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CNN CONNIE CHUNG TONIGHT
Interviews With Family, Acquaintances of Brian David Mitchell
Aired March 14, 2003 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CONNIE CHUNG, HOST: Good evening, I'm Connie Chung. Tonight, police say Elizabeth Smart's abductor might have also tried to kidnap her cousin.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: The search for answers.
CHIP BURRUS, FBI AGENT: We think found the campsite up in the hills.
CAPT. RICK DINSE, SALT LAKE CITY POLICE: Elizabeth was forced to wear and wig and full robe and veil.
BURRUS: We've got search warrants being conducted in Montana.
DINSE: Elizabeth was taken to San Diego City.
ANNOUNCER: After the end of her nine-month ordeal, questions remain about what really happened to Elizabeth Smart.
Who is Brian David Mitchell, the man accused in the kidnapping?
DINSE: Elizabeth was taken from her bedroom at knife point by Brian David Mitchell, aka Emmanuel.
ANNOUNCER: His family says they knew he was involved. Tonight they'll tell their story. Plus, was his motive to take the 14-year- old girl as his wife?
DINSE: He did believe in polygamy.
ANNOUNCER: Hiding in plain sight. Witnesses come forward with details of Elizabeth and her alleged abductors. Could she have been found sooner?
Returning to normal life. Elizabeth Smart's friends tell Connie about their reunion, but they wonder if she'll be the same girl they knew.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: This is CONNIE CHUNG TONIGHT. From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, Connie Chung. CHUNG: Good evening. Tonight, a chilling report from police investigating the kidnapping of Elizabeth Smart. On July 24, a window screen was cut and reportedly a chair left beneath the window in the bedroom of 18-year-old Jessica Wright. Who is she? Elizabeth's favorite cousin. And police say the two girls look alike as well.
We're also learning much about the man who allegedly kidnapped Elizabeth and believed in polygamy as part of his religion. CNN's Jeanne Meserve joins us now from Salt Lake City with the latest from the investigation.
Jeanne, investigators are now saying that Brian Mitchell may have indeed may have tried to kidnap Elizabeth Smart's 18-year-old cousin. What more can you tell us about that?
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I can tell you that at the time this happened last July, the operating theory of law enforcement that some neighborhood vandals might have responsible. But today the Salt Lake County Sheriff said new evidence had come to light. Here's some of what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AARON KENNARD, SALT LAKE COUNTY SHERIFF: We have evidence, and we are presenting this evidence to the district attorney and the U.S. attorney as we speak, to try and tie the perpetrators of the Elizabeth Smart kidnapping to the attempt burglary that took place on the Virginia Hills in July of 2002. I believe that we have solid information and solid leads that could connect the two households and the perpetrator to the two house holds together.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MESERVE: Now, the sheriff would not say exactly the evidence was. He did indicate it had been developed since the recovery of Elizabeth Smart. He wouldn't say whether it was physical evidence or information that had grown out of interviews with either Elizabeth or her alleged abductors. He says charges may be brought as early as next week, charges of attempted kidnapping -- Connie.
CHUNG: Jeanne, Brian Mitchell appeared in court today. What happened?
MESERVE: He was in court here -- he wasn't actually in court. There was a hearing in court today relating to shoplifting charges which relate back to September. There was a closed circuit hookup with him in his jail cell.
We did, however, get a glimpse today of some tapes from San Diego. You'll recall that he was picked up there in February for burglarizing a church. He was held for six days. And we have an excerpt of what went on in that court room.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRIAN DAVID MITCHELL, ELIZABETH'S ACCUSED ABDUCTOR: That was the worst night and the worst week of my whole life. I had, for the first time in 22 years, I got drunk that night and it the whole night was just a nightmare.
And I -- this week in jail has been like Jonah getting swallowed by the whale. It's turned me right around and I know I need to do what the Lord wants me to do with my life. And I'm deeply sorry and nothing like that's going to happen again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MESERVE: And there you have Brian Mitchell sounding very contrite. There's been question about when charges are going to be brought in the actual Smart kidnapping. I talked to officials at the U.S. attorney's office today. They indicated that state charges may be brought first and those may come as early as next week -- Connie.
CHUNG: Jeanne, Brian Mitchell had written a 27 page manifesto. What can you tell us about that?
MESERVE: Well I have a copy of it right here. It is completely religious in tone. I'll read you one passage which relates to polygamy.
