StMU Research Scholars

Featuring Scholarly Research, Writing, and Media at St. Mary’s University

November 7, 2020

“Find a miracle, hold onto it, and keep going.” The Story of Elizabeth Smart

It was November 3, 1987, when Elizabeth Ann Smart was born in Salt Lake City, Utah to her parents, Ed and Lois Smart. She was the second child out of six and was known for being obedient, shy, and intelligent. Her passion for playing the harp started at the age of five and consisted of practicing a few hours every day to improve her skills. 1 The harp was her passion, but it was not her number one priority. Her family meant everything to her and they were her priority. Her life was not perfect, but she loved every bit of it because she had her family. At the age of fourteen, her world came crumbling down after she was abducted straight out of her own bedroom.

Smart changed the world with her foundation or victims, books and words of encouragement. | Courtesy of Wikimedia

Imagine this: it is a hot summer night and you are lying comfortably in your bed sleeping, when suddenly someone awakens you from your slumber with the words, “I have a knife to your neck. Don’t make a sound. Get out of bed and come with me, or I will kill you and your family.”2 How would you react? What would run through your head? Elizabeth Smart did not have to imagine that scenario because that was her reality at the age of fourteen in the summer of 2002. In fear, Smart did exactly what was asked of her to protect herself, but most importantly also to protect her family.3 Smart’s courage that night demonstrated that her obedience and faith was strong, which actually ended up saving her family. As her abductor guided her out of the house, they made no noise, and he took her into the dark woods where they met up with his wife. The couple was Brian David Mitchell and Wanda Barzee. They took Smart to a camp house three miles away from her house, which scared and hurt her the most because she could hear her name being called during her family’s search for her. She heard everything, but could do nothing about it.

“Please Find Me” | Courtesy of Wikimedia

The following morning, Elizabeth was nowhere to be found and her family wasted no time before they started their search. Her family did not hesitate to begin the search for their daughter. A group of volunteers and family members organized a search party that spread faster than any wildfire. The determined group started in a small radius area around their house, and then the search spread to as far away as southeastern Idaho and Wyoming and continued spreading for hours in the hot sun. Her mother and father posted many missing child posters all around the city. They hardly slept, ate, or did anything besides searching for their daughter. Her siblings were not able to cope either. Everything was a reminder that their sister was missing.4

While the search continued throughout the entire day and night, Smart was being tortured. The couple used her for their own pleasure; she was raped and abused several times a day and the pain she felt was greater than anything she had ever experienced before. During these months, she was constantly drugged to make her weak, and she was the object various religious rituals. She was forced to become someone like them, which caused changes in her behavior towards them.5 After a while, she stopped crying and screaming for help because she knew it was pointless, but she never lost faith in herself and her family. Months, which felt like years, went by and nothing in the case changed; no new leads, no developments, and certainly, no Elizabeth. They had very little evidence to get any lead to help them find her. Smart and her kidnappers developed a relationship that helped her cope with the situation and she stopped trying to run from them. Did she love them and think of them as her parents?6 Did she care for them? They would take her shopping in a disguise, and she would act like their daughter and stay close to them. In the public’s eye, they seemed like a regular small family and Smart acted as if everything was fine. Smart started to refer to herself as Augustine on the behalf of Mitchell and would act like his wife if Wanda was not around. She wouldn’t try to run away because she knew it would not get her anywhere. So this became her life. Once asked if she was Emily Smart, she denied the allegations because she did not want to cause a scene. She knew the consequences that would follow if any problems occurred. Her hope of being reunited with her family was the only reason she kept the act up, but she resented Mitchell and Barzee so much. “I am alive, but I’m not living, I remember thinking as I walked. I am the living dead. I am nothing but a shell.”7

“Knowing it can always get worse, I try to be grateful for whatever good I have.” |  Courtesy of Wikimedia

Several months into the investigation, her sister, Mary Katherine, realized that the man who crept into their room as she pretended to be asleep looked like a handyman that would come to their house. He was known as Immanuel and there it was, the lead that would help solve the investigation. On March 12, 2003, while Smart and Mitchell were out shopping, they were recognized and someone called the police. After nine excruciating months, Elizabeth was about to finally have her freedom back.8 After being away for so long, she wanted to hear the voices she thought she would never hear again and soon forget. She wanted to hear the shouting, the singing, and especially the words “I love you.” Once she saw them, she was consumed with their embrace. Their hug was the biggest security blanket that was needed and she held onto them hoping to never let them go. That touch reminded her of the reason she never gave up on them and herself. They were her motivation to stay alive.

