Missing Utah girl found alive

SALT LAKE CITY -- Elizabeth Smart, the 15-year-old girl who vanished from her bedroom nine months ago, was found Wednesday walking down a suburban street with a drifter who had briefly worked at the family's home. The man was taken into custody, and the teenager was whisked away for a reunion with her jubilant family.\n"Miracles do exist," said Tom Smart, the girl's uncle.\nElizabeth was returned home about 10:20 p.m. EST in an unmarked police van. She did not speak to reporters as she rushed inside the house. Relatives said Elizabeth was in good condition and had talked with police about her ordeal.\n"All of the children out there deserve to come back to their parents the way Elizabeth has come back to us," father Ed Smart said as he burst into sobs during a celebration at his home.\nHe added: "I don't know what she's gone through and I'm sure she's been through hell. I just know that she's a part of our family, she's loved and we love her so much."\nThe police offered no motive or details of where the teenager had been since she vanished in June. Authorities in San Diego were trying to confirm reports the drifter was spotted there in the past couple of weeks; the Smarts had released a sketch of the man last month.\nPolice were tipped off by members of the public who spotted the drifter on a street in Sandy, 20 miles south of Elizabeth's home in Salt Lake City. The drifter, known as Emmanuel, a woman believed to be his companion and Elizabeth were all wearing wigs when they were stopped, authorities said.\nRelatives of Emmanuel, whose real name is Brian Mitchell, have described him as a self-appointed prophet for the homeless who lived in a teepee in mountains outside the city. He was hired by the Smarts in November 2001 to work on their roof. Elizabeth disappeared seven months later.\nMitchell and the second suspect, identified as Wanda Barzee, were in custody. No charges were filed, but Salt Lake City Police Chief Rick Dinse said authorities were convinced Elizabeth had been kidnapped.\nAsked whether he believed Elizabeth was held against her will, he said: "At this point, yes, I do."\nA Smart family spokesman, Chris Thomas, said Elizabeth apparently had no chance to escape.\n"She said there was no way, she had two people with her at all times," he said.\nPolice stopped Mitchell and the others after receiving calls a minute apart from Rudy and Nancy Montoya and Anita and Alvin Dickerson. Both couples had spotted the trio carrying bedrolls and bags as they walked down the street.