In the early hours of June 5, 2002, 14-year-old Elizabeth Smart was abducted from her bedroom in Salt Lake City, Utah, igniting one of the most intense and widely covered missing-persons cases America has ever seen. Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart is a gripping documentary that takes viewers inside the real story — told in Elizabeth’s own words and through exclusive interviews with her family, investigators, and those closest to the case. Blending archival footage and never-before-seen material, the film traces the harrowing months of Smart’s captivity at the hands of Brian David Mitchell and Wanda Barzee, and the unimaginably hard-won rescue that took place nine months later.
Today, Elizabeth is ready to tell the full story, because teenage Elizabeth could not. “After I was rescued, when I first got home, I did not want to talk about what happened with anyone,” she tells Tudum. “And when the trial finally happened, I remember sitting up on the stand, giving these answers, and feeling like there was no context around them. I remember thinking that if all of this was going to be out there anyway, I wanted it to have some meaning, and for it to serve a purpose. I wanted to have some ownership over my story. That helped me decide to share it.”
The documentary transports viewers to the terrifying night when 14-year-old Elizabeth was taken from her bedroom at knifepoint as her younger sister Mary Katherine witnessed in shock. Authorities investigated members of Elizabeth’s own family, but found nothing suspicious. They also looked at contractor Richard Ricci — who died after a brain hemorrhage during the course of the investigation — but it was Mary Katherine’s sudden recollection from the night that would prove crucial. She remembered the kidnapper as someone called “Emmanuel,” a street preacher who had also worked on their home, later identified as Brian David Mitchell.
Despite this breakthrough, police delayed releasing a sketch of the subject, concerned it might scare him away. Meanwhile, Mitchell — a self-proclaimed prophet — and his wife Wanda Barzee held Elizabeth captive in a remote mountain camp, where she endured ongoing sexual abuse and was forced to comply with their demands. During this time, there was a close call where Elizabeth was almost identified — a chilling confrontation in a Salt Lake City library when a detective confronted the trio but left after Mitchell, posing as Elizabeth’s father, refused to unveil her face.
By fall 2002, more than three months after the abduction, Elizabeth’s captors had relocated her to a camp outside San Diego. With rescue seeming more distant than ever, Elizabeth was faced with a critical choice — one that would ultimately change the course of her ongoing nightmare.
Learn about Elizabeth’s dramatic rescue, ongoing healing journey, and the new purpose she’s found in advocating for others in her own words here.
Smart tells Tudum she decided to start speaking publicly about her experience to add more context to the stark details of her courtroom testimony and, most importantly, to reclaim agency over her story.
“If all of this was going to be out there anyway, I wanted it to have some meaning … it needed to serve a purpose.” she says. “It really was the trial and wanting to be able to own my story and have some ownership over the conversation around my story that really helped me decide to share.”
She also hopes she can serve as a model of resilience and recovery to others who have been similarly victimized, encouraging empathy for them and their loved ones.
“As I started sharing my story, I had more and more survivors disclosing their own stories to me. And I began to realize the importance of stories,” Elizabeth tells Krista Smith in an on the Skip Intro podcast. “This was an opportunity to reach out to other victims and let them know that they're not alone, that they don't have anything to be embarrassed of, that this is unfortunately such a common problem in this world that they don't need to feel the shame and embarrassment that I know they feel, but they don't have to.”
“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.” Elizabeth tells Tudum.
Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart premiered on Netflix Jan. 21.
Get a first glimpse of the film in the trailer at the top of the page.
Appearing in the doc are Elizabeth’s younger sister Mary Katherine (who witnessed the abduction and was key to her rescue), her father Ed Smart, and other family members like uncles Dave and Tom Smart, as well as individuals involved with the case, including detectives, reporters, and Utah residents who encountered Elizabeth in disguise during her captivity. Other members of Elizabeth’s family, including her mother, Lois Smart, declined to be interviewed. Says Elizabeth, “Some members of my family want to leave things in the past. And personally, that’s okay with me. I want to respect their wishes.”
The documentary is directed by Benedict Sanderson, with Claire Goodlass, Sophie Jones, and Morgan Matthews as executive producers, and with Gabby Alexander serving as producer.
Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart is available to stream now.
Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart is a captivating, investigative retelling of the disturbing 2002 abduction and eventual rescue of Elizabeth Smart. Told through never-before-seen archival materials, the film dives into the psychological and emotional toll on Elizabeth and her family, as well as their community’s tireless search for answers. Throughout, the documentary is anchored by Elizabeth’s own account of her ordeal that recounts her unrelenting resolve to survive that kept her alive and her spirit strong — even more than 20 years later.
