Most stories that start off like Elizabeth Smart's do not have happy endings. At best, the answers that a family seeks and may even finally get only serve as a form of a closure, an Ok to stop looking, to stop hoping. A go-ahead to officially start the grieving process. But nine months after the 14-year-old was kidnapped on June 5, 2002, from the bedroom she shared with her 9-year-old sister in their family's house in Salt Lake City, Smart came home. "I don't know what she's gone through and I'm sure she's been through hell," her dad, Ed Smart, told reporters after his daughter was rescued on March 12, 2003. He and wife Lois Smart and...
- 12/1/2020
- E! Online
One of Elizabeth Smart's kidnappers, Wanda Barzee, was released from prison on Wednesday after spending more than 15 years behind bars. The now 72-year-old admitted to helping her husband, Brian David Mitchell, take the teenager from her Utah home and hold her captive for nine months. Upon her release, Smart, 30, released a statement to the public: "Without doubt the past few weeks have been a rollercoaster of emotion, and I would like to take the opportunity to thank everyone for their kind words, support, and concern. It has meant so much to me," she wrote on Instagram on Sept. 19. "May we all remain vigilant in watching over our families, friends, and community from anyone who would seek to hurt or take advantage. I truly believe life is meant to be happy and beautiful, and no matter what happens that will remain my goal for me and for my family." View this...
- 9/19/2018
- by Megan Heintz
- In Touch Weekly
Wanda Barzee, the woman who admitted to helping her husband Brian David Mitchell kidnap Elizabeth Smart in 2002, was a no-show to her parole hearing on June 12. The 72-year-old reportedly refused to stand before Utah's parole board even though she could have asked to be released, according to the Salt Lake Tribune. Board member Angela Miklos revealed Barzee also denied the chance to meet with a psychiatrist —a mandatory requirement for parole. Now the parole board must decide whether to set a date when she’ll be set free, schedule another hearing, or keep her behind bars until her sentence ends. It could take anywhere from two weeks to a month until their choice is announced. Elizabeth's father Ed Smart, told reporters he wouldn't have objected to her release if mental health experts had signed off on it. Even though Elizabeth wasn't present for Barzee's hearing, she did break her silence about the ordeal via Instagram.
- 6/14/2018
- by Samantha Benitz
- In Touch Weekly
Six years ago this month, a drifter named Brian David Mitchell allegedly kidnapped 14-year-old Elizabeth Smart at knifepoint from her Salt Lake City bedroom and held her captive for nine months. Having rarely spoken about her ordeal in the five years since she was rescued on March 12, 2003, Smart – now 20 and a junior at Brigham Young University majoring in music performance – agreed to talk with People about how she is doing because she feels her story can help other children who have survived abductions."I feel so fortunate that I was able to come through this unscarred. I want to tell other people,...
- 6/12/2008
- PEOPLE.com
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