Elizabeth Smart who vanished from Utah home found safe

Seattle Times ^ | March 12, 2003 | Mike Carter

[Shermy]

Elizabeth Smart, the 15-year-old Salt Lake City girl kidnapped from her home last June, had been held in a polygamous relationship by a man who believed God had told him to take her as another wife.

Police sources in Utah, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the man had kidnapped the girl more than 8 months ago and she was living with him and at least one other woman in a house in suburban Sandy, Utah, about 20 miles south of the girl’s home.

The girl was found alive — against all hope — in a car stopped by police.

“Miracles do exist,” said the girl's uncle, Tom Smart. He said the girl was in good condition.

Elizabeth was wearing a wig when police in Sandy pulled over the drifter, a man known as Emmanuel, authorities said. She was taken to the Salt Lake City police department, where her family was with her.

Brian David Mitchell

The man, whose real name is Brian David Mitchell, had worked “for about five hours” at the girl’s parents' luxurious home in the foothills near the state Capitol more than a year earlier, the source said. Police say he had become enamored of the girl at that time and prayed about taking her as another wife.

“It was a religious thing,” the source said. “This guy just wanted another wife and God told him this was the one.”

A month ago, the Smarts held a news conference where they released a sketch of Mitchell, who did work at their home in November 2001. As recently as yesterday, the family openly criticized police for not devoting enough attention to the former handyman.

Mitchell’s sister called authorities with his identity after the family’s Feb. 3 news conference. The man’s stepson gave investigators photos of Mitchell and said his stepfather was “capable” of kidnapping a child.

He also said Mitchell believes he is a prophet who needs to preach to the homeless and has no source of income other than handouts.

On the night of June 5, 2002, a man cut the screen in the girl’s bedroom window and climbed inside. Armed with a handgun, he took the child from her bed while her little sister, Mary Katherine, witnessed the kidnapping. The sister, afraid the man was still in the house, laid in bed for several hours before waking her parents and reporting the kidnapping.

Last month, Elizabeth’s younger sister was re-interviewed by detectives and told them that the man who broke into the bedroom that night resembled the man she knew as Emmanuel. Elizabeth Smart’s parents issued a new reward and released a sketch of the man.

Until then, police were disheartened over the disappearance. Their main suspect, a convicted burglar named Richard Albert Ricci, had died in prison of a brain hemorrhage last August. He had steadfastly denied any role in kidnapping the girl.

Investigators have said they believe Ricci was involved but may not have acted alone.

“They should have caught this guy by now,” said Tom Smart. “The police are too vested in Ricci.”

Elizabeth’s father, Ed, was less harsh but expressed his “frustration” at public statements made by police dismissing Mitchell as a potential suspect.

Police said they followed up more than 16,000 leads from the public in addition to those they came up with themselves.

Children’s advocates were elated by the good news.

“We are very, very relieved,” said Marilyn Ward, director of Child Search, a national missing children center based in Houston. “This should help the cause of missing children everywhere. We are thankful she’s alive. It gives hope to people to never give up.”

[rundy]

Live interviews on SLC tv with the estranged daughter of the woman said she, the daughter, was abandoned by her mother when she was young. But she did say that she lived with her mother and step-father Brian David Mitchell until she was about 14. At that time she left to live with relatives because things were getting too weird. (Maybe that her mother's husband thought and acted like he was God. That would do to for me.) This daugher is older now, but is blonde and almost certainly "Elizabeth-like" when she was 14.

What does this mean? Nothing (I think) but it has been on the tv here in SLC this evening.

More later.

[stlnative]

A. Ricci says that Ricci did not know Mitchell...

She does not seem to bitter towards the Smart family, says they did what they had to do and went on what police told them.

[Utah Girl]

I've been listening to KSL radio over the Internet. What an amazing story to have that alert woman look at those three walking along in Sandy, and put two and two together. One caller into the show said that he and his wife saw them being talked to by the police, he said they really stuck out in Sandy, dressed the way they were dressed. He said in SLC, he wouldn't have really noticed them, but in Sandy...

