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CNN Live Today
Talk with Elizabeth Smart's Aunt, Cousin
Aired March 13, 2003 - 10:09 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: We do have some Smart family members now. We want to take you live back to Salt Lake City.
Joining us live, Heidi Smart, who is Elizabeth's aunt, and Sierra Smart, her cousin.
Welcome to you both.
Heidi, let's start with you. How is Elizabeth doing today?
HEIDI SMART, SMART'S AUNT: I haven't personally seen her. We've been giving her nucleus, the family, the utmost respect. I talked to Ed, the father. He says she's been spending all of her time with her brothers and sisters, and you know, what a happy reunion for them.
COSTELLO: Sierra, have you got an chance to see Elizabeth?
SIERRA SMART, SMART'S COUSIN: No, we're just waiting. I want to run up there.
H. SMART: We're trying to be respectful.
S. SMART: We hope today or tomorrow we can go up there.
COSTELLO: So many people have helped in the search for Elizabeth. What would you like to say to them this morning?
H. SMART: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
S. SMART: Yes, I don't think you can justify -- you can't say thank you enough, because it's because of everything that everybody's helped with that we found her. It's so amazing. Such a miracle. It couldn't have happened without everybody's help.
COSTELLO: You're absolutely right, It was a miracle. Heidi, I want to ask you about the suspect in this case and what you know about him.
H. SMART: I just -- I know this is someone that Mary Katherine (ph) came up with. It was like an epiphany. She came to Ed one October evening and said, I think I know who the guy was. I think it was Emmanuel. They were shocked. They had her describe what she thought he looked like, just to verify that she really was talking about the same person, and she remembered what he had on that day. She remembered he was carrying a backpack, and they were just dumbfounded. From that point on, a sketch was made and brought us to where we are today. But this is someone that she came up with. She is our hero. She has been 100 percent consistent since day one.
COSTELLO: Let me interrupt for just a minute, because a lot of people are wondering how it came to be that this man was at the Smart house in the first place. He was hired to do some work on the roof.
S. SMART: No, he wasn't on the roof.
H. SMART: He did some yard work. He did some raking of leaves around the yard, but he was outside.
S. SMART: He was there for one day for five hours, and that's it, and he was working around the house, doing garden work or stuff. He wasn't ever on the roof or in the house.
H. SMART: He knew the house from the outside.
COSTELLO: Did he ever talk to the girls at all, or any of the children?
H. SMART: You know, I remember we talked about this months ago when it was coming out sketchy. The family all talks to each other. I don't know if I have the 100 percent the straight story. I remember somebody saying they had lunch. I don't know if Lois made them a sandwich. I don't know if she met him when he came to the door. I don't know the details, if she met him when she first got there, if she was outside at the time when he was working or if she remembers him at lunch. But in the five hours he was there, she definitely, you know, met him and saw him, and she remembered him.
COSTELLO: I was just wondering, because he apparently knew where the bedroom was, and he apparently did the kidnapping part of this, if he is guilty of it -- very quickly.
H. SMART: Well, the bedroom is a very visible room from the outside of the home.
S. SMART: You can see it right there, right outside the house.
H. SMART: You don't need to know -- you know, the family has been saying that from the beginning. It's something that if you were anybody that really was watching that house or anything, you would have known where the girls' bedroom was from the outside. It's pretty obvious.
COSTELLO: Heidi, I also want to ask you about this, because many people are wondering if Elizabeth was brainwashed in anyway and why she didn't try to get away.
H. SMART: You know, those are details we don't know right now. We're relying on the police force and hopefully great therapists and social services. I don't know who's working with them right now. We'll rely on them to bring out that kind of information.
But right now, we're just so elated that she's home. You know, we're not going to look back. We're going to look forward at this point.
COSTELLO: I am just wondering of what you know of Elizabeth and her personality, if that were possible.
H. SMART: You know, anything's possible. We've seen a miracle happen yesterday. And there are many miracles out there. This is a very strong, beautiful religious, young girl.
S. SMART: Very smart.
H. SMART: Who is very smart. And I think if anyone can do this, she can. We have a lot of faith that she'll be able to move from this. And I'll tell you she has a lot of family support, community support and soup port from the world.
COSTELLO: There is no doubt about that.
