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http://www.sltrib.com/2002/aug/08012...s/ut_smart.jpg

Ed Smart didn’t know what to think when Sandy police called him and asked him to come to the station without stopping for any reason. When he arrived he learned his daughter Elizabeth missing for nine months had been found.

“They took me to a room, when they opened the door she was there,” Ed Smart said. “I just went over and grabbed her. She was very quiet, I just held there, I was just holding her the whole time.”

Smart said he called his wife Lois and gave her the news.

“I called her on the phone and I said I have her here with me, You’re not going to believe it I’ve got her here with me,” Smart said. “I’m so thankful that she is going to be part of our family again.”

Elizabeth’s father said his daughter appeared in good health and articulate. The father talked about the reunion between Elizabeth and her sister Mary Katherine.

“It was so sweet, they just hugged and kissed,” he said.

Mary Katherine was with Elizabeth the night a man entered a bedroom at the Smart home and took the teen. Smart said he now has information that Elizabeth was kidnapped at knifepoint and not at gunpoint as was originally reported.

Smart said he did not have details about the ordeal his daughter faced over the last nine months. Police say Brian David Mitchell, a self proclaimed prophet, was found with Elizabeth. Police believe she was with Mitchell and that the drifter may have abducted her.

When asked if his daughter had changed, Smart answered “ I don’t know”.

He said he spent about 45 minutes with his daughter as they rode from the Sandy police department to the Salt Lake Police station. He said he didn’t question his daughter extensively “I just held her and I just sat there.”

Smart said he is grateful to the media, the police and all the volunteers who helped search for Elizabeth.

“I’ve always had a feeling she was alive,” Smart said. “Every night we prayed”

Smart said he hoped his daughter would be home Wednesday night after talking for hours with police.

“I'm just looking forward to having her home, I just want her home, Smart said.

Elizabeth’s father again reiterated his support for a nationwide “Amber Alert” system to immediately notify the public after a child abduction. He also offered prayers and hope for the families of other missing children. “I’m just hoping that other parents have this happy ending.”