get a governor's warrant to bring her back, he said.

Gilbert said police were able to quickly track Bell down and take her into custody partly because of a new policy to list felony warrants on a national database. When fugitives are listed on the database, the state that is looking for them will be immediately contacted when the person is found in another state, he said. The new policy has been put in place by county attorney Jeff Buhman, he said, who has been proactive in trying to bring fugitives back quickly.

"It makes bringing people back to Utah easier," Gilbert said.

Prosecutor Craig Johnson, who is handling Bell's case, said criminal proceedings are at a standstill without a defendant. He said he looks forward to quickly getting Bell back to the Utah County Jail in order to move the case along.

"The state is very happy to hear that Ms. Bell has been found safe," he said.

Once Bell is in the Utah County Jail, it will likely be about a week before she is back in front of a judge. At that time, her bail status will be addressed, he said.

"Certainly, we will ask for a bail that adequately ensures her participation in this process," he said.

Bell was city controller in Mapleton from 2003 until her resignation on June 1 this year. Prosecutors allege she used city money to buy items that she later sold on eBay. She allegedly bought stamps and gift cards between January 2007 and May 2009, then sold the items for personal gain. The amount of money taken has not been specified, but Johnson said it is greater than $5,000.

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