Brian David Mitchell and Wanda Barzee were arrested that day, but the persecution for Elizabeth went on for many years after. It was not until November 10, 2010, that Elizabeth got to face both of her captors in court. But that March 12 of 2003 was also the day that Elizabeth found hope that she would be reunited with her family, and she was.9 That day marked the moment she decided that her fear and tragedy would not define her but help her make the world a better place. She soon realized that there are “two types of survivors: the ones who did not die, and the ones who live. There will be those who will always remember and be the victim, and ones who just won’t. You have to go on, you have to learn, and you have to heal. Resentment and holding on to the past is so toxic.” She used her pain as a motivation to achieve her goals and comfort those who had a similar experience.

After her kidnapping, Elizabeth Smart started living the life she wanted to live but almost missed out on. She graduated, started the Elizabeth Smart Foundation, and now is an American child activist. Elizabeth helps others cope with their trauma and hurt from situations similar to her story. She has also written two books, My Story and Where There’s Hope: Healing, Moving Forward, and Never Giving Up, and she has directed a movie based on her experience to help others who have gone through the same thing.10 No matter how bad the trauma was, Smart said she was grateful for the experience because it changed her as a person. This experience helped her develop the compassion and empathy she has for others now and taught her how to use her voice to help others.

She has inspired others to speak about their truth and to stay strong | Courtesy of Wikimedia

Once she was asked whether she had developed a love for her captors, and she replied, “No, it wasn’t Stockholm syndrome. It was a survival instinct.”11 In my opinion, I don’t believe that Smart developed Stockholm syndrome because she did resent them and felt unsafe for a long while after returning home. She just did what was necessary to survive and go back to her family, which was her biggest dream.12 She did not have any emotional attachments to either Barzee or Mitchell; she just played a role to keep them satisfied. Smart let her survival instincts kick in and take over, which allowed her captors to trust her. Others say that she did develop Stockholm syndrome because she had many opportunities to escape and she chose to stay.13 Her decision to stay was based on her safety and the safety of her family.

Smart continues to focus on her future rather than look to the past because she doesn’t believe it’s worth spending time on the past. “I’ve also noticed that every day, we make choices. And when we’re faced with struggles, we have a choice to make: we either surrender to our problems and give up, or we decide to keep moving forward no matter what.”14

  1. Elizabeth Smart, My story ( New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2015), 2.
  2. Elizabeth Smart, My story ( New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2015), 5.
  3. Chris Stewart and Elizabeth Smart, My story ( New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2015), 3-5.
  4. Elizabeth Smart, Where There’s Hope (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2018), 11-13.
  5. Carmen Gimenez Smith, Stockholm Syndrome: In the City She Was (Center for Literary Publishing, 2011), 1-3.
  6. Jack Barbalet, “A Characterization of Trust, and Its Consequences,” Theory and Society 38, no. 4 (2009): 367-369.
  7. Elizabeth Smart, Where There’s Hope (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2018), 14-15.
  8. Noreen Rasach, “Moment  In Time March 12, 2003; Elizabeth Smart Is Found Alive In Utah,” The Globe and Mail (Canada), Thursday, March 12, 2020.
  9. Oprah Winfrey, “Elizabeth Smart in 2018: My kidnappers Should Never Go Free,” Oprah Winfrey Network, September 17, 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lW955qFJBc0.
  10. Elizabeth Smart, Where There’s Hope (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2018).
  11. Ethan English, “Stockholm Syndrome – A Short Documentary,” Youtube video, April 28, 2016, https://youtu.be/QoA6Y2BdBT8
  12. Encyclopedia of Victimology and Crime Prevention, 909-911. Vol. 2,  2010, s.v. “Stockholm Syndrome,” by Hannah Scott.
  13. The Gale Encyclopedia of Mental Health, 3rd ed,  2012, s.v. “Stockholm Syndrome,” by Rebecca Frey, 587-588.
  14. Elizabeth Smart, Where There’s Hope (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2018), 5-8.

