She was kidnapped from home when she was 14 years old. The kidnapper kept her chained for 9 months

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Elizabeth Smart lived with her parents and five siblings in Salt Lake City, Utah in the United States. On June 5, 2002, just in the morning, while they were all deeply asleep, a stranger broke into their house. The kidnapper put a knife to her throat and threatened to kill the whole family if the girl didn’t go out with him. Next to Elizabeth was her 9-year-old Mary, who pretended to be asleep out of horror, but heard the whole situation. When her sister left home with the kidnapper, she ran to her parents and said, “Elizabeth is gone. You won’t find her.”

Where is Elizabeth?

The news about the 14-year-old quickly spread across the country. Her parents gave multiple interviews, begging the kidnappers to release their daughter. Massive searches were organized across the country. The police were involved, but also about 2,000. volunteers who together with the officers searched the area. Tracking dogs also participated in the search, and planes flew over the city. Unfortunately, after a few days, the police decided that it was necessary to find another way to find the girl, because despite many efforts, it was not possible to do so.

Police officers also spoke to 9-year-old sister Elizabeth. Her testimony, however, did not bring much to the matter, because the girl, paralyzed with fear, lay covered with a duvet and did not see the kidnapper. Neither were any traces of DNA secured at home. Though police interviewed hundreds of potential perpetrators, none of them had any connection with Elizabeth’s kidnapping.

Hell Elizabeth Smart

When the family and the police were looking for Elizabeth, Elizabeth was going through hell in the home of the kidnappers. The one who broke into her house was Brian David Mitchell. After the man took the girl from her room, he went to his home, 7 km away, where his wife, Wanda Bare, was waiting for him. The woman helped him with his plans. She washed the girl and put on a robe in which she was to start the ceremony. Brian claimed to be a priest of Melchizedek, and Elizabeth is the first of many virgins he intends to marry. In light of his faith, it gave him the right to have sexual relations with the victim.

Consequently, the man raped the 14-year-old without any qualms. When Elizabeth opposed him, he threatened to kill her and her entire family. Additionally, Brian kept her on a chain so that she couldn’t move freely. From then on, her life felt like a real hell.

Every now and then, Mitchell and Bare took the little girl to town. However, to hide her identity, they put on her wig, glasses and scarves. At the time, the 14-year-old was so scared and intimidated that she made no attempt to escape.

The breakthrough in the case came after four months

Elizabeth’s sister, Mary Katherine, who was the only witness to her kidnapping, later recalled who the voice of the kidnapper belonged to. The girl was convinced that it was Emmanuel, the man who had worked on the roof for the Smarts in the past. Though Mary probably saw and heard him for a moment, she was sure of her point. The girls’ father hired a cartoonist to create a memory portrait of the kidnapper. However, the police questioned little Mary’s testimony and concluded that she would not make his image public.

Around the same time, the marriage of Mitchell and Barzee took the little girl to town. Despite her make-up, one of the policemen who passed her noticed her. When he asked Mitchell about her identity, Mitchell flatly denied that she was the wanted Elizabeth Smart. The officer took his word for it. This missed the chance for the girl’s early release.

Moments after this event, the kidnapper along with his wife and Elizabeth left the city for Utah for California, where the man probably wanted to kidnap another girl.

The parents did not give up

Months had passed since their daughter was kidnapped, and media and public interest decreased with each passing day. The Smarts, however, believed that they would manage to get their daughter back. While she was against sharing Emmanuel’s memory portrait, they did. After some time it paid off very much, because a woman who recognized the man from the photo came to them. It was his wife who revealed his real name – Brian David Mitchell.

Elizabeth Smart regained her freedom

Brian David Mitchell and Wanda Barzee, along with the kidnapped 14-year-old, had to leave California and return to Utah. The reason was a drunken incident involving a man. He was afraid that he would attract the attention of the police, and Elizabeth reassured him that it was God’s will to return to Salt Lake City. Upon their return, as before, they went to the city. One of the women who passed the three recognized the man from the media portrait of the kidnapper. Wanting to be sure, she still looked at the girl. When she was sure, she immediately called the police. David Mitchell and Wanda Bare were arrested and Elizabeth Smart released. When her father came to the police station to pick up his daughter, he had the impression that he was seeing a mature woman, not his 14-year-old daughter.

Although the kidnapper trial began in 2003, the breakthrough did not come until 2009, when the case files were brought to federal court, where Elizabeth herself gave testimony. Despite what she had been through, she told her story with calm and cool distance. She also revealed harsh and brutal details that even her parents did not know.

In 2010, Mitchell was finally convicted. He heard a life sentence. His wife, Wanda Bare, pleaded guilty to involvement in the kidnapping and was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

What is Elizabeth Smart doing now?

Thanks to her experiences, the woman became even stronger, and she worked through the resulting trauma thanks to the support of her family and a stay of several months on a religious mission in France. Now Elizabeth is fulfilling herself as a wife and mother of three. She willingly shares her life on social media, where she is watched by almost 230 thousand. observers. She is an active child safety activist and reporter for ABC News. The woman aims to raise awareness of kidnappings and to introduce changes to American law. For all her activities, she received the Diller-von Furstenberg Prize, which is given to strong, courageous women who change the lives of others. The cash prize that accompanied this award was allocated by Elizabeth to the opening of her own foundation – Elizabeth Smart Foundation.

In 2017, a movie was made based on Elizabeth’s experience, “The Taken Elizabeth Smart: My Story”.

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