He says, "In consequence of their continued disobedience I, the Lord God, took away from my church the fullness of the new and everlasting covenant of marriage. And I commanded them to have one wife only. Wherefore they received a lesser law and a lesser blessing. Nevertheless, I, Lord God, am merciful and just and I know the hearts of my children and I restore every blessing lost to them so long as they sin not against the Holy Ghost."
This would seem to substantiate Chief Dinse's comment yesterday that Mitchell was a believer in polygamy -- Connie.
CHUNG: Jeanne Meserve, thank you, in Salt lake City, Jeanne.
Brian David Mitchell was not only a street preacher and prophet, he made it his mission to make people believe in his version of Christianity. When police found Elizabeth with him, she said her name was Augustine. Police told her she was Elizabeth Smart. Her reply, "Thou sayest." It's what Jesus said when Pontus Pilate asked him if he were king of the Jews.
It's still not clearly how deeply Elizabeth fell under Mitchell's control. But as you're about to hear, Elizabeth may have made a tentative cry for help and her family may have had a chilling run-in with her kidnapper right after she disappeared.
I also asked Elizabeth's aunt Angela about how Elizabeth is doing and the effect Mitchell had on her.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHUNG: Angela, thanks so much for being with us.
ANGELA SMART, ELIZABETH'S AUNT: You're welcome. CHUNG: You've spent time with Elizabeth. How is she and does she seem traumatized to you?
A. SMART: Well, I think that Elizabeth is subdued. But I was amazed, I was absolutely amazed how wonderful she looked. You know, there's still that spark in her eye. And I'm sure that she has been traumatized. I have no question about that. But I think that she is wonderful. And she -- you know, when she embraces you and she holds you, you really just feel her strength.
CHUNG: Now her father thinks that she was brainwashed. Do you think she was?
A. SMART: Oh, I'm sure she was to a degree. I think -- yes. I think -- I would agree with Edward. I don't know how or what degree or anything else, but I think that it was her surviving -- it was her instinct to be able to survive. And thank goodness she was able to survive and she's back home with us because of her strength and skills.
CHUNG: Do you know if she tried to escape or if she didn't, why she didn't?
A. SMART: Well, I know she was not able to escape when she was up in the hills. And so, you know, that was the first month and a half, first 45 days. That I'm sure was very, very traumatizing.
CHUNG: Angela, you said that you believe Mitchell was obsessed with Elizabeth.
A. SMART: I do.
CHUNG: Why do you say that?
A. SMART: Well, I think certain members of our family just felt that -- she's so pure and very untainted from the world. Very unusual.
I think that he went through the home. He was dressed in white. It seemed very unusual to us as we were talking about this as a family. He was dressed in white and walked through that home as if he could do anything. He walked through very calmly, was very collected.
He'd never been in the home. I think he probably studied to be able to figure out where she was. And, you know, when Mary Katherine tried to go ahead and tell her parents right away, she was not able to leave because as she went out into the hall, she saw him with her. This man was not in a hurry to get out of that house.
CHUNG: Isn't that amazing? I find it extraordinary that he didn't rush out.
A. SMART: That's right. It is extraordinary. And that's what, you know, Mary Katherine went to go out and then went back into her room for fear of Elizabeth's and her own life.
CHUNG: Do you believe that he was stalking her?
A. SMART: I do. That's Angela's opinion. I do believe that.
CHUNG: Now, the authorities say that they believe Mitchell was a polygamist. He describes himself as a polygamist. Do you think that might have been a motive for the kidnapping?
A. SMART: I think we can speculate, you know, on all of those different possibilities. I think that, you know, I understand that is -- that's a possibility. But you know, there were other, you know, other possibilities as well. We just don't really know right now at this time.
CHUNG: Did you get the feeling that Mitchell was even capable of physically harming her?
A. SMART: You know, I couldn't be able to judge him at all. I think -- I actually ran into him the day she was abducted or the day after she was abducted...
CHUNG: You did?
A. SMART: I did. And I'm sorry, it's kind of a blur. And my family, because I went back to my family and I told them about this encounter. And they said that it was the day she was abducted that I told them about this.
And I was going to the Kinko's to pick up her flyers, actually. And as I went there, what ended up happening is I was -- he just came up to me and asked me for money. And I had said, well, what do you want the money for? And, you know, kind of tried to face him and kind or make eye contact. And he skirted away. He did not want to make eye contact with me.
