page_title: Kidnapping of Elizabeth Smart
section_title: Public appearances
hierarchical_section_title: Kidnapping of Elizabeth Smart / Captivity / Public appearances
caption_attribution_description: English: Exterior of The Leonardo museum in Salt Lake City, Utah
context_page_description: Elizabeth Ann Smart was kidnapped at age fourteen on June 5, 2002, by Brian David Mitchell from her home in the Federal Heights neighborhood of Salt Lake City, Utah. She was held captive by Mitchell and his wife, Wanda Barzee, on the outskirts of Salt Lake City, and later, in San Diego County, California. Her captivity lasted approximately nine months before she was discovered in Sandy, Utah, approximately 18 miles from her home.
  Smart was abducted from her home at knifepoint by Mitchell, while her younger sister, Mary Katherine, pretended to be asleep. Mitchell, who claimed to be a religious preacher, held Smart at a camp in the woods with Barzee, where he repeatedly raped her. During her captivity, Smart accompanied her captors in public on various occasions and went largely unrecognized by those she came in contact with.
  Since her abduction, Smart has gone on to become an advocate for missing persons and victims of sexual assault. Barzee was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison in 2010 for her role in the kidnapping and abduction, although she was granted early release on September 19, 2018, for previously uncredited time served.
context_section_description: Smart accompanied Mitchell and Barzee in public on numerous occasions, but her presence was either obscured or unnoticed via various methods of concealment, which often consisted of her wearing a headscarf and a face veil. In August 2002, around two months after Smart's kidnapping, Mitchell devised a plan to leave Salt Lake City with Barzee and Smart, possibly to Boston or New York City. To research potential places to relocate, Mitchell and Barzee visited the Salt Lake City Public Library with Smart. There, they were noticed by a library patron due to their unusual styles of dress; each wore full-length robes with veils which concealed most of their faces. The patron was convinced to call police after looking closely at Smart's eyes. A police detective arrived at the library and confronted Mitchell, Barzee, and Smart; however, he was deterred by Mitchell, who claimed that Smart was his daughter (named Augustine Marshall), and they were unable to remove their veils or garb on religious grounds. When questioned by the detective, neither Barzee nor Smart spoke, and Mitchell stated that their religion prohibited women from speaking in public. Smart would later say that Barzee signaled her not to move, and she gripped her legs under the table. She later recalled the incident: "I felt like hope was walking out the door. I was mad at myself that I didn't say anything, mad at myself for not taking the chance. So close. I felt terrible that the detective hadn't pushed harder. He just walked away."
  Smart also visited grocery stores and a restaurant but went unnoticed. In the fall of 2002, she attended a party with Mitchell and Barzee and was photographed wearing a veil and robe with Mitchell and another party guest.
caption: The Salt Lake City Public Library building (now The Leonardo museum), one of several public locations where Smart accompanied her captors
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