Elizabeth Smart

Case background and investigation

In the early hours of June 5, 2002, 14-year-old Elizabeth Smart was abducted at knifepoint from the bedroom she shared with her younger sister in her family's home in Salt Lake City, Utah. Her nine-year-old sister, Mary Katherine, witnessed the abduction but pretended to be asleep out of fear. She would later recall the intruder's voice, an observation that proved central to identifying the man responsible. The case drew intense national attention and became one of the most closely followed missing-child investigations in the United States.

The abductor was Brian David Mitchell, a self-styled itinerant street preacher who had briefly done handyman work at the Smart home the previous year. Mitchell held Smart captive with the help of his wife, Wanda Barzee. For roughly nine months the pair kept her at a makeshift camp in the hills above Salt Lake City and later moved with her to San Diego County, California. During the captivity Smart was tethered, threatened, and repeatedly sexually assaulted by Mitchell.

On March 12, 2003, Smart was recovered alive in Sandy, Utah, less than 20 miles from her home, after passersby who had seen news coverage recognized Mitchell and Barzee walking with a disguised girl and alerted police. Mitchell and Barzee were taken into custody. Smart was reunited with her family, and the case shifted to a lengthy set of legal proceedings complicated by extended disputes over Mitchell's competency to stand trial.

Wanda Barzee pleaded guilty in November 2009 to federal charges of kidnapping and unlawful transportation of a minor, and she also entered a plea in the related state case. She was sentenced to 15 years, the maximum under her state conviction. Brian David Mitchell was found guilty by a federal jury on December 10, 2010, of kidnapping and unlawful transportation of a minor across state lines, and on May 25, 2011, he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. He is held in federal custody. Barzee was released on September 19, 2018, after credit for time served advanced her release date; she remained subject to supervised release and sex-offender registration.

In the years after her recovery, Elizabeth Smart became a prominent advocate for missing persons and survivors of sexual assault and abduction. She founded the Elizabeth Smart Foundation, worked as a commentator and author, and campaigned for legislation and education aimed at preventing child abduction and supporting survivors. As of 2026, Mitchell remains imprisoned for life, Barzee is out of custody under supervision, and Smart continues her public advocacy work.