Elizabeth Smart

LAFAYETTE, La. (KPEL News) - Elizabeth Smart is a name the nation came to know and pray for in 2002 when she was kidnapped from her bedroom in Salt Lake City, Utah, on June 5th. She endured nine months of hell as she was forced to stay with a man who not only took her from her family but also raped her, all with a wife who was his accomplice. ...

Wanda Barzee, who helped kidnap Elizabeth Smart in 2002, is being released early from prison next week.

Elizabeth Smart, who survived being kidnapped and raped at the age of 14 in 2002, came to the Hub City on Thursday to share her story and to "be that voice" to other sexual abuse survivors.

Kidnapping survivor Elizabeth Smart will share her story with Lafayette residents May 2 in a program offered by Hearts of Hope, an advocacy and counseling center for children and sexual assault victims.