Elizabeth was found with the drifter in Sandy, UT and is home with her parents. Can you believe it?
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/us/DailyNews/elizabeth_smart030312.html
S A L T L A K E C I T Y, March 12 — Elizabeth Smart was found alive today, nine months after she was kidnapped at gunpoint from her bedroom in her Salt Lake City home, police said.
"She's been found alive," Charles Smart, Elizabeth's grandfather, told ABCNEWS Radio. "My son Ed has his daughter in his hands."
Elizabeth, 15, was found in Sandy, Utah — just about 15 miles from her home — with a drifter who had once worked for her family as a handyman and another female, police said.
"Miracles do exist," said Tom Smart, the girl's uncle.
The drifter, Brian David Mitchell, was in custody and had been transferred to the Salt Lake City Police Department, Sandy police said.
Authorities had been searching for Mitchell, 45, whom they wanted to question. At about 1 p.m., police in Sandy received calls from two women who said they believed they had spotted Mitchell, also known as Emmanuel.
Officers went to the area and "located a male and two females at the side of the road. Sandy officers questioned the three and determined one of them was possibly Elizabeth Smart," Sandy police said in a statement. All three were taken to the Sandy police station and "upon further investigation, positive identification was made on Elizabeth Smart."
Sandy police Lt. Kevin Thacker said the female found with Elizabeth and Mitchell apparently was an acquaintance of the drifter, but he did not have further information on her identity.
Police said Mitchell and Elizabeth had apparently spent some time out of state and only recently returned to Utah. Sandy, the city where they were found, is south of Salt Lake City.
Elizabeth had been transferred to the Salt Lake City Police Department, where she was being examined by a doctor and reunited with her parents, Ed and Lois Smart. Police planned to hold a news conference at 5 p.m. local time.
Kidnapped From Her Own Bedroom
Elizabeth, then 14, was kidnapped early June 5 by a gunman who apparently entered the the Smart house by cutting a window screen near the back door. She was taken from the bedroom she shared with her 9-year-old sister, Mary Katharine, who pretended to be asleep. The younger girl told authorities she heard the gunman threaten to hurt Elizabeth if the teen didn't keep quiet.
Brian David Mitchell, aka Emmanuel, once worked as a handyman for the Smart family. (ABCNEWS.com)
Her kidnapping was one in a series of high-profile child abductions in the last year horrified the nation. Two California girls taken in separate incidents, Samantha Runnion and Danielle van Dam, were later found slain.
In front of the Smart home, there were still blue ribbons tied along the trees to signal the family's continued hopes of finding Elizabeth.
Last month, the Smarts had announced a new reward for information in the case and asked the public for help in their search for "Emmanuel." They released a sketch of the man, saying Mary Katharine had come to them recently to say "Emmanuel" bore some resemblance to Elizabeth's kidnapper.
The family reportedly felt police had not devoted enough attention to finding Mitchell.
Police at one time had focused on Richard Albert Ricci, another handyman who once worked in the Smart household. Ricci was considered a top potential suspect in the kidnapping, but he died Aug. 30 after suffering a cerebral hemorrhage while in jail on a parole violation. He had denied any involvement in the kidnapping, and his wife had publicly supported him.
Investigators said they believe Ricci was involved but may not have acted alone.
Ricci's wife, Angela, was elated to hear about Elizabeth's recovery. She said that vindicated her husband.
"I jumped up and cried, said 'Yes!' " she told ABCNEWS affiliate KTVX. "I'm grateful that she's alive and I'll always stand by him and always will."
This is great news. I have been so emotional ever since I heard this earlier. I have cried, laughed, prayed. I have always felt, or wanted to feel, that she was still alive. Praise God she is home.
Blessings,
trussell