From AP reports:
SALT LAKE CITY – Elizabeth Smart, the 15-year-old girl who vanished from her bedroom nine months ago, was found alive Wednesday, riding in the car of a drifter who had once done work at the family's home, police said.
Though this is not ski news, we chose to post it because many nordic skiers were among the valuable searchers for Elizabeth over the past 9 months. A group of <six coaches and skiers at the June Fasterskier camp participated in the search just days after the abduction. This group searched in near to impossible mountain terrain. Throughout the summer, the local ski community continued to search. Skiers were espcially valuable searchers because of their willingness to tackle the tough mountainous terrain above Salt Lake City. They could go where many other searchers could not. We are ecstatic that she was found today -ALIVE!
“Miracles do exist,” said the girl's uncle, Tom Smart.
The girl was wearing a wig when police in suburban Sandy pulled over the drifter, a man known as Emmanuel, authorities said. She was taken to the Salt Lake City police department, where her father was with her.
Elizabeth was 14 when she vanished early on the morning of June 5. Her 9-year-old sister said Elizabeth was taken by a man who may have gotten into the house by cutting a window screen near the back door. The sister pretended to be asleep, and she said the gunman threatened to hurt Elizabeth if she didn't keep quiet.
