The Abduction of Elizabeth Smart

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Elizabeth Smart was missing for nine months

Stories of missing children, unfortunately, are not uncommon, but the story of Elizabeth Smart's disappearance is more chilling than most. 

It was at about 2 a.m. on June 5, 2002 when an unidentified male cut the screen window in the Smart's kitchen in their Salt Lake City home. He then creeped through the house and up the stairs, quietly entering the room Elizabeth shared with her 9-year-old sister, Mary Katherine. 

Police say he woke up Elizabeth and at gunpoint made her get her shoes and leave with him.  Mary Katherine awoke during the abduction, but stayed quiet, police say, not sure what she was witnessing.  In a matter of minutes, Elizabeth Smart was gone.

At 4 a.m., two hours later, Mary Katherine alerted her parents.  Ed and Lois Smart jumped out of bed, checked that Mary Katherine was telling the truth and called police.  Elizabeth's disappearance kicked off a nationwide search for the missing teen and her kidnapper.  Police say there was no evidence of a vehicle and believe they left on foot.

Early in the investigation, the only description police could garner from Mary Katherine was a white male believed to be in his 30's. He was about 5'8'' and a medium build. The suspect had dark hair and was wearing a tan jacket and a white or tan baseball cap. The police extended their search to Idaho and Wyoming.

Police questioned everyone they could find, including a local milkman who was seen sleeping in his car.  He became a suspect until he was finally cleared.  

A handyman, Richard Ricci, who once did odd jobs for the Smarts was the subject of intense focus for the Salt Lake City Police Department.  The Smarts were unaware that Ricci had been in and out of prison for the past three decades, convicted of several burglaries and the attempted murder of a police officer.  Police even found stolen property from the Smart's home at Ricci's trailer. 

Ricci who steadfastly denied having anything to do with Elizabeth's abduction, was arrested for burglary, while the police and the FBI fine tuned their investigation. After three months in prison, Ricci died from a brain hemorrhage, taking with him, whatever he knew about Elizabeth's abduction.

The police continued their investigation, but privately, hopes were dashed that they would ever locate Elizabeth.

Then in October, 2002, the case would take a completely different turn, when Mary Katherine had a revelation.

Wanted For Questioning

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Elizabeth's accused abductor Brian David Mitchell

Four months after the abduction, Mary Katherine came to her parents at 11 o'clock at night and told them she thought she knew who took Elizabeth.  It was "Emmanuel", she said, a homeless man who had done some work on the Smarts' house, fixing the roof and raking the leaves. 

Police were skeptical.  Ricci was still the focus of their investigation, and it seemed unlikely that Mary Katherine would remember this crucial piece of information so many months after the abduction.

But Ed Smart was determined to follow this lead and members of the family worked with an artist and came up with a sketch of "Emmanuel".  The sketch was widely publicized in Salt Lake City and "Emmanuel" was quickly identified as a local man named Brian David Mitchell. His sister provided police photos, but few leads as to where Mitchell would be. 

AMW put this breaking news on the air with Mitchell's photos and members of his own family responded, telling the show that Mitchell had been living in homeless shelters in Salt Lake and that he had taken to wearing robes.  Mitchell's step children said he believed he was a prophet for homeless people and was traveling with their mother, Wanda Barzee, who was going by the name "Eladon." 

Ed Smart  believed Mitchell was one of the most important leads they'd had so far.  It turned out he was right.

Associated Persons:

Unknown Elizabeth Smart Abductor
Brian David Mitchell has been arrested and charged with the abduction of Elizabeth Smart.
Fugitive
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Wanda Barzee
Wanda Barzee is accused of helping Mitchell in Smart's abduction and detention.
Wanted for Questioning
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Richard Ricci
Richard Ricci was a suspect in Elizabeth's disappearance. He died before he could be exhonerated.
Witness
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Television Airings:

• »July 24, 2004
• »July 27, 2001

Kidnapping Suspect Ruled Incompetent

AMW Viewers Find Elizabeth