Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart Recap

 

Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart opens with an old interview with Mary Katherine, Elizabeth’s younger sister who witnessed Elizabeth’s kidnapping.

 

We also see an older Mary Katherine talk about what happened that fateful night, from the kidnapping to her telling her parents what happened.

 

There is also news footage covering the case as the world wondered what happened to 14-year-old Elizabeth Smart.

 

Eilzabeth herself also talks about how she had an escape plan.

 

Elizabeth’s father Ed talks about how guilty he feels about not being able to protect his daughter and shares his own story about what happened that night. He’d initially thought Mary Katherine wad having a bad dream, but when he looked through the house, he realized Elizabeth was indeed gone.

 

We also hear from the investigators working on the case, as well as more news footage. Nicea Degering talks about covering the case and how difficult it was to wrap her mind around the kidnapping.

 

Elizabeth’s uncle Dave also talks about finding out about the kidnapping and rushing to help the family, as well as hearing Elizabeth’s mom Lois crying and screaming.

 

Hundreds of investigators were working on the case, questioning family, friends and everyone in between to get clues. Everyone was determined to bring Elizabeth home and look for her, creating search parties.

 

The media was all over the case in hopes of bringing awareness to what happened and bringing Elizabeth home alive.

 

Mary Katherine talks about her close relationship with Elizabeth and we also see the interview from when she was a little girl. She had revealed that the voice of the kidnapper was familiar, but she had no idea why.

 

Family and close friends were all questioned. The alarm had been left off and there were no scuff marks by the window that was open, making investigators wonder if this had been staged. The home was searched with the help of a canine, who lost the scent as they got further from the house. This had them infer she was taken via automobile.

 

Nicea talks about how the public’s feelings for the family shifted based on Ed’s body language and lack of tears. He was later given a polygraph as theories that Ed killed her began to spread.

Ed himself talks about how hard it was to deal with being a suspect, which led to him going to a psych ward.

 

The focus remained on family members, despite Ed passing the polygraph. His brother Tom, on the other hand, came out inconclusive. He was also acting very jittery, which made others suspicious. This caused a lot of tension between the family, even though Tom now says his behavior was caused by the stress of the entire situation.

 

The Smarts were shocked by how long it took to clear the family and how people would turn on them based on media reports. Despite all this, they were determined to keep going.

 

As the search continued, the body of a burned young woman was found. It was feared to be Elizabeth but later determined to be someone else.

 

The family continued to live in fear and sadness, wondering where Elizabeth could be and if she was still alive.

 

Mary Katherine was told by police not to talk to anyone about it in case it would influence her memory, leaving her on a lonely island. She kept going over and over that night as she tried to figure out who the voice belonged to, stressing her out even more.  She could only remember it was a male.

 

The family made a list of everyone who went through the house, including Richard Ricci, a contractor who worked on the house. He and Ed had a fight over wages, and it was discovered that he’d stolen jewelry from the house.

 

Richard was questioned and it also came out that he had felony charges against him. This shocked Ed, who had no idea about the charges. He’d only known him via recommendation from the church.

 

The car Ed had given Richard for handyman work also had unexplained miles, making suspicion even stronger against him. However, Mary Katherine was able to determine that Richard was not their man, even though police did not clear him right away.

 

On July 24th, 2002, the home of Elizabeth’s aunt and uncle was also broken into and the window by Elizabeth’s cousin’s room was cut, with the chairs outside arranged in a similar fashion as Elizabeth’s house.  This was not released to the public, so it was inferred it was the same person.

 

Since Richard was in jail during this incident, he was offered immunity if he would tell them what he was really doing the night of the kidnapping. However, Richard would die before this could happen.

 

The Smarts are shocked and wondered if they would ever find out what happen to Elizabeth.

 

Ed was not going to give up hope and had a strong feeling she was still out there. He recalls one Sunday after church where he fell asleep and had a dream about Elizabeth coming home. He describes the euphoric feeling of the dream.

 

A man named Jared talks about wild parties he attended, focusing on one where a man and two women in covered up except for their eyes showed up. The man drank but refused to allow the ladies to drink as well. Jared thought the man seemed controlling and tried to talk to the younger lady, but the older lady refused to let the conversation take place. At this moment, Jared just walked away, thinking they were kooks.

 

Mary Katherine talks about her fears of going to sleep and how she would read the Guiness Book of World Records. One night, a name popped into her mind and she knew for sure who took her sister.

 

Elizabeth shares her account of that night and how prior to the kidnapping, she was excited to leave junior high behind and start her new life in high school. She recounts the kidnapping and how she was held at knifepoint and told to stay silent or die. She recalls being led though her backyard and asked the kidnapper what he planned on doing to her, hoping that whatever happened to her would happen by her house so her parents could find her.

 

The man took her to a woman named Hephzibah by the tent, who came up to her and hugged her. Elizabeth describes her as wearing a tunic and a headdress and how she washed Elizabeth’s feet and took off her pajamas and putting her in a similar outfit.

