I was kidnapped from my bedroom aged fourteen in front of my little sister and kept hostage in a tent - I'll never forget the chilling words my abuser first whispered in my ear
A woman who was kidnapped at the age of 14 from her bedroom, in front of her horrified little sister, has opened up on being kept hostage in a tent near her home.Elizabeth Smart was abducted from her childhood bedroom at knifepoint before she was subjected to months of horrifying physical and sexual abuse. Her case became one of the most high-profile and harrowing child abduction investigations in America's history and, while her family never gave up hope, many feared she had been murdered. After opening up about the ordeal in a new Netflix documentary, Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart, the now 38-year-old took to ITV's This Morning in the wake of the new show. She bravely told Dermot O'Leary and Alison Hammond about the terrifying night she was snatched from her home in Salt Lake City, Utah, in 2002 - before being held captive for nine months until she was found by police. For Elizabeth, the most stand-out moment of the ordeal is the first words said to her by her captor, Brian David Mitchell - married to fellow captor Wanda Barzee. A woman who was kidnapped at the age of 14 from her bedroom, in front of her horrified little sister, has opened up on being kept hostage in a tent near her home Elizabeth Smart was abducted from her childhood bedroom at knifepoint before she was subjected to months of horrifying physical and sexual abuseShe said: 'I can remember that night very well, and the day before it was a normal day, it was a good day and I was about to graduate from junior high, I was excited for the summer.'I remember going to bed that night, just like I did every other night, I shared a bed with my little sister and I remember falling asleep, but the next thing I remember if hearing a man's voice.'Honestly when I first started hearing his voice I thought it was a dream becauseI thought, "There's no way a man could get upstairs into my bedroom". 'But when I didn't respond, the voice spoke again, it said: "I have a knife at your neck, don't make a sound and come with me". 'When I opened my eyes, sure enough there was a man standing over me with a knife at my neck... when I realised what was going on, I remember trying to think of all the safety education had ever been taught. 'I felt like my only option was to do exactly as this man said.'Elizabeth continued: 'He took me up into the mountains behind my home, my back yard wasn't fenced it was very easy to access the mountains. Elizabeth opened up about the ordeal in a new Netflix documentary She bravely told Dermot O'Learyand Alison Hammond about the terrifying night she was snatched from her home in Salt Lake City, Utah, in 2002'I was thinking, "This can't be real, this can't be happening to me, why is he taking me and where is he taking me?" - it really was not that far from my home, around three and a half miles from my home.'I did hear someone yelling my name one time, it was very distant, and I remember being hopeful I was going to be rescued, but one of my captors pulled out his knife and saying if that person found us, he would kill them and it would be my fault. 'I was worried if someone did find me I would be guilty for them dying.'Elizabeth was held captive for nine months while she was abused by Mitchell, and his wife Barzee - who even brazenly took her out in public with a veil on her head. 'It made me feel broken on the outside, but very broken and dirty on the inside a well,' Elizabeth said, reflecting on the horrifying abuse. She narrowly escaped rescue on one trip out of the house, when a police officer asked Mitchell to 'uncover' her face - but Mitchell refused on 'religious' grounds. It wasn't until months later that police officers showed up to rescue Elizabeth - after her younger sister, Mary Katherine, had an epiphany about the voice of the captor she had overheard during her sister's kidnapping.Opening up on why she decided to share her story with Netflix, Elizabeth added: 'For years I've felt a shame and embarrassment around what I'd experienced even though I know it wasn't my fault. It wasn't until months later that police officers showed up to rescue Elizabeth - after her younger sister, Mary Katherine, had an epiphany about the voice of the captor she had overheard during her sister's kidnapping Elizabeth was just 14 when she was abducted from her home 'After the trial, I felt that all the information that I'd never shared before was out there, and I knew how alone I had felt when I got home, and I felt like if it was going to be out there I wanted to help other people.'When this opportunity came along, I thought it was the biggest world stage I'll ever be on and hopefully someone out there who has also experienced something similar won't feel quite as alone as I did.' It comes after Elizabeth revealed ‘happy endings’ are possible ‘even after terrible things happen’ after rebuilding her life with her Scots husband.Almost a quarter of a century on, she is now a happily married mother of three having met Aberdeen man and future husband Matthew Gilbert six years after her ordeal.In a social media post ahead of the release of Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart on Wednesday, she said she hoped her story would show other victims of sexual abuse that ‘you can still have a wonderful life’.She wrote: ‘There will be victims and survivors who watch this, and I hope they realise they’re not alone, and that they don’t have to be ashamed of what happened to them.’‘I hope people who watch this can gain compassion and understanding for other families going through this. '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.’ For Elizabeth, the most stand-out moment of the ordeal is the first words said to her by her captor, Brian David Mitchell Mitchell was aided in the kidnapping of Elizabeth by his wife, Wanda BarzeeMs Smart was asleep in her bedroom when Brian David Mitchell, who had previously done handiwork for the family, broke in and forced her out at knifepoint. He and his wife Wanda Barzee then subjected the girl to a nine-month ordeal of physical and sexual abuse.Ms Smart was spotted by locals in her home state of Utah during her captivity, after the couple’s attempts to kidnap other young girls failed, before she was rescued on March 13, 2003.Nine years later she went on to marry Mr Gilmour, having met him in 2009 while the pair were doing missionary work in France.After he proposed in 2012, the couple married in Hawaii a month later and now have daughters, Olivia and Chloe, and a son, James.Mr Gilmour did not know anything about Ms Smart’s history when they met.Her younger sister Mary Katherine, who pretended to be asleep as the abduction took place before running to alert her parents, is one of several family members who share their accounts of what happened during the ordeal.Police investigators, reporters and Utah residents who encountered Ms Smart during her captivity, also feature in the Netflix show, which looks at ‘never-before seen material’ as it follows her capture, rescue and journey to recovery. Elizabeth's case became one of the most high-profile and harrowing child abduction investigations in America's history and, while her family never gave up hope, many feared she had been murderedShe told Netflix fan site Tudum: ‘After I was rescued, when I first got home, I did not want to talk about what happened. '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.’Ms Smart now dedicates her life to helping other victims of sexual violence through her charity, the Elizabeth Smart Foundation.Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart is available to stream on Netflix now
