---

---

ReligionNewsBlog.com • Item 2702 • Posted: Thursday March 13, 2003  

---

AP, Mar. 13, 2003
http://www.ananova.com/

A 15-year-old girl kidnapped at gunpoint from her bedroom nine months ago has been dramatically reunited with her parents in Utah.

Elizabeth Smart was snatched from her home in Salt Lake City by a self-styled prophet for the homeless, who wanted to take her as a second wife.

Police in the Salt Lake City suburb of Sandy arrested Brian Mitchell, a drifter who once worked for the Smarts, and his wife Wanda Barzee.

Residents had spotted the three yesterday as they walked down a street only 20 miles from her home.

She was sleeping next to her 10-year-old sister Mary Catherine when she was abducted.

Mary told police at the time that an armed man had taken Elizabeth and threatened to kill her unless she kept quiet. The terrified younger girl then waited several hours before raising the alarm.

A Smart family spokesman said that the abducted teenager had never had an opportunity to try to escape, or even just cry out for help.

Elizabeth’s wealthy property broker father Ed said that he had not yet asked his daughter about the details of her ordeal.

“Physically she is OK,” he said. “I know that she has been through brainwashing. For her to have gone through the past nine months has just been horrible, absolutely horrible.”

Elizabeth, Barzee and Mitchell, who is also known as Emmanuel, were all wearing wigs when they were stopped, officers said.

---

What You Can Do From Here

---

Read More Articles On These Topics Categories: Brian Mitchell and Wanda Barzee Share, Blog About, Bookmark, or Email This Article Subscribe Religion News Blog RSS feed [What is this?] RSS by topic: Brian Mitchell and Wanda Barzee Read Another Article Previous entry: Elizabeth May Have Been Taken to Be a Replacement Daughter Next entry: Cameroon bans urine ‘remedy’ RNB Homepage with latest headlines Find Related Information Use our custom search engines to find additional research resources on religions and cults Find Related Books Brian Mitchell and Wanda Barzee Most Popular Today World’s oldest ocean-going passenger ship, ministry ship Doulos, to stop sailing Pakistan Militants Bomb CD Shop For Selling ‘Jesus Film’ Muslim Violence Ongoing in Egypt; Christians Plead For Help

---

Share This Article

---

To share this page simply copy and paste one of these URL's:

• Post a link on your blog or website:
  
• Send in an email or IM:
  
• Post on a forum:
  

Search for information about (religious) cults, cult-like organizations, -- as well as paranormal-, New Age, and pseudoscientific claims -- across 260+ websites, blogs and forums dedicated to cult research, spiritual abuse, ex-cult counseling & support.

Note: results are listed on another domain -- CounterCultSearch.com -- from which you can easily return here.

Search for apologetics articles, books, videos, and other research resources across 135 Christian apologetics websites and blogs.

Note: results are listed on another domain -- ApologeticsSearch.com -- from which you can easily return here.