Tags from the story

Elizabeth Ann Smart

kidnapping

Mia Hernandez

StMU Class of 2024 – Psychology major
“Find a miracle, hold onto it, and keep going.” The Story of Elizabeth Smart

Author Portfolio Page

Recent Comments

Bailey Godwin

This article was very interesting but very sad to me. To know that Smart, your normal typical girl, was kidnapped and put through so much trauma and torture for nine whole months is so heartbreaking. It is so scary to think something like this can happen but it was so relieving that she made it out and got to reconnect with her family.

reply

13/11/2020

10:22 am

Madeline Chandler

Such an interesting and informative article!! I never previously heard of Elizabeth Smart, nor any element of this story or to this detail. So very captivating, you really pulled in your audience. I have never heard of this story regarding torture and the kidnapping of a girl, so it was so cool to learn about something from history I had not known. I thoroughly enjoyed reading your article. Great job!!

reply

14/11/2020

10:22 am

Ángel Velarde

This was a wonderful and entertaining article. As a psychology major, I agree with the author’s opinion: It was not Stockholm Syndrome but a survival instinct and fear of being attacked. I am glad that there are survivors that use their personal experiences to help others. Elizabeth might have inspired others to share their stories and seek help. Furthermore, Elizabeth managed to rescue and inspire the person she needed the most, herself.

reply

14/11/2020

10:22 am

Kendall Guajardo

She was such a strong and resilient young woman at the time of her kidnapping. People always criticize victims because they should have acted a certain way in order to free themselves, however, they are just victims and there is not one way to act in order to survive. She stayed true to her values and morals but suffered while doing so. She was just a child and so the way she acted was normal for the sake of keeping her family safe. Elizabeth exhibited selflessness, empathy, strength, resilience, all while suffering at the hands of adults who should have not taken her innocence forcefully. Her story is amazing and the fact that she chose to live is the bravest decision she could have made.

reply

15/11/2020

10:22 am

Aleea Costilla

This was a very interesting article about Elizabeth Smart and her journey as a survivor. It is terrible what she went through at such a young age but shows undeniable strength. I had never heard of her story prior but really enjoyed reading about her experience and her ability to overcome such a tragic event. As I was reading I was curious if she had developed Stockholm syndrome so I appreciate the clarification at the end.

reply

15/11/2020

10:22 am

Jakob Trevino

Such a great article, it was horrifying and devastating to hear about the events in which occured to this young woman, but the fact that she held on to courage and hope was a tear jerker! Through all the struggle that she endured in, she still had that little ounce of hope that kept her alive every night.

reply

15/11/2020

10:22 am

Nicholas Burch

Elizabeth Smart is a true warrior and her story will live on for years to come. Of course, she didn’t have to be motivational, she could’ve cried in her room for the rest of her life. The fact that she became a speaker to help those who went through similar experiences shows that she is a great person. I think it’s incredible what she was able to do after finally being found. She grew as a person while she was going through a truly traumatic experience. She may never have directed an inspiring movie if she wasn’t kidnapped, which shows me that you can always make the best of a horrible situation.

reply

15/11/2020

10:22 am

Manuel

Very interesting, yet I’m saddened she went through all that. Happy she overcame this and is helping those who are in this or have been in this position. Excellent writing.

reply

15/11/2020

10:22 am

Erin Vento

This was a really crazy and sad story! I had not heard about this abduction, but I am glad that she was reunited with her family in the end and that her captors were arrested and that she eventually got to face them in court. I also think her understanding of what she had to do to live is really interesting.

reply

15/11/2020

10:22 am

Anavictoria Acosta

This article was very interesting and well-written! Even though I had never heard about Elizabeth Smart before, I now feel very informed on her and even interested in her story. Her decision to live and continue looking forward into the future, rather than to dwell in the past, is very encouraging and inspiring.

reply

15/11/2020

10:22 am

1 2 3

Leave a Reply