<div class="" data-article-body="true">An upcoming <a href="https://tech.yahoo.com/streaming/review/netflix-review-142822267.html" data-ylk="slk:Netflix;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;" class="link yahoo-link">Netflix</a> documentary explores Elizabeth Smart’s 2002 kidnapping, including the investigation and the events leading up to her 2003 rescue.Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart is told through interviews with the Salt Lake City native, as well as her family, who reflect on the media scrutiny they faced after the then-14-year-old was taken from her home, as well as their desperate search for their daughter. <a class="link " href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suZtQp5Vmo0" data-i13n="cpos:1;pos:1" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:A trailer for the documentary;cpos:1;pos:1;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas">A trailer for the documentary</a> that dropped Wednesday highlights the important role played by Smart’s younger sister, Mary Katherine, who was the only witness to the kidnapping, in helping to solve the case and bring <a href="https://tech.yahoo.com/home/" data-ylk="slk:Smart home;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">Smart home</a>.“I just wanted to tell them I’m still alive,” Smart, now 38, says in the trailer.<h2 class="mb-4 text-xl font-bold md:text-2xl">Who kidnapped Elizabeth Smart? </h2>On the night of June 5, 2002, Brian David Mitchell, who worked briefly as a handyman in the Smart home, broke into the family’s house in Salt Lake City and <a rel class="link yahoo-link" href="https://www.yahoo.com/news/elizabeth-smart-recalls-her-abduction-131500334.html" data-i13n="cpos:2;pos:1" data-ylk="slk:kidnapped Smart at knifepoint;cpos:2;pos:1;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;">kidnapped Smart at knifepoint</a> from the bedroom she shared with her sister, Mary Katherine. For the next nine months, Smart was held captive, starved and sexually abused by Mitchell and his wife, Wanda Barzee.Though Smart’s captors would bring her out into public and even moved with her for the winter to San Diego from Utah, Smart was always disguised and too afraid to speak out. At a Salt Lake City library just two months into Smart’s captivity, <a class="link " href="https://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?id=50650045&amp;itype=cmsid" data-i13n="cpos:3;pos:1" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:police inquired about Smart;cpos:3;pos:1;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas">police inquired about Smart</a>, who was wearing a veil over her face. Mitchell, who likened himself to a religious figure and <a class="link " href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/elizabeth-smart-tells-court-brian-david-mitchell-pray/story?id=12110773" data-i13n="cpos:4;pos:1" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:blended Mormonism with new age views;cpos:4;pos:1;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas">blended Mormonism with new age views</a>, told police that the veil was a part of the family’s spiritual practices.While held captive, Smart spoke about her cousin with Mitchell and Barzee. They <a class="link " href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/elizabeth-smart-testifies-alleged-abductor-brian-david-mitchell/story?id=12097885" data-i13n="cpos:5;pos:1" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:made plans to kidnap Smart’s cousin as well;cpos:5;pos:1;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas">made plans to kidnap Smart’s cousin as well</a>; however, they were not successful in breaking into her home.In a 2023 interview with <a rel class="link yahoo-link" href="https://www.yahoo.com/news/elizabeth-smart-recalls-her-abduction-131500334.html" data-i13n="cpos:6;pos:1" data-ylk="slk:ABC News;cpos:6;pos:1;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;">ABC News</a>, Smart, who herself is of the Mormon faith, said of Mitchell, “Over the years he had found that the best way to manipulate people was through religion.”<h2 class="mb-4 text-xl font-bold md:text-2xl">How was Elizabeth Smart rescued? </h2>Though there was a massive search for Smart, there was little evidence recovered at the crime scene, and Mary Katherine, who was in the bedroom when Smart was taken, was unable to identify the man because of the darkness, though she <a class="link " href="https://www.deseret.com/2002/8/2/19669598/kidnapper-s-voice-sounded-familiar/" data-i13n="cpos:7;pos:1" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:said his voice was familiar;cpos:7;pos:1;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas">said his voice was familiar</a>. Initially, the police looked at handyman Richard Ricci, who was serving time in prison following a parole violation, as the culprit. He denied having anything to do with the kidnapping and died in prison in August 2002.In February 2003, Mary Katherine remembered a person called Emmanuel, the name Mitchell used while working in the Smart home, believing his was the voice she heard. The Smart family <a class="link " href="https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/march-12/police-recover-elizabeth-smart-and-arrest-her-abductors" data-i13n="cpos:8;pos:1" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:released a sketch of “Emmanuel” at a press conference;cpos:8;pos:1;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas">released a sketch of “Emmanuel” at a press conference</a>, and a family member of Mitchell’s came forward to identify him. Two couples then reported seeing Mitchell with Barzee and Smart in Sandy, Utah, leading to Smart’s rescue at a traffic stop in 2003.