Woman who helped remove Elizabeth Smart released from prison

DRAPER, Utah – A woman who helped kidnap Elizabeth Smart as a teenager and stayed with her when the girl was sexually assaulted was released from prison on Wednesday after 15 years in prison.

Wanda Barzee, 72, has left Utah State Prison in the Draper suburb of Salt Lake City, spokeswoman Kaitlin Felsted said in a statement that provides no details about Barzee's destination.

Barzee's release followed a surprise announcement last week that the Utah authorities had miscalculated his length of service in prison. Barzee was to be released in 2024.

Smart, now 30, said last week that she was shocked and disappointed and hoped that Barzee will be closely monitored and neat.

Barzee will be under federal supervision for five years. If she breaks conditions that include mental health treatment and an order not to contact Smart's family, she could go back to prison.

Smart remembers some of the horror she experienced at the age of 14 when she was snatched from her home in Salt Lake City in 2002 by street preacher Brian David Mitchell, then Barzee's husband. Mitchell entered through an open kitchen window in an abduction that caused waves of fear across the country.

Smart said at a press conference last week that Barzee had seen her as a slave during the nine months she was being held by the couple and encouraged Mitchell to rape her.

"So I think it's dangerous? Yes," Smart said.

Smart was found walking with Barzee and Mitchell on a street in Sandy's suburbs by people who recognized the couple through the media.

Mitchell is serving a life sentence after being convicted of kidnapping and rape.

Barzee was treated at the Utah State Hospital about five years after his arrest. She testified in 2010 against Mitchell and received an agreement on charges from the state and the federal government. She was transferred to Utah State Prison in April 2016 after serving a federal sentence in Texas.

The pardon and parole board of Utah had set the release date of January 2024 after Barzee failed to attend his own parole hearing in June, but his lawyer had asked if she had worked in a federal prison. The council decided last week that she had served her sentence.

Barzee's lawyer, Scott Williams, said his client was diagnosed with several mental illnesses, but he's not afraid that it's a danger to the community.

Federal agents found a place for Barzee when she began her five-year probation release, said Eric Anderson, Deputy Director of Probation in the United States for Utah. He declined to say whether she would be in a private home or in an institution, but that she "would not be homeless".

One of Barzee's nieces, Tina Mace, said that her aunt's testimony against Mitchell seemed a turning point but that her mental state seemed to have changed in prison. Mace said she knew no family member who could accommodate Barzee.

Smart, now a married mother and activist for victims' rights, posted on Instagram this weekend that she's scared of Barzee and that she's taken precautions but that she refuses to let her release disrupting the elevator that she has built.

"I have spent the last 15 years rebuilding and moving forward in my life, starting a family and pursuing my goals," writes Smart. "I have lived in absolute fear and terror for nine months, no matter the outcome, I will not do it anymore."

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Russ Contreras, Associated Press Editor in Albuquerque, New Mexico, contributed to this article