Elizabeth Smart

Elizabeth Ann Smart was kidnapped at age fourteen on June 5, 2002, by Brian David Mitchell from her home in the Federal Heights neighborhood of Salt Lake City, Utah. She was held captive by Mitchell and his wife, Wanda Barzee, on the outskirts of Salt Lake City, and later, in San Diego County, California.

Abduction
On June 5, 2002, Elizabeth was awakened in the bedroom she shared with her younger sister Mary Katherine by a man who whispered, "I have a knife to your neck. Don't make a sound. Get out of bed and come with me, or I will kill you and your family." Brian David Mitchell, led Smart out of the house and marched her for hours through the forest to a camp where his wife, Wanda Barzee, was waiting. Mitchell believed he was a prophet named Immanuel, and after performing a bizarre wedding ceremony he declared Elizabeth to be his wife and raped her. Both her captors held Elizabeth captive for the next nine months as they moved between California and Utah. Mitchell raped Smart daily and frequently kept her tethered to a tree. He forced her to consume vast quantities of alcohol and drugs and often did not feed her for days, bringing his captive to the brink of starvation.

Smart accompanied Mitchell and Barzee in public on numerous occasions, but her presence was either obscured or unnoticed via various methods of concealment, which often consisted of her wearing a headscarf and veil over her face.

Smart also visited grocery stores and a restaurant but went unnoticed. In the fall of 2002, she attended a party with Mitchell and Barzee and was photographed wearing a veil and robe among Mitchell and another party guest.

Found
On March 12, 2003, someone recognized Mitchell walking with Smart, who was veiled and wearing a wig and sunglasses. Authorities arrested Mitchell and his wife and returned Elizabeth to her family that evening.