[Pan_Yans Wife]

I heard Emmanuel had molested his step-children.

[sweetliberty]

"But the question I want answerred is this: why didn't she attempt to get in contact with her family?"

That is the one I am most curious about as well. At 14 and 15, I was incredibly creative. I can't imagine anyone having been able to ever control me that completely for that long, especially once I had a mind to do something.

[thegreatbeast]

Why don't we wait for the facts to come out? I know I have questions about the girl's particpipation in this matter. An American girl at the age of 15 can be surprisingly imaginative but ES couldn't escape her captors? Maybe. I just want to know. Stockholm syndrome? I just want to know. A whole bunch of questions that need answering.
Fry the adults on GP.

[Utah Girl]

My friend said that she only saw the head view. And you are absolutely correct, Mitchell looks like he is mentally ill. Apparently he molested his step daughter also.

[Palladin]

rundy, I heard on one of the TV shows today that Mitchell is somehow related to the woman who took her 6 kids up on the hotel roof in Utah (about 15 years ago), threw them all off, and jumped off herself. All of them died.
That incident was so horrible...it stayed in my mind.

If this is true, I wonder what effect it had on Mitchell.

[Kevin Curry]

I feel this is more evidence that this was a consensual situation.

I believe the best evidence is still that he took her by gunpoint. That's what the sister said. However consensual it looks now, if he took her, a naive and impressionable young girl, by gunpoint and isolated her from family and other support and filled her head with crazy crapola, it was NOT consensual and can never be made consensual.

This evening I have heard another report by Crazy Emmanuel's stepdaughter (now grown) who said she, the stepdaughter, left home at age 15 because the pervert was constantly trying to kiss her, hug her, and rub up against her body in inappropriate ways. She says he creeped her out so much she hid her telephone number and address from her own mother because she feared Rasputin in Rags would get the information and come by and annoy her.

[dennisw]

"I'm beginning to suspect that she wasn't really "kidnapped"

Of course she was kidnapped. Then the abductor started to mess with her mind. Could have fed her drugs (LSD) to break her bond with family. There can also be control via sex and rape that would not have worked with all girls but worked with Elizabeth. Just my speculations.

[Utah Girl]

Apparently the world of the media is coming to Utah. I have just been informed that Katie Couric (blech) is coming.

[Palladin]

When you were 14 or 15, were you being raped day and night by a man who thought he was Jesus?

[Pan_Yans Wife]

Manipulation and mind-control work wonders. Remember that boy from California, who was kidnapped, back in the eighties I think... Steven... they made a movie, "My name is Steven".

Anyway, his captor told him his parents didn't love him, had stopped looking, and didn't mind that he was gone. The kid believed it for YEARS. Never tried to escape. Only when the kidnapper kidnapped another little boy, and all three were living together, did Steven take the younger child to the police.

Said, he was Steven, and wanted to protect the little boy from the child molester, kidnapper. He only truly escaped himself, because he wanted to protect the younger boy.

Just goes to show us that no matter what terrible atrocities may occur, somehow we remain human, and have compassion for others.

[rundy]

The daughter indicated (hinted) that there had been some suspicion, but I don't recall her saying anything about charges. Thus, I'm not sure how valid that story is. We'll see in the next couple of days as the police and FBI press their investigation.

[motexva]

Sorry SarahW, you can't sustain pregnancy when you're being starved. I think it's clear she wasn't being starved or otherwise mistreated, other than the likelihood of statutory rape. I doubt I'll be eating any of these words. There is just too much evidence suggesting that her involvement with this guy was voluntary.

[stlnative]

[rundy]

Sorry Palladin, I can't verify the story. I have not heard that link. But, I can't discredit it either.

[Kevin Curry]

There is just too much evidence suggesting that her involvement with this guy was voluntary.

Being abducted by gunpoint is VOLUNTARY?

You must have a different dictionary than I have.