Kidnapping survivor Elizabeth Smart marked the 19th anniversary of her rescue from her kidnappers, saying it was a “miracle” when she was found nine months after she was kidnapped from her family’s home.
A 34-year-old girl is known to have been dragged from her bed at knifepoint when she was 14 and held captive by Brian David Mitchell and his wife Wanda Barzee before being rescued and returned to her parents on March 12, 2003.
On Saturday, Smart took to Instagram to share a photo of herself with her husband Matthew Gilmour and their three children, taken during a recent Sierra Campbell Photography shoot, reflecting on the day she was rescued.
“I have always believed in miracles, but today marks 19 years since the biggest miracle I have ever experienced. I just wanted to briefly say thank you to everyone who helped save me,” she wrote.
Kidnapping survivor Elizabeth Smart, 34, spoke of her “miraculous” escape in an Instagram post on Saturday marking the 19th anniversary of her discovery in Utah.
It is known that Smart was abducted from her bed at knifepoint when she was 14 years old and held captive by Brian David Mitchell and his wife Wanda Barzee.
“Thank you to those of you who prayed for me, looked for me and supported me all these years ago and today. I will always be grateful.”
Smart went on to say that she is also grateful for her husband and children, explaining that there were times when she didn’t think she would have a family of her own.
“Today I am happy and I feel so happy that I found my husband and best friend, and also became the mother of my three children. For a while, this dream seemed unattainable, but in fact it is completely unattainable, ”she shared.
Smart ended her post with a message to other abduction victims yet to be found and their families who are still looking for them.
She spent nine months, from June 2002 to March 2003, in captivity, where Mitchell performed a “marriage” ceremony with her and repeatedly raped her.
Smart was eventually found on March 12, 2003 at the age of 15 after witnesses in Sandy, Utah called the police. She is pictured with her parents in April 2003, one month after she was rescued.
“So today I want to say to those who are still searching, you will always remain in my prayers and I do not lose hope that your loved ones will be found, and for those who are still missing, do not give up, miracles happen, you deserve in order to find them. saved, and have happiness; and finally, those who struggle along the way; no matter where you are, don’t give up,” she concluded.
You never deserve pain. You deserve trust, support, love and happiness. Everyone has a story and challenges, you are not alone. God bless you all.”
Smart recently opened up about her concern for her family after she was kidnapped during an interview with Jada Pinkett Smith and her mother Adrienne Banfield-Norris on Red Table Talk in October.
She remembered begging Mitchell to rape and kill her near her house so her parents could find her body – and they knew for sure that she didn’t choose to run away from home.
“My parents always said that the worst thing about my disappearance was not knowing if I was alive and where I was, or dead,” she told the women.
In her latest post, she shared that she is grateful to her husband Matthew Gilmour and their children, explaining that there were times when she didn’t think she would have a family of her own.
Smart has already started talking to her seven-year-old daughter Chloe about what happened to her.
“And anyway, when I was being taken to the mountains, that first night that I was kidnapped, I asked him if he was going to rape and kill me, and if he was going to do this, then could he do it close enough to my house because it was important to me that my parents found my body and knew that I hadn’t escaped.”
Mitchell and Barzee did not kill her when they took her from her home in Salt Lake City, Utah, but she was held captive for nine months, from June 2002 to March 2003.
The self-proclaimed prophet staged a mock wedding ceremony by taking her into the woods and tying her up with steel cables in a dugout filled with mice and spiders.
She was forced to take drugs and drink alcohol, she testified in 2009, and was raped daily, up to four times a day. They later moved her to Lakeside, California for the winter and tried to kidnap other girls.
“Their plan was to kidnap seven young girls. I was just the first. And they did make a few tries while I was with them,” she recalls.
Mitchell (pictured being escorted to court in 2005) subjected Smart to horrendous abuse and was convicted in 2010.
Mitchell (left) is serving a life sentence in prison, but his wife Wanda Barzee (right) was sentenced to just 15 years and was released in September 2018.
Smart explained that although she spent those nine months wishing someone would find her, there were times when she lost hope that she would ever return home.
“I always wanted to be rescued. I don’t know if I always had hope. Of course, there were some pretty dark times,” she said.
After Mitchell and Barzee’s last failed attempt to kidnap another girl, she convinced them to return to Utah. She was eventually found at the age of 15 after witnesses in Sandy called the police.
One said she recognized Smart, and the other said she recognized the kidnapper.
“I don’t think I will ever lose faith in humanity because everyone kept their eyes open and simple phone calls to the police eventually led to my rescue, my return home,” she explained.
Smart shared the heartbreaking details of her experience in a candid new interview with Jada Pinkett Smith and her mother Adrienne Banfield-Norris at Red Table Talk in October.
She recalled begging her kidnapper to rape and kill her near her house so her parents could find her body.
“My parents always said that the worst thing about my leaving was not knowing if I was alive and where I was, or dead,” she told the women.
Smart has since become a public speaker, writer and advocate, and she speaks openly about her ordeal.
Now she and her husband have three children of their own: seven-year-old Chloe, four-year-old James and three-year-old Olivia. She had already started talking to her eldest daughter about what had happened to her.
“They are young,” she said in Red Table Talk, “but someone told me that as soon as your child starts asking questions, it’s time to start talking to him.
“One of my kidnappers had to show up for parole, and that day I had to go down to jail to testify as a victim. My daughter, my eldest, really did not want me to leave, and kept asking [questions].
“I started talking to her, but not in graphic detail. “When my mother was younger, a man broke into my house and hurt me. And now he and his wife are in prison, and I will go there to make sure they stay in prison,” she said.
Smart admitted that as a mother she is “overprotective”, but then her husband steps in to “bring her back down to earth”.
Smart has been open about her trials as a speaker, author, and advocate.
Smart admitted that as a mother she is “overprotective”, but then her husband steps in to “bring her back down to earth.”
Although Mitchell is serving a life sentence, Barzee was sentenced to only 15 years. In the plea agreement, she was credited with seven years, which she had already served.
She was released from prison in September 2018 and now lives in the same city as Smart, despite Smart’s pleas to the parole board not to release her.
Smart admitted that she was “disappointed” with the result, but said it gives her more appreciation for those victims who never had “one shred of justice.”
At least I have something. How many more are missing? she said.