And I perceive that, you know, why was I asking for accountability of the money. And I tried to address him and he wanted nothing to do with me at that point and king of skirted away and left. And I just got a strange feeling. I went home. I was very at unease. And I went and picked up all of the flyers, went back up. He was -- and looked for him as I left and he was gone. He was nowhere to be seen.
And so I went up home. And we had a family discussion for a couple of days about this. And kind, you know, kind of asked each other about it because he was dressed in the white muslin -- the white muslin hat.
CHUNG: Isn't that eerie? It's downright as frightening in many ways.
A. SMART: It is. It's very eerie. But I didn't see him as a violent person or anything else. I didn't. In fact, as I walked away I was amazed at how clean -- he looked very clean. And that was something I though, you know, he looks very clean. And if he doesn't have a home -- I was thinking he just looked very tidy, very clean, very neat. CHUNG: When you ran into him outside Kinko's, did you know that he had worked for Ed and Lois?
A. SMART: No, no. He just worked for Ed only for four hours. He just Ed on roof for a little while and he never went in their home. He wasn't on the list, you know?
CHUNG: Angela, when you see these photographs of Elizabeth wearing this veil, what goes through your mind?
A. SMART: You know, I -- it's just amazing that we didn't get it. It's amazing that all of the people who have seen her didn't get it. You know, there has been -- people have speculated and said, you know, she never tried to run away. She never tried to flee in any way.
However, when she was on her way back up from San Diego just in Utah, just south of -- I'm sorry, I can't give you specifics on it, but just south -- they had an interview yesterday with a gentleman who was in an audio, had kind of an audio store. And she actually, when she had been separated from them, she very quietly whispered, "I'm Elizabeth Smart."
CHUNG: Oh my goodness.
A. SMART: And so when they say that, you know, this is the case that, you know, she wasn't trying to let anybody know, I think she feared for her life. I have no question she feared for her life.
And -- but she said very quietly. And he said -- he came back to her and said, what did you say? And she said, Oh, nothing. I was just kidding. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) and went on.
And so -- later on this was all passed off. And he called later and felt that -- he felt very badly about this, that this had not been reported. And so I think, you know -- I think then later on when the police picked her up they went ahead and -- them she did deny it. She was right there with them. And she did deny it at the time with them beside her. And then later she said, I know you think I'm Elizabeth Smart. Well, why would you say that?
CHUNG: To whom did she say this? Was it the arresting officers?
A. SMART: Yes.
CHUNG: Who ultimately did...
(CROSSTALK)
A. SMART: And they asked her, are you Elizabeth Smart? And she said no. She did deny it. She did deny it.
But I think, you know, it's survivor instinct. She just -- you know, she had been, she's been captive for nine months.
CHUNG: Yes. You know, I think many people worry because she has become such a focus of everyone's attention and they worry as to whether or not she's going to be able to reveal this information. That right now there might be a facade.
A. SMART: And I think she really probably won't be able to reveal it right away. I think it will take time. And I think right now she needs nurturing. She needs love. She needs support. And she needs to know that she's accepted now as the Elizabeth now. Not as the little angel that -- on a pedestal, but as Elizabeth the wonderful lovely woman she is now, today.
CHUNG: Angela, I thank you so much for being with us. Thank you for your insight. And please give Elizabeth our best.
A. SMART: Thank you. I will.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHUNG: The family of Brian David Mitchell has been vital to this case since he was sought by police. It was his sister who identified him to the authorities.
Now, the man who reared Brian Mitchell is giving his first broadcast interview. To get unique insights into Brian, I spoke to his father, Shirl, by phone.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHUNG: How would describe his childhood and how would you describe -- how would you describe his personality?
SHIRL MITCHELL, SUSPECT'S FATHER: He's never integrated with the family very well. He's always been a kind of what you call a classic black sheep. And he's run off on himself a number of times. He's just rebellious, you know, and...
CHUNG: What was his relationship with his mother?
MITCHELL: They came to blows and Brian had to be separated from the household and he lived with his grandmother for a few months and he went to school at another school.
CHUNG: More recently, has his mother been getting along with him?
MITCHELL: He -- he's kind of squatted and sponged off her for months at a time. They came to rather loud, vituperative expostulations (ph) at each other and he was thundering like Isaiah at her, saying she'd be damned and her face will be damned forever.
And so she excluded him from her household. And that was the last time he stayed there. And, in fact, because that confrontation was so verbally violent, she had a restraining order put on him so he couldn't come back.
