Elizabeth Smart - Current Photo/Website

www.elizabethsmart.com ^ | 6/8/02 | www.elizabethsmart.com

[stlnative]

I wanted to post this more current picture of Elizabeth Smart at age 14



Someone has started a domain in Elizabeth's name. You can visit site to see more pictures of her and to find more out more information. www.elizabethsmart.com

[patriciaruth]

My father taught me as a child how to break the grip of anyone around your wrist, no matter how strong. He had me practice it with him on and off while I was growing up.

You direct your energy/force against the thumb and keep moving so the force keeps directing against the thumb and that will break the grip.

I didn't know till I was grown that Daddy was always fearful for me because I was such a pretty, bright and fearless little girl. I always thought it was unfair that he was so much stricter with me about going out and doing things alone.

[patriciaruth]

I'm sure you've thanked your SWAT cop friend a million times, but bake him a cake this weekend from the rest of us. WE are grateful to him, too.

What happened to the perp?

[PoisedWoman]

That was years amd years ago in another town. I don't recall whether the SWAT guy just messed up the perp or hauled him in. I think the former, as the attack barely got underway when it was stopped. Thanks God! I loved living in that building; a view of the ocean, and a SWAT cop and his wife managing the building added up to a lot of plusses.

[Darlin']

"I always wonder why certain missing children get elevated to celebrity status above others"

I don't think that is exactly accurate. It isn't a matter of some being elevated to "celebrity status" , but rather the circumstances of the abduction that captures the public's imagination and generates a greater or more intense level of nationwide media coverage.

[Darlin']

Exactly. She is a very wholesome, fresh faced and rather shy looking young girl She doesn't look anything like the MTV generation's image of a young teenager.

[EverOnward]

You direct your energy/force against the thumb and keep moving so the force keeps directing against the thumb and that will break the grip.

Worth repeating!

Another trick: While lieing in bed, turn on your side. Practice swivelling around on your side kicking your legs as fast and hard as you can. Good if a perp surprises you while you're in bed.

[kayak]

bttt

[contessa machiaveli]

discussing issues can be cathartic and help to relieve the anxieties many feel. all of us on this thread are hoping elizabeth is returned healthy and safe to her parents. if you think you're too good for this thread i encourage you to leave. you won't be missed.

[ATOMIC_PUNK]

QUICKTIME VIDEO

[ATOMIC_PUNK]

BUMPING FOR AWARNESS AND CHILD RETREIVAL

GOD protect this little soul

[freedox]

"I always wonder why certain missing children get elevated to celebrity status above others."

I overheard something on Fox News today that addresses this issue. I'm not sure who was being interviewed, but the woman stated that immediate media attention is only granted in cases that meet 4 specific criteria. I didn't catch all of the criteria, but apparently such things as runaways do not qualify. In this case, it would appear that the 9 year old's story of the alleged gunman was a significant determining factor in obtaining nationwide publicity for this family.

[brneyedgirl]

We all feel sorrow for Elizabeth Smart, hope and pray for her safety. And personally, this case breaks my heart.

However, as I go through the posts, I see a lot of animosity targeted towards a fellow newbie Ashley Todd. Give the girl a break. She's new to FR, and simply trying o sort through the chatter, and one has the right to agree or disagree.

Love you all!

[ghostkatz]

Thank you! My thoughts as well. Just because someone is "new" shouldn't disqualify THEIR right to speak their mind. The "oldies" get to speak theirs. To me, putting down newbies is a form of elitism.....lets leave that ugly task to the liberal demoncrats (since they do it sooo well).

[YaYa123]

Elizabeth Smart, the little Van Dam girl in San Diego, Polly Klass, all kidnapped from their homes as their parents slept. Those little girls weren't murdered on the premises. And when you think of it, a kidnapper would leave with his prey as quickly as possible, wouldn't he?

Reminds me, once again, how unbelievable it is, that someone other than a family member killed JonBenet Ramsey.

[twigs]

I tell my daughter this OVER AND OVER that if she is ever in a bad position to FIGHT FOR HER LIFE AND GET AWAY!

She probably would have. My feeling is that she was aware that her little sister was in the room and the man had a gun. She was probably protecting her sister. They seem like a very close family.

[SarahW]

There are just as many sexual-deviant murders where the victim was killed in the home while the parents/family slept.

[GovernmentShrinker]

This type of thread is not likely to play a part in bringing the girl home, though the combined effect of such discussions all across the nation -- on the internet, on TV, in person, on truckers' radios -- could very well play a part. But all these discussions are very likely to help prevent other children from being abducted. There is a lot of discussion going on here about what might be done to help prevent this -- what to teach children, getting a dog, remembering not to imagine your that family is safe just because you live in a big expensive house in a cul de sac in a nice neighborhood, etc. All the public speculation of who might have done this, and how that person might have known of the girl, contribute to all of us being better informed and prepared, and less likely to be victimized in this way.

Case in point, where I've added something to my mental security files: a couple of days ago on Fox, I heard a commentator mention an interview they had done earlier with a profiler. The profiler had mentioned that the abductor might have been an orderly, due to the combination of the light/white jacket (unusual attire for middle of the might kidnappers) and the odd detail that he had made a point of having the girl get her shoes -- something that a hospital orderly does so instinctively that he might well do it in a situation where it really didn't make sense to risk a few seconds delay inside the house. This comment reminded me of the reports that the girl's grandfather had died the previous week.

Was the family at the hospital, having conversations with and/or in front of hospital staff, that could have provided personal and household information, and given a lowlife staffer a sense of connection with this beautiful little girl's personality and emotions? This was the first time I'd thought about this particular risk, which most of us will encounter. When a family is at a hospital either in an emergency or very emotional terminal situation, their guard is down, they are discussing a lot of very personal things, and they are likely to interpret staffers' interest in "listening" as thoughtful rather than suspicious. Much of the low level staff at hospitals, especially in big cities, come from shaky backgrounds where they and/or their friends and relatives have criminal records, and the staff has access to a lot of patient information including home addresses. In short, a hospital is a dangerous place to let down your guard re personal security, and at the same time a place where your emotional state is likely to interfere with your thinking about personal security. My personal security is now better for having been prompted to think about this. Hope yours is too.

[GovernmentShrinker]

Another suggestion: emphasize to your children over and over again, preferably with some role-playing activities, that if someone tries to get hold of them, whether in their own home, outside, pulling them into a car, whatever -- don't hesitate, don't doubt yourself even for a second, fight with all your might IMMEDIATELY.

Kids, especially young ones and well-behaved older ones, are naturally inclined to give adults the benefit of the doubt. When somebody tells them "your mom told me to pick you up", they'll stop to think about whether it might be true, and whether they might get in trouble for not going with "mom's friend". Let your kids know they will NOT be in trouble if they kick somebody claiming to be "mom's friend" in the groin, even it turns out that it really WAS mom's friend that she sent to pick you up in an emergency. Let them know that you and any adults you associate with would back off after one good kick, punch, or scream, and will understand that the child wasn't sure and felt threatened, and fought hard as he/she had been taught to. Burn it into their brains that it's bad NOT to fight hard and immediately.

[GovernmentShrinker]

Was that the same daughter who was abducted at 14 or a different one? Either way, with TWO events like this, I'm sure you've had occasion to give a lot of thought to how to teach kids to prevent and/or survive these things.

[GovernmentShrinker]

In that photo where she looks like a boy, it appears to me that her hair is wet -- maybe it was at a pool party or something. She doesn't look like a boy in any of the other pictures.