Elizabeth Smart was found and rescued on March 12, 2003, after two separate people recognized her kidnapper Brian David Mitchell from media coverage and called police.

Quick Scoop: How She Was Found

  • Elizabeth had been missing for about nine months after being kidnapped from her home in Salt Lake City, Utah, in June 2002.
  • During that time, she was held by Brian David Mitchell and his wife, Wanda Barzee, in Utah and later in California.

The Public Tip-Off

  • Mitchell’s photo had been widely shared in the media, including on shows like America’s Most Wanted.
  • On March 12, 2003, two different couples in Sandy, Utah, saw a man they believed was Mitchell walking with a veiled teenage girl and another woman.
  • They thought the girl might be Elizabeth and contacted local police to report the sighting.

Police Confrontation

  • Police officers approached the group on a public street in Sandy, Utah, about 18 miles from Elizabeth’s home.
  • When questioned, Elizabeth first gave a false name, “Augustine Marshall,” and tried to deny who she was, still under the control and fear created by her captors.
  • Officers continued to question her, comparing her to the missing girl, until she was finally identified as Elizabeth Smart.
  • At that point, police took her into protective custody and arrested Mitchell and Barzee on the spot.

After the Rescue

  • Elizabeth was taken to the police station in Salt Lake City and reunited with her family the same day, a moment that drew massive national and international attention.
  • Her case is often cited as an example of how media exposure, accurate suspect images, and alert members of the public can directly lead to a rescue.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.