CHUNG: Something happened during his teen years that caused him to end up in juvenile detention. Can you tell me about that? MITCHELL: Brian had to be a latchkey kid and come home to an empty house. He was all on his own. And along with all these other frustrations, course, he had access to books of a neurotic nature maybe too much -- novels that I'd bring into the house.
I think he fantasized about sex and when a little girl, next door neighbor -- girl 3-years-old came in the house, he exposed himself to her. And that landed him in juvenile detention. Well, that kind of tarnished him and tainted him and that put him in with a lot of poor adjustable -- adjusted companions.
CHUNG: There was a period of time in Brian's life in which he was doing drugs, alcohol, smoking. But that changed one day because of what?
MITCHELL: What started that was when his brother came back from a mission and he -- his brother was conciliatory to him and was trying to help him and talk to him.
I think he talked him in to pay more attention to religion. And at that point, Brian decided to kick all his drug habits -- the smoking and the beer drinking and whatnot.
CHUNG: Cold turkey?
MITCHELL: Cold turkey. Took him two weeks. I remember very well, because he was living right in our household when it happened.
CHUNG: Did Brian become a religious fanatic?
MITCHELL: Oh, yeah. A zealot and rabidly overboard on things.
CHUNG: Did you feel as if he was sort of going off the deep end?
MITCHELL: I always recognized the possibility because of his intense emotional traumas and background and family and his upbringing. And when he would be discussing things with me and they would more or less irritate him, more than otherwise, his face would kind of -- forehead would kind of screw up like he was under a lot of tension. And then he -- one time he accused me of being too harsh on him and causing a lot of trauma in him.
CHUNG: Mr. Mitchell, do you think your son was a polygamist?
MITCHELL: No. No, I don't credit that. Wanda has a pretty strong personality despite the fact she defers to Brian. She has a very strong personality. And...
CHUNG: You don't think she'd...
MITCHELL: He'd have -- he'd have to get through her. I don't credit that idea at all.
CHUNG: Mr. Mitchell, when you heard that your son was arrested in connection with the kidnapping of Elizabeth Smart, what did you think? MITCHELL: Well, I withheld judgment on it. I didn't accept it at first because I didn't think he'd go off the deep end that much. The very worst I thought that he had just convinced her. He can be very convincing. With this little girl, he might have brainwashed her.
CHUNG: Mr. Mitchell, do you think your son would be capable of physically abusing Elizabeth Smart?
MITCHELL: Well, I never -- I never thought -- took that idea seriously, no. To the extent that he might -- he might brainwash her and call brainwashing abuse, yes.
CHUNG: Mr. Mitchell, I thank you so much for talking to me.
MITCHELL: Well, I hope it helps Brian.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHUNG: When we come back: from childhood to manhood, we continue tracing the life of Brian David Mitchell, as we talk to two men who knew him as their stepfather.
Stay with us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: Next -- more and more eyewitnesses step forward and tell of conversations with the kidnappers and Elizabeth, hidden beneath the veil.
CONNIE CHUNG TONIGHT will be right back.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHUNG: Brian David Mitchell's stepsons helped police in identifying Mitchell when authorities were looking for him. They provided photographs of Mitchell.
With more insight into Mitchell as a husband, a father, a street preacher, prophet and now alleged kidnapper, joining us from Midveil, Utah, two men who once called Mitchell their stepfather, Derrick and Mark Thompson.
Thank you both for being with us.
DERRICK THOMPSON, FORMER STEPSON OF MITCHELL: You're welcome.
CHUNG: Derrick, police are now describing your stepfather as being a self-professed polygamist. Do you believe he was a polygamist?
D. THOMPSON: He very well could have been. He -- his beliefs were of an older type church where the LDS Church did believe in polygamy. So, yes, he very well could have believed that.
CHUNG: Mark, I know you all have a theory, at least your sister does, as to why your stepfather would have kidnapped Elizabeth. Can you share that with us?
MARK THOMPSON, FORMER STEPSON OF MITCHELL: Well, we feel like there's a big resemblance between my sister and Elizabeth, in far as her talents and facial features. And my sister left my mom when she was the same age and my mom had a nervous breakdown about it.
CHUNG: So do you think that -- that, in fact, your mother played a part in this, and that she would indeed want to have a child very similar to the one she lost?
M. THOMPSON: Exactly. I feel like she was -- Elizabeth was a gift mainly.
CHUNG: Well, your mother had some history with a local hospital, an incident. Can you tell us about that? It involved children.