<h2 class="mb-4 text-xl font-bold md:text-2xl">Where are Elizabeth Smart’s captors now? </h2>Mitchell <a class="link " href="https://www.ksl.com/article/15689138/brian-david-mitchell-receives-life-sentence" data-i13n="cpos:9;pos:1" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:received a life sentence in prison in 2011;cpos:9;pos:1;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas">received a life sentence in prison in 2011</a>, eight years after Smart’s rescue. Smart spoke at his sentencing, telling Mitchell, "I want you to know that I have a wonderful life now. No matter what you do, you will never affect me again. You took away nine months of my life that can never be returned. But I know that in this life or the next, you will be held responsible for what you have done, and I hope you're ready for that when it comes."Mitchell is currently <a rel class="link yahoo-link" href="https://www.yahoo.com/news/where-elizabeth-smarts-kidnappers-now-110000748.html" data-i13n="cpos:10;pos:1" data-ylk="slk:serving his time;cpos:10;pos:1;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;">serving his time</a> in a high-level security federal prison in Indiana.Barzee was sentenced to 15 years in prison in 2010 but was released in 2018. At the time, Barzee had already served years in federal custody for the kidnapping and still faced a state sentence related to the attempted abduction of Smart’s cousin, according to <a class="link " href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/elizabeth-smart-kidnapper-wanda-barzee-due-be-released-prison-wednesday-n910966" data-i13n="cpos:11;pos:1" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:NBC News;cpos:11;pos:1;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas">NBC News</a>, but the parole board’s legal review made her eligible for release earlier than expected. After leaving prison, she was placed under federal supervision for five years.“Wanda Barzee saw me as her slave. She called me her handmaiden, and she never hesitated to let her displeasure with me be known,” Smart said <a rel class="link yahoo-link" href="https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/elizabeth-smart-begs-authorities-not-045447192.html" data-i13n="cpos:12;pos:1" data-ylk="slk:in a press conference;cpos:12;pos:1;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;">in a press conference</a> after the news of Barzee’s 2018 release. “I do believe she is a threat. She is a woman who had six children and yet could co-conspire to kidnap a 14-year-old girl, and not only sit next to her while [I was] being raped, but encouraged her husband to continue raping me.”In May 2025, Barzee was arrested for violating the terms of her parole by visiting parks in Utah, something that she is forbidden to do as a registered sex offender. Barzee told police at the time <a rel class="link yahoo-link" href="https://www.yahoo.com/news/elizabeth-smart-kidnapper-arrested-visiting-013826153.html" data-i13n="cpos:13;pos:1" data-ylk="slk:she was “commanded by the Lord”;cpos:13;pos:1;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;">she was “commanded by the Lord”</a> to visit the parks.In a video posted on <a rel class="link yahoo-link" href="https://www.yahoo.com/news/elizabeth-smart-breaks-silence-kidnappers-224640698.html" data-i13n="cpos:14;pos:1" data-ylk="slk:Instagram;cpos:14;pos:1;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;">Instagram</a> by the Elizabeth Smart Foundation on May 8, Smart said that Barzee’s comments about the Lord  were “very familiar” and “the most concerning thing, because that's how they justified kidnapping me.”<h2 class="mb-4 text-xl font-bold md:text-2xl">Where is Elizabeth Smart now? </h2>Smart, who is now a married mother of three, founded the <a class="link " href="https://www.elizabethsmartfoundation.org/" data-i13n="cpos:15;pos:1" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:Elizabeth Smart Foundation;cpos:15;pos:1;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas">Elizabeth Smart Foundation</a> in 2011, which works to end sexual violence. The organization funds self-defense programs, awareness and advocacy campaigns and offers support to survivors.Smart has also previously <a class="link " href="https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna51793513" data-i13n="cpos:16;pos:1" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:spoken out against abstinence-only education;cpos:16;pos:1;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas">spoken out against abstinence-only education</a>, which she said can be damaging to survivors of sexual abuse.In 2013, Smart published a memoir, My Story, and in 2018 she released Where There’s Hope, a follow-up book about her healing journey. Her next book, Detours, comes out Dec. 16.Smart has also narrated and produced the 2017 Lifetime movie I Am Elizabeth Smart about her kidnapping.Smart also <a rel class="link yahoo-link" href="https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/masked-dancer-moth-revealed-to-be-famous-activist-advocate-abduction-survivor-033601921.html" data-i13n="cpos:17;pos:1" data-ylk="slk:appeared on the reality series The Masked Dancer;cpos:17;pos:1;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;">appeared on the reality series The Masked Dancer</a> in 2021, revealing herself as the person underneath the Moth costume.“My grandma actually passed away very recently, but she was so much fun. She never let a moment pass her by. And so, when this opportunity came along, I thought, ‘I live a pretty serious life, and I'm going to take this opportunity and just have fun,’” Smart explained to host Craig Robinson at the time.On <a class="link " href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DSA1Y33DCYC/?img_index=1" data-i13n="cpos:18;pos:1" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:Instagram;cpos:18;pos:1;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas">Instagram</a>, Smart shared the poster for the upcoming Netflix documentary, writing in the caption, “There will be victims and survivors who watch this, and I hope they realize they’re not alone, and that they don’t have to be ashamed of what happened to them. And I hope that people who watch this can gain compassion and understanding for other families who are going through this. I also hope it brings comfort that there are happy endings — and that even after terrible things happen, you can still have a wonderful life.”Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart hits Netflix on Jan. 21, 2026.</div>

Netflix is releasing a documentary about Elizabeth Smart's kidnapping.

Netflix is releasing a documentary on Elizabeth Smart. What to know about her kidnapping, rescue and where she is now.

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