Elizabeth Smart Found Alive

[iris]

Elizabeth Smart Found Alive



SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Elizabeth Smart, the 15-year-old girl who vanished from her bedroom nearly eight months ago, was found alive Wednesday during a traffic stop in suburban Salt Lake City, police said.

More than 16,000 leads were received by police in the Elizabeth Smart case.

"Miracles do exist," said the girl's uncle, Tom Smart.

The girl was found in the car of a drifter who was pulled over in a traffic stop Wednesday afternoon, according to Michelle Burnette, police spokeswomen in the suburb of Sandy.

"Two separate women called in and said they thought they had spotted 'Emmanuel,'" she said.

The drifter, Emmanuel, whose real name is Brian David Mitchell, once did work on the Smart's home.

Police pulled over Mitchell, another woman and a girl who looked like Elizabeth. They later confirmed her identity, police said.

She was found about 15 miles from her Salt Lake City home.

Salt Lake City police detectives arrived to take over the investigation. Smart was transferred to the Salt Lake city police station. Mitchell was in custody at the Sandy police station.

Last month, Elizabeth's parents announced a new reward for information and asked for help in their search for a handyman known only as "Emanuel." They released a sketch of the man.

At the time, they said Elizabeth's sister, Mary Katharine, had come to them recently to say "Emanuel" bore some resemblance to the man who took Elizabeth from their room at gunpoint.

Her case was part of a frightening string of child disappearances that included the slayings of 7-year-old Danielle van Dam of San Diego and 5-year-old Samantha Runnion of Orange County, Calif.

Elizabeth was 14 when she vanished early on the morning of June 5. Her 9-year-old sister said Elizabeth was taken by a gunman who may have gotten into the house by cutting a window screen near the back door. The sister pretended to be asleep, and she said the gunman threatened to hurt Elizabeth if she didn't keep quiet.

The top potential suspect in the kidnapping, Richard Albert Ricci, a handyman who once worked in the Smart household, died Aug. 30 after suffering a cerebral hemorrhage while in prison on a parole violation. He said he had nothing to do with the kidnapping.

Investigators have said they believe he was involved but may not have acted alone.

Over the summer, the Smarts held twice-daily news briefings and helped coordinate huge volunteer searches. Ed Smart, a real estate broker, vowed to keep the case in the spotlight.

The family often got calls from the police, but it was never the information they wanted to hear. Often, police were calling to alert them to grisly discoveries that might be linked to their missing daughter; they wanted the Smarts to know before the story hit the news.

Sometimes, the news beat the police. Hands and feet had been found in a canyon, or bones had been discovered in the desert, according to the news. The Smarts would call police to ask if it was Elizabeth. Every time, the answer was no.

Police said they followed up more than 16,000 leads from the public in addition to those they have come up with themselves.

[ren28]

Wow, that's a miracle!

[Elizabeth A.]

Wow. Just, Wow.

Do they know if she's okay?

[quik]

OMG, that's amazing news.

[iris]

I don't know. I wished they'd elaborate more but I guess they don't have all the info yet. Usually authorities only have 48 hours to find a missing person. This is truly a surprising. I did an e-search but AP is the only one that's released anything official. If anyone finds anything else. Post up.

[ism]

I am amazed, and glad it has come to a mostly good conclusion.

Hate to hijack a feelgood story, but Alexis Patterson, kidnapped several days before Smart, is still missing and has not received a tenth of the attention Smart has. Patterson, of course, is a 7 year old black girl from Milwaukee. Nice to see the article mentioned two other white girls though.

Salt Lake Tribune has a continually-updated page that's not taken from the AP Newswire as most stories seem to be. Still digging for more direct sources.

[Focker]

It is great. I just cked it out from YAHOO

http://www.elizabethsmart.com

[AngryABCGirl]

That's good to hear. Really good.

[Elizabeth A.]

uh oh......

[tvbdude]

Wow. Just, Wow.

Do they know if she's okay?

the father said she's ok and doing fine. very healthy

[Commando_turned_MD]

Dont see what is the big deal.......Thousands and thousands of kids go missing each year.........Some are fortunate........and some are not.........

[AngryABCGirl]

Originally posted by armycommando_turned_doctor@Mar 12 2003, 11:07 PM
Dont see what is the big deal.......Thousands and thousands of kids go missing each year.........Some are fortunate........and some are not.........

Because it's not some are fortunate. It's few. Too few, especially in cases like hers.

She's a one in a million miracle.

[moschikat]

two words.

mo-ney.

:P

[d-boy]

White + Pretty + Wealthy = MEDIA ATTENTION

(don't get me wrong; it's great that she was found. But it makes you feel sort of sick to realize how biased our society is.)

[Commando_turned_MD]

Originally posted by dzoo@Mar 13 2003, 10:40 AM
White + Pretty + Wealthy = MEDIA ATTENTION

(don't get me wrong; it's great that she was found. But it makes you feel sort of sick to realize how biased our society is.)

Yup....I concur