M. THOMPSON: Well, my brother-in-law was working -- actually Laree's (ph) husband, at a hospital and...
CHUNG: That's your sister, Larree?
M. THOMPSON: Right.
CHUNG: Ah-ha.
M. THOMPSON: And he saw them there touching kids on the head and blessing them and they got kicked out of the hospital.
CHUNG: You mean that was your mother and Brian David Mitchell?
M. THOMPSON: Right.
CHUNG: And, I believe, Derrick, your mother often did something that involved little dolls. Can you tell us about that?
D. THOMPSON: Well, she'd walk around downtown with a doll and, you know, make-believe it was her own child it was alive.
CHUNG: All right, Tell me one other thing, Derrick. Why do you think, if indeed your father and your -- your stepfather and your mother were involved in this kidnapping, why they would think they could get away with it? Because they both wandered around, apparently, the city freely with Elizabeth Smart.
D. THOMPSON: The only explanation I can think of is because he thinks he is an actual God or above God, and probably was untouchable. And I don't know, you know, if he just thought nobody would notice or what. But he probably just -- probably just thought he was untouchable.
CHUNG: Mark, I understand that life with your stepfather and your mother was fairly normal until your stepfather was doing and saying some things that were quite extraordinarily different. Can you describe that?
M. THOMPSON: Well, he worked a normal job as well as my mom and they paid their bills and had a car and we'd go camping.
And then one day he just came home and 4:00 in the morning they woke me up out of bed and had to tell me that they had just seen angels and then soon after that he would see prophets.
CHUNG: Derrick, I understand that both of you went out looking for both of them after you had seen a picture in "America's Most Wanted."
D. THOMPSON: We did. I saw them on "America's Most Wanted. I saw the composite. of them and they had a picture. And I guess his sister identified him as Emmanuel -- as Brian David Mitchell. And I had called my brother and I told him. And we just knew right away that he would have done something like this and did something like this. So we decided to go out and try to find it.
We -- as family members we had sightings of him all over the place and we knew some of his hangouts. So we decided to try to bring him in.
CHUNG: But no luck?
D. THOMPSON: No luck. No, he -- it was -- it was right in February when it started getting cold, and they usually like to head south when it got cold. So -- and in fact, they were coming back. It warmed up and they were coming back and that's when they were spotted.
CHUNG: In the 10 seconds we have left, do either of you want to contact your mother?
D. THOMPSON: We're kind of curious, but it's not a big issue right now for us.
CHUNG: You mean you don't intend to at the moment?
D. THOMPSON: Not right now.
M. THOMPSON: Too much anger right now. Don't know if it would help any thing.
CHUNG: Anger about...
M. THOMPSON: What they've done -- what they've done and how they've treated us over the years.
CHUNG: All right. Thank you, Mark and Derrick Thompson. We appreciate your being with us.
D. THOMPSON: Thank you.
CHUNG: One of the most painful aspects of this case is the suggestion that it could have been solved sooner. It's not just that Mitchell's name and face could have been disseminated sooner. Now it turns out that accept for the first couple of months, Mitchell was hardly in hiding. In fact, he wasn't surreptitious. He drew attention to himself. Along with Wanda Barzee and Elizabeth Smart, he made enough of an impression on freelance photographer Dan Gorder at an outdoor party last year that he took their picture.
Ron Lewis was all at that party. They join us from Salt Lake City.
Erin Piaschinski and Lindsay Dawson also noticed the trio when they ate at the restaurant where they work. And they join us now from Sandy, Utah.
Thank you all for being with us. We appreciate it.
CHUNG: Erin -- Erin when the two individuals that you saw regularly, when Mitchell and Wanda came in, one night in August they brought in with them a person we now know is Elizabeth Smart. Did you talk to any of them on that night? Did you talk to Elizabeth?
ERIN PIASCHINSKI, SAW ELIZABETH, MITCHELL AT RESTAURANT: Yes, I did talk to her. They were sitting in a booth and the two girls were on one side of the booth and David Mitchell was on other side. And I looked at the two girls and I asked them if they wanted straws with their water. And they both looked at me in their eyes. I mean, I looked them right in the eyes and asked them, and I got no response from either of them.
And David Mitchell then said, Oh, just leave them on the table. I got no response. They didn't talk to me. I just talked to them.
CHUNG: Did you think anything was strange?
PIASCHINSKI: Yes, I felt like they couldn't talk, like they were being controlled by him. And like -- they -- they couldn't mean. I mean, it's like they were being controlled.
