Kidnapping survivor Elizabeth Smart gets married in Hawaii


By NBC News, msnbc.com staff and news services

SALT LAKE CITY -- Elizabeth Smart, who was kidnapped at age 14 from her Salt Lake City home and held for what she described as "nine months of hell," married her fiance in Hawaii on Saturday, surrounded by only immediate family.

 Smart, 24, and Matthew Gilmour became engaged in January, initially announcing a summer wedding. According to the Smart family spokesperson, NBC station KSL of Salt Lake City reported, those plans changed a week ago in order to avoid attention to the unscheduled ceremony in the Laie Hawaii Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Oahu.

The couple and family were celebrating with a private reception and luau, after which Smart and Gilmour were leaving for an extended honeymoon, KSL said.

"Elizabeth is grateful to be celebrating her special day with those closest to her without distraction," family spokesman Chris Thomas said. "Her wedding further demonstrates it is possible to rise above challenging circumstance to lead a happy and productive life."

At age 14, Smart was kidnapped at knifepoint in June 2002 from her parents' home by Brian David Mitchell.

Smart was held captive and sexually abused for nine months and forced to wander with her captor from town to town for nine months. In March 2003, Smart was rescued when passersby spotted her with Mitchell and his wife, Wanda Barzee, in a Salt Lake suburb.

Smart testified against Mitchell, who was convicted of kidnapping and rape in 2010 by the U.S. District Court. He is serving a life sentence and Barzee is serving 15 years in federal prison.

Smart is an activist for children who suffer abuse and has formed a foundation on their behalf. She has worked as a commentator for ABC News.

Gilmour is from Scotland. The two apparently met while Smart was serving an LDS mission in France last year. People Magazine reported the couple will return to Salt Lake City to live.

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