The abduction of Elizabeth Smart was one of the most followed child abduction cases of our time. Smart was abducted on June 5, 2002, and her captors controlled her by threatening to hurt her and her family if she tried to escape.
Fortunately, the police safely returned Elizabeth back to her family on March 12, 2003 after being held prisoner for nine grueling months.
Marking the 15th anniversary of Smart’s harrowing childhood abduction, A&E and Lifetime are premiering a biography special that allows Smart to tell her story in her own words.
Prior to this, Smart did an "Ask Me Anything" interview on Reddit where users can literally ask her anything. People submitted hundreds of questions, but this was the biggest takeaway from the entire interview:
"In your opinion as a children's advocate, what are some practical, commonsense steps parents can take to help their children avoid abuse? (And I guess I mean abuse in a general way, anything from extreme bullying to abduction.)"