Wanda Barzee is alive and currently living in Utah under legal supervision, and as of early 2026 she is out of prison but facing new misdemeanor charges for allegedly violating her sex‑offender restrictions by entering public parks she is banned from.

Quick Scoop: Who She Is

  • Wanda Barzee is best known as one of the two kidnappers who abducted 14‑year‑old Elizabeth Smart from her home in Salt Lake City in 2002, along with Brian David Mitchell.
  • She followed Mitchell’s extreme religious delusions, helped control Smart during the nine‑month captivity, and later admitted in court to kidnapping and unlawful transportation of a minor.

Prison, Release, and Supervision

  • Barzee ultimately pleaded guilty in 2009 in federal court and in Utah state court, receiving a 15‑year federal sentence (with credit for time served) and related state time.
  • After a recalculation of her sentence that counted her federal time toward her state term, she was released from prison in September 2018, earlier than the originally expected 2024 date.
  • On release, she had strict conditions: supervised release for five years, mandatory registration as a sex offender, and a ban on any contact—direct or indirect—with Elizabeth Smart and her family.

What Happened More Recently

  • In May 2025, Barzee was arrested in Salt Lake City for allegedly going into public parks that are classified as “protected areas” she is legally forbidden to enter because of her sex‑offender status.
  • Police and court records cited in recent reporting say she told officers she went into the parks because she believed she was “commanded” by God, which raised renewed public concern about her mental state and risk of reoffending.
  • Prosecutors charged her with two misdemeanor counts related to a sex offender entering a protected area; she was booked into the county jail and then released on court orders while the case moves through the system. As of the latest updates in January 2026, she remains in the community on pre‑trial release, still bound by sex‑offender rules and court monitoring.

How People Are Reacting Now

  • Public sentiment remains strongly negative, with many victims’ advocates and Utah residents arguing that her new alleged violations show she continues to pose a risk.
  • Online discussions in local forums and broader coverage in January 2026—timed with new documentaries and retrospectives on Elizabeth Smart’s case—have brought Barzee back into the spotlight as a cautionary figure about early release, mental illness, and community safety.

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