Was she really kidnapped? Should we believe the many witnesses who say she had every opportunity to get away?

And what about her little sister suddenly remembering 4 months later that she thinks she might know who the kidnapper is.

She (Elizabeth Smart) hung out in grocery stores and people's homes/parties for hours ... she could have left at any time or pulled her damn veil off and said hey! I'm Elizabeth! The cops would have been there in minutes flat.

So why did she WILLINGLY stay with this freak? Was she brainwashed? Should he go away for years if she were there on her own free will.

I think this is more just about politics and getting that law passed (Amber law) and her parents don't want everyone to know their daughter was a troubled teen who might have not liked that strict ass Mormon upbringing (6500 sq foot home and the she had to share a room with her lil sis and was supposedly "treated like a baby"

So did she leave on purpose? they say the screen was cut from the INside..not the outside.

Makes ya wonder.

A

A 14 year old girl with strict Mormon parents disappears and is gone for about....9 months.
Any guesses?

Alien abduction?? This guy looked like he was from another planet!

Too little information to work with at this point.

There is something called the Stockholm syndrome which was  a study done that showed that victims identify with their capturors. It is a normal reaction to extreme emotional duress, and when one's lifeline is tied to the person who imprisons you, it is not an abnormal reaction..

THis child is in for much needed pyschological treatment..

What about Patty Hearst and the SLA.  After she was abducted, did she get brainwashed into the cult or did she believe in them to begin with?  Who really knows other than the people involved.  I wouldn't venture a guess.  

What we need to remember is that Ms. Smart is only 15 and still a kid.  Kids don't always see the whole picture, so I would give her a break and not ask too many questions because it doesn't matter.  What matters is that the two adults were involved with keeping her away from her family, with or without her permission.  I have a problem with that!

Ferangi noted this first in this thread. It's a weird thing, but exists.  The victim really does begin to identify with the kidnappers.  I wasn't sure about the Patty Hearst thing while it was going on.  I followed it pretty closely at the time, with the series of articles being published in the Rolling Stone.  As I recall she fired several shots (in the air?) during a bank robbery and was convicted on one of the charges out of that.  She said she was afraid she would be shot, but it's more complex than that.

The girl did have opportunities to get away.  Hard to figure why she didn't.  But there really doesn't appear to be any evidence of rebellious or trouble teen there.

I think all anyone can do is speculate, for there isn't enough information for any cut and dry answers.  I do agree that there are things that makes one wonder about what really went on.

I do want to come to the little girls defense though.  Everyone's reactions are different in every different scenario and situation put before them.  Fear for some leaves them as stunned as a deer hit with headlights, while others run or fight right onto deaths door.  Lord only knows right now what was said and done to her to make her comply with their demands and many can only imagine how they would react if put in her shoes.  

Lauren

is she wanted to be there.
Have you checked out the photos of her with her family, she looks sad..like she is missing them.
She doesn't make sense. The only thing I am happy is for the family...they have her back even though she is not right.

Shaye

It is not the SLIGHTEST importance whether this girl attempted to escape when she had chances to, or not.  You MUST remember that she was subject to all kinds of emotional duress over the course of 9 months.  She might even have STARTED OUT viewing this as an exciting adventure outside of her rigid household, it just does NOT matter.  She WAS and she IS, the VICTIM of a terrible crime.  She was undoubtedly controlled and brainwashed over the course of these events.  The Stockholm syndrome is a known and legitimate phenomena experienced by people in this type of situation.   Based on the "official" non-responses to the question when it was asked, it is almost certainly a VERY safe assumption that she was subject to some type of sexual abuse as well as emotional abuse.  It is VERY possible that she then begins to acquiesce to the demands of her captors, and even does whatever she must to conform to their wishes, as the captors are here only means of survival, at that point.

Do not assume that the way you would act, as a free-thinking, and freely mobile individual is how you would act in the situation that she was put in.   It is known to be an invalid assumption.

I heard a quote from the arresting officer today. He said when he confronted her she said …. I know you think I`m that Elizabeth Smart girl who “ran away”. RAN AWAY !!!!!.
Just makes me wonder.

This guy was abusive to his former wife, and also molested his daughter (the first one).

I was listening to Larry King on the way home this evening and evidently when the girl told her mother, she took it straight to the Bishop of her local LDS Temple.  The Bishop, told them that they should act like nothing happened, and told them to put it behind them.  

That is according to the girl and her mother's version, at least.  I dunno, this is a really weird one. Brainwashing someone through sleep deprivation, ego manipulation and group-peer pressure is pretty common in cult-like kind of situations.

I wish we had more information. It does seem weird that she is not hopping mad and crying and such. Who the hell knows.