Warning: This article contains discussion of sexual assault which some readers may find distressing.
Elizabeth Smart, known for being at the center of one of the United States’ most infamous missing persons cases, is opening up about the traumatic night of her abduction.
Smart was only 14 years old when Brian David Mitchell abducted her from her Salt Lake City, Utah, home.
For nine months, she was held captive and subjected to abuse by Mitchell and his wife, Wanda Barzee.
Nearly a quarter-century later, Smart is recounting her terrifying experience in a new documentary available on Netflix this January.
Now 38, Smart shares her personal account of the events from that fateful night and the lasting impact on her life.
The documentary features interviews with law enforcement officers, Smart’s family members—including her sister Mary Katherine, who witnessed the abduction, her father Ed, and uncles Tom and Dave—alongside archival footage and previously unseen material.
Discussing the documentary, Smart told Tudum her aim is to provide ‘comfort that there are happy endings’.
She elaborated: “There will be victims and survivors who watch this, and I hope they realize they’re not alone, and that they don’t have to be ashamed of what happened to them.
“And I hope that people who watch this can gain compassion and understanding for other families who are going through this.”
The night of June 5, 2002, was typical for Smart, an eighth-grader exhausted from a day filled with end-of-year school activities and preparing for her graduation ceremony the next morning.
Shortly before midnight, she drifted off to sleep in the bed she shared with her younger sister, Mary Katherine, after reading Ella Enchanted.
She was abruptly awakened by Mitchell, a bearded man claiming to be a preacher, who held a knife to her throat.
He threatened her life if she made any noise.
When Smart asked if he intended to rape and murder her, Mitchell chillingly replied: “Not yet.”
He then forced her to leave her home and follow him into the mountains.
At a secluded campsite, Smart encountered Barzee, who washed her feet and insisted on removing her pajamas, replacing them with a loose robe.
“She said, ‘If I can’t change it, [Mitchell] is going to come in here and rip the clothes off,’” Smart recounted to People.
Mitchell then raped Smart for the first time. She endured being raped up to four times a day, leading to physical harm and feelings of shame.
Over the following months, Mitchell repeatedly raped and threatened Smart, warning her that resistance or noise would result in her death.
Barzee supported Mitchell’s humiliating abuse, while Smart acted compliant to endure and sought opportunities for escape.
During her captivity, Smart started her menstrual cycle and feared the possibility of pregnancy.
“When he took me to the spring where we’d collect water, he would hold the cable and basically walk me like a dog,” Smart recalled. “I was forced to drink beer after beer until I finally threw up, and he had just left me there face down in my own vomit.”
On March 12, 2003, a passerby recognized her from America’s Most Wanted and notified the police.
A police officer confirmed her identity, bringing an end to her captivity and reuniting her with her family.
Mitchell and Barzee faced charges including aggravated kidnapping, aggravated sexual assault, and aggravated burglary. Mitchell received a life sentence in 2011, while Barzee was sentenced to 15 years but was released in 2018.
Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart is set to premiere on Netflix on January 21.
If you’ve been affected by any of the issues discussed in this article, you can contact The National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800.656.HOPE (4673), available 24/7. Alternatively, you can chat online at online.rainn.org.