Elizabeth Smart was 14 years old when she was kidnapped at knifepoint from her Salt Lake City home. For nine months, she survived on hope.
“The key to my survival was truly the belief that my family would love me no matter what and want me back, no matter what,” shared the 37-year-old with Fox News Digital. “Maybe nobody else, but my family would. That was worth doing whatever it took to survive.”
Elizabeth Smart is now a married mother of three, actively involved in advocating for child safety. She frequently speaks out on behalf of missing and exploited children. Additionally, she is collaborating with “America’s Most Wanted” and will appear as a guest speaker on an upcoming episode focusing on missing persons.
Elizabeth Smart, pictured at her Utah home, emphasized to Fox News Digital the importance for parents to closely monitor their children’s online activities. (Chad Kirkland for The Washington Post via Getty Images)
“It makes me sound slightly neurotic, which I suppose I probably am, truth be told,” she said. “But these are my children. I would rather double, triple, quadruple check — no — keep eyes on them [at all times] to ensure their safety than ever look back and have regrets that I didn’t take it seriously enough.”
Today, Elizabeth Smart wants to empower other parents with the tools they need to protect their children from predators. (Taylor Hill/Getty Images)
Smart continues to hope. This time, she’s hopeful that “America’s Most Wanted: Missing Persons” will help raise awareness for families in need.
“These families deserve answers,” she said. “They deserve to be reunited with their loved ones. And I just know that if these stories had the same amount of attention that my story did, we would see a lot of people coming home. We would see a lot more happy endings.”
“America’s Most Wanted: Missing Persons” premieres April 28 at 8 p.,m. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
