The name Elizabeth Smart will forever and always remind me of the horrible atrocities that can happen to an innocent child. That being said, the abuse that Elizabeth Smart endured is not, and will never be, what defines her.
If you can recall, 24-year-old Elizabeth was abducted on June 5th, 2002 from her Salt Lake City, Utah home and was found 9 months later in the home of Brian David Mitchell and Wanda Ileen Barzee. Mitchell is serving a life sentence for Smart’s abduction while Barzee was sentenced to 15 years.
The good news, aside from Elizabeth’s growing strength and courage she continues to exude, is that she has found love and is newly engaged. Her father, Ed Smart, confirmed the news to People magazine.
“We’re very excited for her, she told us last Saturday. I wasn’t really surprised. We’re looking forward to her moving on to this next stage and leading a very happy life.”
According to Ed, Elizabeth is wishing for privacy and hoping to keep the identity of her fiancé private, as well as the details of the wedding. This, I can certainly understand with everything she has been through.