Elizabeth Smart's 2002 Abduction and Recovery in New Doc

On June 5, 2002, 14-year-old Elizabeth Smart was abducted at knifepoint from her bedroom in Salt Lake City, Utah, launching one of the most extensive missing persons investigations in U.S. history. Held captive for nine months by Brian David Mitchell and his wife, Wanda Barzee, Smart endured repeated sexual abuse and isolation before her rescue on March 12, 2003, in nearby Sandy, Utah.

The intrusion occurred in the early morning hours as Smart slept in the room she shared with her younger sister, Mary Katherine, who awoke but pretended to be asleep out of fear. Mitchell, a 48-year-old self-proclaimed prophet with a history of substance abuse and prior assaults, threatened to kill Mary Katherine if she made a sound. He had briefly worked for the Smart family as a handyman under the alias Emmanuel, a detail Mary Katherine later recalled, providing a crucial breakthrough in the case.

After the abduction, Smart's parents discovered a cut window screen and alerted authorities immediately. A massive search ensued, involving up to 2,000 volunteers, aircraft, and sniffer dogs. Hundreds of suspects were questioned over weeks that stretched into months, but leads remained elusive....