Continued from page 2

A Family Once More

Thursday October 23, 2003 12:13 PM EDT

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MARCH 12, 2003: A SIGHTING
Witnesses began to call 911 after recognizing Brian David Mitchell from the most recent airing of America's Most Wanted. The first call came from Anita and Alvin Dickerson, who had spotted a bearded man and two women walking on the street near a Kinko's in Sandy, Utah. Sandy police officer Karen Jones was nearby when the 911 call came in. She approached the trio and separated Brian David Mitchell for questioning. She asked his name and for some identification. Mitchell responded with a pseudonym, "Peter Marshall." He said his wife's name was Juliette and their daughter was Augustine.

Officers repeatedly asked the young girl in the veil her name. "Augustine," she said three times. "I know you think I'm that Elizabeth Smart girl who ran away, but I'm not." Officer Troy Rasmussen said he could see her heart beating through her shirt.

ELIZABETH IS FOUND
ED: I was sitting in my office, working, when the phone rang. It was Detective Parks. He told me to drop everything I was doing, don't call anyone, and to go straight to the Sandy police station. As we approached a closed-off room, the officer said to me, "We think we found a homeless girl that might be Elizabeth." The door was opened, and I was stunned. There, sitting on a sofa, very quiet and subdued, was a girl with her arms folded. She looked like a homeless girl. She was taller, bigger, more mature-looking than Elizabeth. She was unkempt. Her face was round, swollen from being outdoors in the sun. I wasn't certain at first that it was her. I went over and put my arms around her and just started bawling. I held her back, looked her in the eyes, and said, "Is it really you, Elizabeth?"

"Yes, Dad."

I grabbed Elizabeth and held her close to me. I never wanted to let go.

LOIS: When we arrived at the station, I was stunned when I saw her for the first time. It was not Elizabeth – at least not my Elizabeth. Her hair was in two French braids – a way she had never worn her hair before she was taken. Her shoulders had developed from carrying a heavy backpack. This Elizabeth didn't look anything like the little girl in the missing posters. It was very hard to see her like that. I grabbed Elizabeth and hugged her as tightly as I could. She held on to me, digging her fingers into my back.