S. SMART: Heidi and Sierra Smart, thanks for joining us this morning. We appreciate it.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired March 13, 2003 - 10:09 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: We do have some Smart family members now. We want to take you live back to Salt Lake City.
Joining us live, Heidi Smart, who is Elizabeth's aunt, and Sierra Smart, her cousin.
Welcome to you both.
Heidi, let's start with you. How is Elizabeth doing today?
HEIDI SMART, SMART'S AUNT: I haven't personally seen her. We've been giving her nucleus, the family, the utmost respect. I talked to Ed, the father. He says she's been spending all of her time with her brothers and sisters, and you know, what a happy reunion for them.
COSTELLO: Sierra, have you got an chance to see Elizabeth?
SIERRA SMART, SMART'S COUSIN: No, we're just waiting. I want to run up there.
H. SMART: We're trying to be respectful.
S. SMART: We hope today or tomorrow we can go up there.
COSTELLO: So many people have helped in the search for Elizabeth. What would you like to say to them this morning?
H. SMART: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
S. SMART: Yes, I don't think you can justify -- you can't say thank you enough, because it's because of everything that everybody's helped with that we found her. It's so amazing. Such a miracle. It couldn't have happened without everybody's help.
COSTELLO: You're absolutely right, It was a miracle. Heidi, I want to ask you about the suspect in this case and what you know about him.
H. SMART: I just -- I know this is someone that Mary Katherine (ph) came up with. It was like an epiphany. She came to Ed one October evening and said, I think I know who the guy was. I think it was Emmanuel. They were shocked. They had her describe what she thought he looked like, just to verify that she really was talking about the same person, and she remembered what he had on that day. She remembered he was carrying a backpack, and they were just dumbfounded. From that point on, a sketch was made and brought us to where we are today. But this is someone that she came up with. She is our hero. She has been 100 percent consistent since day one.
COSTELLO: Let me interrupt for just a minute, because a lot of people are wondering how it came to be that this man was at the Smart house in the first place. He was hired to do some work on the roof.
S. SMART: No, he wasn't on the roof.
H. SMART: He did some yard work. He did some raking of leaves around the yard, but he was outside.
S. SMART: He was there for one day for five hours, and that's it, and he was working around the house, doing garden work or stuff. He wasn't ever on the roof or in the house.
H. SMART: He knew the house from the outside.
COSTELLO: Did he ever talk to the girls at all, or any of the children?
H. SMART: You know, I remember we talked about this months ago when it was coming out sketchy. The family all talks to each other. I don't know if I have the 100 percent the straight story. I remember somebody saying they had lunch. I don't know if Lois made them a sandwich. I don't know if she met him when he came to the door. I don't know the details, if she met him when she first got there, if she was outside at the time when he was working or if she remembers him at lunch. But in the five hours he was there, she definitely, you know, met him and saw him, and she remembered him.
COSTELLO: I was just wondering, because he apparently knew where the bedroom was, and he apparently did the kidnapping part of this, if he is guilty of it -- very quickly.
H. SMART: Well, the bedroom is a very visible room from the outside of the home.
S. SMART: You can see it right there, right outside the house.
H. SMART: You don't need to know -- you know, the family has been saying that from the beginning. It's something that if you were anybody that really was watching that house or anything, you would have known where the girls' bedroom was from the outside. It's pretty obvious.
COSTELLO: Heidi, I also want to ask you about this, because many people are wondering if Elizabeth was brainwashed in anyway and why she didn't try to get away.
H. SMART: You know, those are details we don't know right now. We're relying on the police force and hopefully great therapists and social services. I don't know who's working with them right now. We'll rely on them to bring out that kind of information.
But right now, we're just so elated that she's home. You know, we're not going to look back. We're going to look forward at this point.
COSTELLO: I am just wondering of what you know of Elizabeth and her personality, if that were possible.
H. SMART: You know, anything's possible. We've seen a miracle happen yesterday. And there are many miracles out there. This is a very strong, beautiful religious, young girl.
S. SMART: Very smart.
H. SMART: Who is very smart. And I think if anyone can do this, she can. We have a lot of faith that she'll be able to move from this. And I'll tell you she has a lot of family support, community support and soup port from the world.
COSTELLO: There is no doubt about that.
S. SMART: Heidi and Sierra Smart, thanks for joining us this morning. We appreciate it.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
