Elizabeth Smart Warns Parents: Tell Your Kids 3 Things To Keep Them Safe

When Elizabeth Smart was abducted from her family's home in Salt Lake City in 2002, it was the start of a harrowing nine month trial for the 14-year-old.

Smart's sister Mary Katherine watched, pretending to be asleep, as a strange man wandered into their room. The knife-wielding figure guided Elizabeth out of the house while Mary watched, helplessly. Months later, Mary Katherine would remember that the strange man had done odd jobs on the Smart family's property.

The man, later identified as Brian David Mitchell, took Elizabeth to a campground in the mountains where he lived with his wife, Wanda Eileen Barzee. For nine months, Smart was their captive in the camp, and was repeatedly abused by Mitchell. Meanwhile, her kidnapping case was attracting national attention.

In the end a stroke of luck managed to save Elizabeth. Her story had been featured on the hit TV show America's Most Wanted, and a biker recognized her and Mitchell from the recent episode. Since then, her dramatic story has been featured in TV documentaries, movies, and books.

But now Smart is telling her own story, and using it to help parents keep their children safe. Recently, she shared the 3 things every parent should tell their children...

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Photo: Shared.com