Netflix’s newest true crime exploration, Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart, revisits the shocking 2002 abduction of Elizabeth Smart, who was taken at knifepoint from her family home in Salt Lake City, Utah, aged 14. At the time, Smart was sharing a bedroom with her younger sister who would go on to provide vital evidence as part of her case.
Smart was held captive for around nine months by Brian David Mitchell and his wife, Wanda Barzee, before she was found alive in March 2003 after members of the public recognised Mitchell from widespread media coverage and contacted police.
The case became one of the most high-profile missing-child investigations in the US, and Smart has since spoken publicly about surviving abuse, coercive control and the long aftermath of captivity.
Who is Brian David Mitchell?
Brian David Mitchell was a Salt Lake City man who styled himself as a religious street preacher and who used faith-based language to control those around him.
Crucially, he had briefly worked as a handyman for the Smart family before the kidnapping – which gave him a familiarity with the home and the family’s routine. It took some months for Elizabeth’s sister, Mary Katherine, to connect the dots in her mind as to who Mitchell was, having heard his voice on the night he broke into their home and kidnapped her sister.
Describing the night she was taken in an interview with People in January 2026, Elizabeth said her sister had fallen asleep when Mitchell entered their bedroom. "Hearing a man's voice in my bedroom wasn't normal, that wasn't allowed, so I didn't immediately respond. The voice repeated the same words again: 'Don't make a sound, I have a knife at your neck. Get up and come with me.'.
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"The second time I heard that I was like 'Oh my gosh, this isn't just my subconscious, this is actually real' and I opened my eyes and sure enough, there's this man standing above me, holding a knife to my neck, I could feel his arm trying to pull me out of bed. [...] He just looked dark, scary."
Elizabeth continued, "I remember being absolutely terrified, I remember feeling like I didn't have a choice and I also remember feeling like I'm the big sister, my little sister is here next to me and if I don't do what he wants me to do, what's going to happen to her?"
She was then steered towards her wardrobe and instructed to put on running shoes, before being guided out of the home and into the mountains.
After Elizabeth was taken, Mitchell and Barzee kept her under strict control, moving her between campsites and temporary locations. Elizabeth has since described Mitchell as highly manipulative, using threats and religious claims to isolate her and keep her compliant.
Why did he kidnap Elizabeth Smart?
Authorities and later court reporting described Mitchell’s motive in terms of power, control and sexual violence, with Mitchell using religion as a justification for his actions. During captivity, he allegedly framed Elizabeth as a “wife”.
In later accounts, Smart has also said Mitchell appeared to be looking for additional victims during the time she was held – an indication, she has argued, that he remained a danger and should never be released.
How was he caught and convicted?
Mitchell and Barzee were arrested on 12 March 2003, after two separate couples who had seen him featured on America’s Most Wanted spotted him in Sandy, Utah, walking with two females and called 911. When police approached, Elizabeth was disguised (reportedly wearing a wig and sunglasses) and initially gave a different name, but she was soon identified and reunited with her family.
The investigation had gained momentum months earlier when Elizabeth’s sister, Mary Katherine, told the family she had remembered the man involved – known to her as “Immanuel” – and her father realised it matched a worker who had been at their home. A police sketch was released, and after Mitchell’s sister provided photos, his image was broadcast more widely, helping lead to the public tip-offs that triggered the arrest.
Where is Brian David Mitchell now?
Mitchell’s prosecution was lengthy and included legal disputes about competency. Ultimately, he was convicted in federal court and in 2011 was sentenced to two life terms in federal prison without the possibility of parole.
Brian David Mitchell remains in federal custody serving life without parole.
He was long held at USP Terre Haute in Indiana, but in October 2025 he was transferred after at least two reported assaults in custody.
Prison records and reporting state he was moved via the Federal Transfer Center in Oklahoma City and is now housed at FCI Lewisburg, a medium-security federal prison in Pennsylvania.
Speaking of the move, David Fathi, director of the ACLU’s National Prison Project, said as reported by Indiana Public Media, “There's no excuse for serious assaults in prison. The whole point of prison is surveillance and control, and the number-one job of prison administrators is to keep people safe. So, any serious assault is, by definition, a failure of prison management.”
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