Elizabeth Smart Reveals 'Terrifying' Kidnap Moment in New Netflix Documentary
In a chilling new Netflix documentary, Elizabeth Smart has opened up about the horrific night she was kidnapped at age 14 from her Utah bedroom. The child safety activist recounts the terrifying moment she was taken while her younger sister watched, paralysed with fear.
The Night of the Abduction
Elizabeth Smart, now 38, was abducted from her Salt Lake City home in June 2002 by paedophile Brian David Mitchell. She was held captive, raped, and abused by Mitchell and his wife for nine months before being rescued by police in Utah. In Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart, she recalls the heart-stopping instant she was snatched from the bedroom she shared with her nine-year-old sister, Mary Katherine.
"I remember a man's voice, 'I have a knife at your neck, don't make a sound, get up and come with me.' I was terrified," Elizabeth says in the documentary. "Was he going to hurt me? Was he going to kill me? I was hoping my parents would wake up but nobody came."
Sister's Traumatic Account
Mary Katherine gives her own account of the traumatising event, revealing she was paralysed with fear as she witnessed the kidnapping. "I'm still dealing with it," she says through tears. "That night, Elizabeth and I said our prayers together and we went to sleep. The next thing I remember, there was a man in my bedroom telling Elizabeth if she screamed, he would kill her."
She adds, "I was paralysed. I couldn't believe what was happening. I finally worked up enough courage to tell my parents Elizabeth was gone, the man had taken her." It was 3:58am when Mary Katherine woke her parents, but they initially dismissed her cries as a nightmare.
Parental Discovery and Aftermath
Their father, Ed Smart, recalls the rising anxiety as they searched the house. "We said, 'you just had a bad nightmare, Elizabeth was probably somewhere in the house,'" he says. "But as we went room to room, the anxiety started rising. In the kitchen, I saw this cut screen and the window was wide open. My wife screamed, 'Call 911.'"
Elizabeth describes being led through her back garden and up a trail into the mountains by Mitchell. "I was so worried that I was missing my chance for escape," she says. "I asked if he was going to rape and kill me because I thought that must be what he's going to do. I wanted him to do it as close as he could to my house so my parents could find me."
Mitchell responded with a terrible smile, saying, "I'm not going to rape and kill you yet." He was later sentenced to life in prison in 2011 for kidnapping and transporting a minor across state lines for sexual activity, while his wife, Wanda Barzee, received 15 years and was released in 2018.
Life After the Kidnapping
Elizabeth Smart has since built a new life, now married with three children and working as a TV commentator and child safety activist. She has dedicated her career to speaking out against abstinence-only sex education and advocating for victims of child sexual abuse.
Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart is available to stream on Netflix, offering a raw and emotional look at her ordeal and recovery.
