On June 5, 2002, Elizabeth Smart was abducted from her home in Salt Lake City, UT. Through her extraordinary resilience, Smart survived nine months of brutal captivity. After getting rescued, Smart grew up to become an inspiring child safety activist as well as a New York Times bestselling author. She has made it her life’s mission to raise awareness about missing children and sexual violence. In 2017, she narrated and produced the Lifetime film, “I Am Elizabeth Smart.” The movie aired on the 15th anniversary of her abduction.
Smart was sleeping in her bedroom at her family’s Salt Lake City, UT home when she was kidnapped by Brian David Mitchell at knifepoint. Her parents and four brothers were fast asleep. However, Smart’s little sister, who was in the bedroom with Smart, witnessed the abduction. Mitchell forced Smart to hike with him for hours to his makeshift encampment in the woods, where he lived with his wife, Wanda Barzee.
Over a nine-month period, Smart was sexually and physically abused by Mitchell. They tethered her to a tree with a steel cable so she wouldn’t escape. Smart was only a few miles away from home. She was raped multiple times a day, starved, forced to imbibe alcohol, and take drugs. At one point, Mitchell moved Smart to Lakeside, CA. Determined to survive, Smart figured she would increase her chances of being discovered if she was near her hometown. She successfully convinced the self-professed prophet that God told her they should return to Utah.
When Mitchell brought her around downtown Salt Lake City, he covered her in a heavy robe and veil. She was almost rescued at the library when a patron called the police. However, Mitchell told the authorities that Smart was his daughter and unable to speak to them or lift the veil covering her face due to religious reasons. Finally, on March 12, 2003, someone recognized Mitchell at a Walmart in Sandy, UT from “America’s Most Wanted.” He was apprehended at the store and Smart was rescued.
Smart employed the same fortitude that helped her survive the unthinkable abuse to recover. She went to college, wrote a New York Times bestselling memoir “My Story,” got married and had two kids. She founded the Elizabeth Smart Foundation to advocate for sexual assault survivors. Smart was determined to raise awareness and help others survive similar harrowing experiences. In a CNN interview, she explained, “I want them to know that these things do happen, but that doesn’t mean that we have to be defined by it for the rest of your life. You can move forward and you can be happy.”
Today, Smart continues to be an inspiring motivational speaker and author. In March, she published her book “Where There’s Hope: Healing, Moving Forward, and Never Giving Up.” Through interviews and her own reflections, she explores the path to healing for survivors of sexual and physical violence.