Smart/ Submitted photo
Indiana State University Once a victim of one of the most followed child abduction cases, Elizabeth Smart has turned her nine-month long nightmare into a reason for living that she will share as part of the University Speaker Series. Smart will talk about her personal story and her mission as an advocate for changes to child abduction, recovery program and national legislation at 7 p.m. Jan. 30 in Tilson Auditorium. The event is free and open to the public. Smart’s story began with her abduction on June 5, 2002. Her captors controlled her for nine months with threats against her and her family’s lives if she tried to escape. Police rescued Smart and safely returned her to her family. Smart later testified against her captors, who were convicted. She opens up about her abduction and rescue in her memoir, “My Story.” A believer of the importance of finding missing children and never giving up, Smart started the Elizabeth Smart Foundation and uses her story to promote the national AMBER Alert, the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act and other legislation to prevent abductions.
Now a studying music with an emphasis on harp at Brigham Young University, Smart serves as a correspondent for ABC News and collaborated with the Department of Justice and four other young adults to create the survivor’s guide “You’re Not Alone: The Journey From Abduction to Empowerment” to encourage children who have endured similar experiences.
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