Kidnapping of Elizabeth Smart

On June 5, 2002, 14-year-old Elizabeth Ann Smart was abducted at knifepoint from the bedroom she shared with her nine-year-old sister, Mary Katherine, in the Federal Heights neighborhood of Salt Lake City, Utah. The abductor was later identified as Brian David Mitchell, a self-styled religious preacher who had previously worked briefly for the Smart family as a handyman under the name "Emmanuel." Mary Katherine, who feigned sleep during the abduction, provided police with an imperfect description of the intruder, and a cut window screen was the primary physical evidence at the scene.

A large volunteer search effort, coordinated with the Laura Recovery Center and involving up to 2,000 volunteers a day, failed to locate Smart. Police investigated numerous persons of interest, including Richard Ricci, a Smart family handyman with a criminal record who died of a brain hemorrhage in August 2002 without being charged in the case. Mitchell and his wife, Wanda Barzee, held Smart at a rudimentary campsite outside Salt Lake City, where Mitchell subjected her to repeated sexual assault, forced a purported marriage ceremony, and imposed threats, deprivation, and forced use of alcohol and drugs. Barzee assisted in facilitating the abuse. Smart was made to accompany the couple in public on multiple occasions while concealed under robes and veils, including an encounter at the Salt Lake City Public Library where a detective was dissuaded from investigating further after Mitchell claimed religious objections to revealing her face. In September 2002, the group relocated to San Diego County, California, before returning to Utah in early 2003.

In October 2002, Mary Katherine recalled that the abductor's voice matched that of "Emmanuel," the family's former handyman. Police released a composite sketch in February 2003, which was recognized by Mitchell's relatives, leading to the distribution of his photograph. On March 12, 2003, Mitchell, Barzee, and Smart—disguised in a wig and veil—were spotted in Sandy, Utah, by members of the public who alerted police. Officers located and questioned the group; Smart initially gave a false name before being identified and rescued. Mitchell and Barzee were arrested at the scene.

Both were charged with aggravated kidnapping, aggravated sexual assault, and aggravated burglary. Barzee was later declared competent following court-ordered evaluation and forcible medication proceedings, and she pleaded guilty, receiving concurrent 15-year state and federal sentences in 2009; she was released in September 2018 after credit for time served. Mitchell's competency to stand trial was disputed for years amid conflicting psychological evaluations; he was ultimately found competent in March 2010. His federal trial began in November 2010, and the defense acknowledged his responsibility for the acts but argued insanity. A jury rejected the insanity defense and convicted him in December 2010 of kidnapping and transporting a minor across state lines with intent to engage in sexual activity. He was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole in 2011 and remains incarcerated. Following her rescue, Smart became a public advocate for missing persons and victims of sexual assault.