I have always said that Ed Smart seems creepy and the rest of his family comes off a little bizarre, HOWEVER, being odd does not equal having some responsibility or agenda behind your daughter’s kidnapping.
I read the GD thread and was totally disgusted by the outrageous assumptions and general ignorant talking out of asses.
I live in Utah and have had this case in front of me from day one. At this very moment I am looking out my office window onto Elizabeth’s neighborhood about 3 miles away. If it wasn’t for the trees I could see her house clearly.
My kids and I were involved in searching for her in the canyons. I do not know her family but I do know people who do. A good friend of mine works at the Deseret News with her uncle (who BTW, took the photos of the family that have been distributed). I have never heard ANYTHING but complimentary impressions of the family from those who know them personally. If anything, they were too trusting and maybe a little bit too naïve. Hardly a rare trait with the LDS people living in Salt Lake City.
I have seen Emmanuel and his wife many times on the city streets and near the shelters (I work as a homeless veterans counselor). I have a friend who was at the infamous party in Salt Lake City. He said that the two women were obviously submissive to Emmanuel and did not speak or make eye contact with anyone.
I was raised LDS although I haven’t followed the religion for 30 years. Living in Utah I am surrounded by the LDS church. Most of my neighbors, co-workers, and family are members of the church. I am disgusted by the hateful comments I have read regarding the Mormons. For the most part, they are a very gentle and kind people whose biggest fault is naïveté and trustfulness.
Elizabeth may be 15 years old, but she has lived a sheltered life in an LDS family setting. It is very understandable that she could have been so easily influenced. She was far from a streetwise 15 year old. She didn’t answer to search teams because she couldn’t. As far as I know, it hasn’t been release to the public as to why she couldn’t answer but there has been assumptions that drugs, weapons, and gags may have played a part.
Her little sister didn’t “suddenly” recognize this guy 8 months later. Back in October she told her parents that she remembered his voice being soft like the guy who worked on their roof. Also, the reason she didn’t go to her parents for 2 ½ hours after the kidnapping was that she was a scared shitless little girl.
She was kept in the mountains above her home for two months. This wasn’t “in her neighborhood” but mountain terrain filled with deep canyons, rocks, trees, and thick brush. It is completely understandable how search teams missed her. We don’t know yet what was done to her over those two months in the mountains to gain control over her mind and reports say that she didn’t surface in public until Emmanuel had full control. This would explain why she didn’t try to escape when other people were around.
Also, they left Utah and spent the winter in California. They weren’t “under the SLC police’s nose” as implied. In fact, they had just arrive back into Utah when they were spotted and arrested.
Elizabeth and her family are victims. Bashing her mannerism hours after her ordeal ended is unfair and cruel. In spite of her appearance, she is NOT okay and may never be okay. How dare anyone accuse her and her family for smiling too hard or taking too many photos or not acting the way you feel they should act. From what I have heard from a reliable source, Elizabeth isn’t adjusting easily. She isn’t smiling like she just won a gold medal. Their life will be hell for a long time.
She wasn’t forced into playing the harp but encouraged gently by her family in an attempt to bring her back to her old life. From what I understand, her comments to her father were made jokingly. I saw Ed Smart in a recent interview specifically say that it will take a lot of love, time, and therapy for the family to recouperate. I am curious to know if a statement of his was taken out of content by the press.
Unless you have experienced the trauma this family has gone through, it is extremely unfair to place your personal judgments on them.