 

The man tried declaring Elizabeth as his wife and she’d screamed NO. He threatened to kill her if she ever screamed again. He continued to torture and rape her, leaving in her in pain as she begged her to stop. Afterward, he left her alone as if nothing had happened, while she was left bleeding and in pain.

 

Elizabeth passed out and when she came to, she was in chains to keep her from running away. She said they all had their own set of scriptures and that she was the first of seven girls they were told to kidnap…..and they threatened to kidnap her cousin and sister.

 

All the while, she felt shame and filth, terrified about what her family would think.

 

Emmanuel would bring back stories and posters covering her kidnapping to torture her, saying no one will ever find her. She’d even hear search parties calling for her, but Emmanuel would hide her and threaten to kill anyone who tried to take her away.

 

All the while, he continuously raped her, using God to justify his actions. He’d also force her to drink and do other stuff to control her, threatening to kill her family if she didn’t cooperate.

 

She kept thinking about her family and what they were doing to keep herself together and remind her that she had something worth surviving for.

 

Four months later, Mary Katherine talks to her family and says it was Emmanuel who took Elizabeth. The family knew him as a homeless person preaching the good word that was eventually hired as another handyman to help around the house.

 

Mary Katherine was interviewed again, but investigators weren’t sure her story was accurate; hence it was not initially taken seriously.

 

However, it was finally looked into and a sketch artist talked to Mary Katherine. Despite this, the picture was not released to the public in fears of spooking him.

 

Elizabeth recalls being taken to Salt Lake City with Emmanuel and Hephzibah , hoping that someone would see her and help. She realized that her bid for freedom had to be a sure thing so she wouldn’t face the wrath of Emmanuel.

 

While everything was familiar, it felt like a parallel universe to Elizabeth. She recalls being taken to the library to look at maps when a man approached them, saying he was a homicide detective who was looking for a missing girl. Emmanuel refused to let it happen and H grabbed onto her to keep her from moving until the detective left.

 

Emmanuel took her back to the mountains and said they needed to leave the area. Elizabeth was scared that she would never see her family again.

 

At Christmastime, Mary Katherine worried about Elizabeth and wondered if they would see Elizabeth again, while Ed still held onto hope that Elizabeth was alive. Investigators would continue to look into it even though the case was stalled. The sketch of Emmanuel was also released in hopes of helping find him and Elizabeth.

 

A man called in and claims that Emmanuel might be his brother-in-law. He revealed that he had a teepee up in the mountains and no one was allowed here, but if Elizabeth was with him, she might be alive. This was the clue they needed to bring hope back into the case.

 

A picture was sent to authorities, and it was revealed that Emmanuel was Brian David Mitchell, who had shoplifting charges against him…around the time Elizabeth had been kidnapped.

 

Emmanuel, aka Brian was recognized as a grifter was often seen with a woman (Hephzibah) holding a doll. She was identified as Wanda and they traveled around preaching, thinking they were prophets of God.

 

Brian/Emmanuel’s ex-wife talked to authorities and said he was a dangerous man who had a violent history that included abusing children. Investigators stopped at nothing to find him.

 

A friend of one of the investigator’s daughters recall seeing them at a restaurant. They went there to question the waitresses and one of them confirmed that three people came in, two of which were women in veils. It was now almost conclusive that one of them was Elizabeth.

 

More and more sightings came to light. Jared wishes he would have paid more attention. However, there were no sightings since October 2002.

 

March 2003. Elizabeth was near San Diego with her captors and talks about her time there, including the continuous raping and preaching. She recalls how he talked about moving again, which made her wonder if she would ever be found.  She told them God was telling her that they needed to go back to Salt Lake City. He bought this and they returned to Salt Lake City.

 

However, Emmanuel planned on taking her back to the mountains. Little did he know, someone spotted them and called the police. Pretty soon, officers surrounded the three of them and began questioning Elizabeth. She was terrified and tried to find the safest answer she could to save her life, answering with thou sayeth. The police officer took this as a yes and took her to the station and back to her family.

 

Ed remembers getting the call that Elizabeth was found and reuniting with her, seeing a young woman in front of him…asking if it was his miracle Elizabeth. They hugged, with him overjoyed and her terrified, then relieved.

 

Mary Katherine remembers being taken out of school and seeing Elizabeth alive, while Elizabeth remembers being reunited with everyone and says those monsters could never take away her value and worth.

 

The media happily shared the news with the world, while the investigators realize they should have done more sooner.

 

Emmanuel/Brian was questioned, but would only scream ‘get thee behind me, Satan.’  He played the mental health card, which delayed the trial.

 

However, it gave Elizabeth time to heal. She says she was very scared of a lot of things and still felt a lot of shame. The family worked to help Elizabeth and spent time together in joy and love.

 

The case dragged on for years, with Elizabeth determined to bring it to an end. She ended up going into court to testify, allowing for Emmanuel/Brian to be found guilty and sentenced to life in prison without parole.

 

Wanda was sentenced to 15 years and released in 2018.

 

Elizabeth is married with three kids. She now speaks publicly about her ordeal and offers hope to other victims and also founded The Elizabeth Smart Foundation.