CHUNG: Lindsey, an extraordinary thing happened just a couple weeks ago. Tom Smart, the uncle of Elizabeth Smart, came in with pictures of Mitchell and Wanda and asked you if you had seen them, and you told them they were regular customers. And then what did you tell them? You told him something about Elizabeth.
LINDSAY DAWSON, SAW ELIZABETH, MITCHELL AT RESTAURANT: Well, when he came in, I mentioned the last time that I had seen them, which was with this third person. And I told them the circumstances, about how it was a young girl and I thought it was very strange. And how they were wearing these -- both women were wearing cloths over their faces, and his wife had never worn one of those before.
And when I told him that, he called me a few days later asking me if I thought that the third person could have been Elizabeth Smart.
CHUNG: And you said? DAWSON: I said, yes, that it was possible, because, from what I saw of her face, she fit the right description. She was the right height. And she was -- had light skin and light-colored eyes. But I could not see most of her face.
CHUNG: Erin and Lindsay, there was a poster of Elizabeth saying that she was kidnapped, with a description of her, right at the door of your restaurant. Did neither of you or anybody at the restaurant make any connection that this could be Elizabeth Smart?
PTASCHINSKI: I mean, I thought it was a little girl, a little 11-year-old. This girl that was with them was tall. And I just pictured a younger person. I mean, she looked like my age. And so I never put two and two together. I guess she saw the poster. I mean, it was very noticeable right by our door that people walk into. So I'm sure she saw it.
CHUNG: All right, Dan Gorder, you're the photographer who had taken pictures of the three of them because they did stand out. When you saw Elizabeth, did you think that she looked scared?
DAN GORDER, PHOTOGRAPHER: I wouldn't say that I think she looked scared. It was more like -- she was just really quiet. She just seemed -- she stayed right real tight with the group and never said a word.
CHUNG: It was an outdoor party. Do you think that there was any opportunity for her to leave?
GORDER: Oh, at any -- do you mean, like, could she have said something to someone or...
CHUNG: Yes. Or could she have escaped?
GORDER: I don't know, because I don't think she would have been able to escape from him.
CHUNG: Why?
GORDER: Well, I mean on her own. But for whatever reasons, mentally, she seemed like she was unable to do anything, obviously, now that I know who it was. But if she would have said anything to anyone at any time, it would have been over right then. So it's hard to say why she didn't.
CHUNG: Ron, when you saw them at this same outdoor party, you were talking to Brian Mitchell. Did you think something was strange, especially as it related to Elizabeth?
RON LEWIS, EYEWITNESS: Well, there was something very strange about their whole situation. The way they were moving through the party, they kind of kept her in between them. And she -- neither of the women were allowed to look at anyone or to speak to anyone. Any time you tried to do that, he would interfere and...
CHUNG: Did you ask Brian Mitchell why she couldn't talk? LEWIS: I believe I did. I kind of put him on the spot and was asking him what his religion was all about and why were women put in a position where they weren't even allowed to speak or to even look someone else in the eye. I was asking him, what kind of religion is that?
CHUNG: Do you feel that there was something strange, as you looked at Elizabeth, in her eyes?
LEWIS: You know, those eyes have been haunting me for about six months ever since. I kind of figured out that that was her yesterday -- well, when I had heard the news on the radio and I had heard that she was alive, I think I already knew that, because those eyes had been haunting me for about six months now.
CHUNG: Why do you think they were haunting you?
LEWIS: Well, because I sat less than 3 feet from her and tried to figure out what was wrong with that situation.
CHUNG: Was something telling you that you wanted to go to authorities or you wanted to do something?
LEWIS: It didn't click or, otherwise, it would have been over then. I have paid very close attention to this. I have children, teenage daughter, myself that, because of this, I have raised awareness and had conversations with them about abductions and these sort of things.
So I have been very close to it from the beginning. And it just -- it was very strange. After I heard that she was alive, I pieced it together. Just before actually seeing one of Dan's pictures on CNN, I was pacing the floor in front of the TV, figuring out that that had been Elizabeth Smart at that party and that I had been there. And about two minutes later, they showed the picture on CNN.
CHUNG: Oh, my gosh.
Ron Lewis, I thank you so much for being with us, and Dan Gorder. Erin Ptaschinski, and Lindsay Dawson. Thank you so much.
GORDER: Thanks.
LEWIS: Thank you, Connie.
CHUNG: Still ahead: President Bush's last-ditch summit on Iraq.
