Woman who held Elizabeth Smart captive for months is arrested after visiting park

The woman who kidnapped and held Elizabeth Smart captive for nine months in the early 2000s was arrested in Utah this week after visiting at least two parks, which she can’t do because of her status as a sex offender.

Wanda Barzee, 79, was arrested at her Salt Lake City home Thursday and was booked on one count of violating her status as a sex offender in Utah, a spokesperson for the Salt Lake City Police Department said Friday.

Utah law prohibits registered sex offenders from entering protected areas, including public parks.

Detectives with the Salt Lake Police Department received information that Barzee had allegedly visited at least two parks in the city — Liberty Park and Sugar House Park — in April, police spokesperson Brent Weisberg said.

Records from the Salt Lake County Metro Jail indicate Barzee is no longer in custody. It was not immediately clear if she was released on bail or if she has legal representation.

Weisberg said in the statement that court records show she was released on judicial orders.

Barzee was convicted of state and federal crimes, and in 2010 was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for her role in the abduction. She was released from prison in 2018

Barzee’s husband, Brian David Mitchell, is serving a life sentence for Smart’s kidnapping and assaults.

Smart was taken at knifepoint from her Salt Lake City bedroom in 2002. The teen’s kidnapping and disappearance garnered media attention and headlines across the globe.

Nine months after she was abducted, Smart was seen walking the streets of a Salt Lake City suburb with Mitchell.

She has said her time in captivity included repeated sexual assaults by Mitchell. Whan Barzee was released from prison, Smart said that during her time in captivity, the woman would “encourage her husband to continue to rape me.”

Smart, now 37, has since become an outspoken advocate against child abduction and sexual violence.