Twenty-four years ago, on June 5, 2002, the nightmare began.
It was on that day that Elizabeth Smart - then just 14 years old - was kidnapped from her Salt Lake City home, in the middle of the night, with a knife held to her throat.
Nine grueling months later, Elizabeth would be found, after enduring sexual, emotional, and mental abuse at the hands of her kidnapper, Brian David Mitchell, who is currently serving a life sentence after being convicted of the kidnapping.
Since her return on March 12, 2003, little by little, Elizabeth has fought to regain control of her life and advocate for other survivors.
ABC15 sat down with her father, Ed Smart, to learn more about what their experience was like. He told a story about a father's love, a family's fight for justice, and a young woman on a quest to gain her power back.
"There was part of me that wished I just had an answer," explains Ed Smart, discussing the grueling nine months it took for his daughter to be found safely. "It was just so painful."
For those nine months, the entire Smart family had to live through the false leads, the conspiracy theories, and at times, tremendous guilt.
"I felt, as a father, what could I have done?" questions Smart. "I should have made a trip around the house or checked that window because it was open."
Investigators believe Mitchell was able to cut a hole through the screen of that open window, gaining access to the Smart's family home, before making his way to Elizabeth's bedroom, which she shared with her younger sister, Mary Katherine, who was actually in bed with Elizabeth that night.
Mary Katherine started to remember key details that would eventually blow the case wide open.
"She remembered the voice," says Smart. "She just said it sounded familiar to her."
It was familiar for a reason: about eight months earlier, Mitchell had come to their home on one occasion to help with some roof repair work. The day before, Lois Smart and the children had encountered Mitchell on the streets of downtown Salt Lake City, seemingly down on his luck and needing a hand up.
Smart says early on, Mary Katherine identified Mitchell as the assailant, but wasn't taken seriously by investigators. Despite police pushing back, Smart and the rest of the family moved forward, pursuing Mitchell as a lead. After a sketch of Mitchell aired on America's Most Wanted, two separate sightings were reported in the town of Sandy, about half an hour south of Salt Lake City. Within 24 hours, Elizabeth would be reunited with her family.
"Her face was very sunburned, and her hair was pulled back," describes Smart, relaying details about the first time he had seen his daughter. "My heart was just going nuts! I ran over there and grabbed her... and I held her, but when she didn't really respond to me, I said, 'Elizabeth, is that really you?' And then she said, 'Yes, Dad.' And so that moment was just like, Thank you, God!"
Eventually, after a long questioning from police, something Ed Smart has come out publicly and criticized, Elizabeth was able to go home and says that the first night, she took a bubble bath and the family encouraged her to play the harp, an instrument she grew up with. Although it didn't sound quite like it did before, for Smart, he knew it was a sign that his daughter was already on the road to recovery - not that it would always be easy - but that there was still hope.
"You need to help her feel like she is regaining control over her life and that it is not being controlled by someone else. For the next few weeks, we just did whatever she wanted...For me, it was important for her to start moving forward in a way that made her feel good and that made her feel that we did not hold her responsible."
That journey towards healing is a lifelong one, but Smart says seeing his daughter's strength throughout the past 24 years has been nothing short of amazing.
"Elizabeth commented that in coming back and doing the things she wanted to do, she wanted the respect of people. And I admire that. I think she has tried incredibly hard, and she has touched a number of lives and helped become a model, saying you can be what you want to be. Don't let anyone tell you that you can't."
To see an extended version of our interview with Ed Smart, watch in the video player below:
Ed Smart's coming-out journey
For so many people in the LGBTQ+ community, coming out, when you feel safe enough, can be an important step in living your truth.
According to 2024 polling from Gallup, 71% of LGBTQ+ adults report coming out before the age of 30. Seven percent reported coming out in their thirties, two percent in their forties, one percent at age 50 and older, and 18% reported never coming out at all.
For Ed Smart, it was a deeply personal journey - one that took him 64 years. He recently opened up to ABC15's Nick Ciletti about what it was like during his daughter's kidnapping ordeal and the years since.
In 2019, Ed announced to the world that he was gay, ending his marriage to his wife of 34 years, and also making plans to leave The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Earlier this month, Ed announced he was going to submit the documentation to officially leave the Church and reflected on what led to his decision in a Facebook post that's gotten more than 1,500 comments.
"I really did not care for that," explains Ed. "That the religion would make me feel like God would not accept me, that I was not acceptable by God...I was made that way. I was created that way. That is who I was."
ABC15 reached out to officials with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Church officials responded, but declined to be interviewed for the story and stated that the Church typically does not comment on the membership status of individuals.
On the Church's website, they have an entire section dedicated to explaining its stance on LGTBQ+ issues, starting by saying, "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints acknowledges that same-sex attraction is a sensitive issue that requires kindness, compassion, and understanding."
It goes on to say further down on the webpage, "While same-sex attraction is not a sin, it can be a challenge. While one may not have chosen to have these feelings, he or she can commit to keep God’s commandments."
To learn more about the Church's stance, click here.
For Ed, his coming-out journey also included a variety of family matters, like deciding to end his marriage to his ex-wife, the mother of his six children.
"I have a relationship with all of my kids," explains Ed. "Some are closer than others. Some are more accepting. Some struggle with me. I understand. It took me 34 years - actually, 64 years; 34 of those years were married."
Ed went on to say he is "grateful" for his children, including Elizabeth, who is now married and has three kids of her own.
For Ed, Pride Month means taking pride in who he is and hoping others can do the same.
"Nothing can be more important," says Ed. "It's very fulfilling. And I think that God made us the way he did, and we are the way we are, and I think he loves us."