Stay with us.
ANNOUNCER: Next: After months of waiting, hoping and praying, Elizabeth Smart's friends finally look forward to a happy reunion.
They'll join us when CONNIE CHUNG TONIGHT returns.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) CHUNG: In a moment, one of Elizabeth Smart's closest friends will join us and will tell us about what it was like to see her today for the first time since her return home.
But first, showdown: Iraq. This weekend, President Bush will travel to the Azores in the Atlantic for a diplomatic summit with the leaders of Britain, Spain and Portugal. The purpose: last-ditch strategizing on how to muster more international support for a war against Iraq.
How the U.S. might begin hostilities may be changing from how it was first envisioned, as we see in tonight's look at "The World in: 60."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHUNG (voice-over): Sources tell CNN the U.S. is considering a preemptive strike on Iraq to prevent Baghdad from launching an attack after any U.S. ultimatum, but before a U.S. offensive. American naval ships fitted with cruise missiles continue to move into position in the Red Sea, within striking distance of Iraq.
Pressing for an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, President Bush said he will submit a new road map for peace, leading to the creation of a Palestinian state once a new Palestinian prime minister is appointed. He also urged an end to Israeli settlement activity.
In Louisiana, the body of a missing college student has been found. Baton Rouge police have not linked Carrie Lynn Yoder's death to serial killings in the area.
NASA has announced plans to resume shuttle flights as early as this fall. Engineers at the space agency have been instructed to remedy the problems identified by investigators of the Columbia tragedy.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHUNG: A big part of how Elizabeth Smart recovers from her ordeal has to do with who she was before the ordeal. No one knows a teenage girl better than her friends of the same age.
Joining us now are two friends who knew Elizabeth very well, and know her still: Laurie Angell, who was in the same class as Elizabeth from fourth to eighth grade, right up until the time she was kidnapped; and Chelsea Winegar, who also goes to the same church as Elizabeth. And they join us now from Midvale, Utah.
Thank you for being with us.
CHELSEA WINEGAR, FRIEND OF ELIZABETH SMART: Sure.
CHUNG: Laurie, I understand that you just met with your girlfriend. You met with Elizabeth for about 15 minutes. Tell us about the meeting.
LAURIE ANGELL, FRIEND OF ELIZABETH SMART: Oh, it was wonderful to see her again. She looked so cheerful and happy.
CHUNG: And did you hug each other?
ANGELL: Of course.
(LAUGHTER)
CHUNG: No tears, though?
ANGELL: Oh, no.
CHUNG: What did you talk about?
ANGELL: Basically just kind of, like, how you been? And, yes, just general stuff.
CHUNG: Did you tell her what you have been doing in the last few months?
ANGELL: I told her I had ridden my first horse. And she was very impressed.
CHUNG: And what about -- did you ask her any more questions?
ANGELL: Nothing much, just kind of what's -- if she'll be coming to school with me next year. And that's basically it.
CHUNG: And will she be? I think it's East High School?
ANGELL: Yes, I think she will, but that will be for her parents to decide.
CHUNG: I understand you asked her if she was going to move.
ANGELL: Yes.
CHUNG: Why did you ask her that?
ANGELL: Well, before she was kidnapped, her family was planning on moving. And so I was just asking her if they were going to follow through with that.
CHUNG: I see. And what did she say?
ANGELL: She said she wasn't sure, but probably not.
CHUNG: A lot of people were wondering if she would be able to actually sleep in her own bed, because that was the scene of the crime. Were you surprised that she actually did go home and sleep in her own bed the first night?
ANGELL: I was, actually, because that being the first night that she was even home, I thought she would be going to her grandma's or somewhere. But, yes, it was very surprising to me.
CHUNG: And why was it surprising?
ANGELL: Just because that's where it happened. And I thought it might trigger memories or something like that.
CHUNG: Chelsea, do you think -- you've seen pictures, of course, of Elizabeth now. Do you think she looks more grown up?
WINEGAR: I think she just looks exactly like she did when she left.
CHUNG: And how does she look to you?
WINEGAR: She looks great.
(LAUGHTER)
CHUNG: I'm sure you have seen these pictures of her in which her face is covered, she's wearing a veil. What goes through your mind when you see her in this garb?
WINEGAR: I -- wow, like, she's just -- we could have seen her on the streets and not recognized her. It's weird.
CHUNG: Yes.
Laurie, I know that you prayed for your girlfriend a lot. What did you pray for?
