From June until August they hid out in their camp in the scrub oak up in the foothills, avoiding the search parties. Then they began coming down into the city by day, passing within a quarter-mile of Elizabeth's home. They walked the streets dressed as religious pilgrims from the New Testament. Mitchell had a long beard and a walking stick. Elizabeth and Wanda covered everything but their eyes. And no one figured it out. This American Life contributor Scott Carrier profiles the Messianic cult of Brian David Mitchell, the abductor of 2002 media icon Elizabeth Smart.
posted by l33tpolicywonk on Dec 14, 2010 - 60 comments

How much coverage of Elizabeth Smart's kidnapping is too much? I don't know if any of you have been as bothered as I have by this blanket coverage -- not that it's anything new by our media. But it's disturbing nonetheless. From Slate Magazine.
posted by {savg*pncl} on Mar 19, 2003 - 36 comments

Elizabeth Smart has been found - alive - in a restaraunt in Sandy, Utah, MSNBC reports.
posted by Psionic_Tim on Mar 12, 2003 - 61 comments