ANGELL: I prayed that she was safe, and that she knew we all loved her, and that she was able to keep an open mind and have her wits about her.
CHUNG: And I believe there was one portion of your prayer that I was really a little curious about. You said that if you thought she was being tortured -- would you follow through with that for me?
ANGELL: Oh, well, if -- we didn't know who the kidnapper was or why he took her. But it was just that it's so horrible and there are many horrible things that they could have done to her. And so, yes.
CHUNG: You thought about that possibility.
ANGELL: Yes.
CHUNG: Chelsea, I understand you're going to see her tomorrow. What are you going to say to her?
WINEGAR: That I'm glad she's back and that I love her and just talk to her about stuff that's happened.
CHUNG: Tell me, were you worried about her?
WINEGAR: I was very worried.
CHUNG: Did you think she was going to survive?
WINEGAR: I knew she was going to survive.
CHUNG: Why?
WINEGAR: Because of her willpower and how strong she is with everything.
CHUNG: All right, I thank you so much for being with us. It was great to talk to you. And good luck with your get-together again. And I'm sure she'll be thrilled to see both of you, Chelsea and Laurie. Appreciate your being with us.
WINEGAR: Thank you.
CHUNG: A little later: a look back at the moment when the news broke of Elizabeth's rescue.
When we come back: a voice from the past -- four voices, to be specific, John, Paul, George and Ringo -- right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHUNG: We have some thoughts on the impact of the Elizabeth Smart case coming up.
Right now, though, tonight's "Snapshot" starts off with news about the Fab Four.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHUNG (voice-over): A blast from the past today: Beatles songs, lost tracks from the "Let It Be" sessions, were played on National Public Radio's Web-only music show "All Songs Considered."
Anti-war protesters are coming under fire from a growing pro- America movement. These demonstrators say they are waging a campaign to support U.S. troops.
A surveillance video confirms an Indiana sighting of teenager Lindsey Ryan and the middle-aged convicted killer she disappeared with. Terry Drake is seen making purchases in a store and leaving in his 1995 Dodge Dakota.
ABC's reality TV show "Are You Hot?" has shock jock Howard Stern steaming. He slapped the network with a $100 million lawsuit, claiming the show copies ideas from his radio program.
Someone is about to lose a $51 million fortune. The hefty Powerball jackpot in Indianapolis went unclaimed after yesterday's deadline. But the ticket still could be redeemed if it's turned in by midnight tonight or if it's postmarked.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) CHUNG: Yesterday, we talked about the difficulty in choosing our "Person of the Day," considering how many people contributed to the safe return of Elizabeth Smart. That was about what they did for her.
Today, what she has done for us makes Elizabeth Smart our "Person of the Day."
This week, Americans lived on the brink of war. Despite the president's upcoming summit, they saw the chasm widen between America and some of its traditional allies. And Americans said goodbye to thousands of military men and women shipping out. And that's just this week. The economy is still struggling and the threat of terrorism at home, new terrorism at home, remains ever present.
In that context, Elizabeth Smart's return was welcome good news for the nation, as well as for those who love her.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ED SMART, FATHER OF ELIZABETH SMART: It's real. It's real. And the prayers of the world have brought Elizabeth home.
CHIP BURRESS, FBI SPECIAL AGENT: What a great day for the state of Utah, right? Darn right. Up there in that interview room, you got a boatload of officers. You can't wipe the smiles off their face. They're so excited to have her back.
RICK DINSE, SALT LAKE CITY POLICE: The result is a happy result. We're glad she is free. We're glad she is home. And there isn't an investigator in this investigation that isn't happy and pleased that she's home and feels tremendous about that.
DAVID SMART, UNCLE OF ELIZABETH SMART: An incredible miracle that has been brought to our family.
Do miracles still exist? And the answer is yes. And we have Elizabeth back.
E. SMART: I am so, so very glad that this has a happy ending.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHUNG: That happy ending gave the entire nation a chance to cheer at a time when any chance is so dearly appreciated, even if the reason is nothing more than the happy smile of a 15-year-old girl back in the arms of her family.
On Monday, after a big weekend building up to possible war, we'll talk with the strategist for General Norman Schwarzkopf, what history might show us as we look ahead to another possible conflict.
And coming up next on "LARRY KING LIVE": more on the latest developments in the Elizabeth Smart case.
And that's our program for tonight. Thank you so much for joining us. And for all of us at CNN, good night, have a great weekend, and we'll see you next week.
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