As Elizabeth Smart's birthday draws near, her family is still hopeful for her return and is now focusing efforts to help others who have felt the same loss.

"It's been an emotional roller coaster from the beginning, and this is just another turn," said Chris Thomas, spokesman for the Smart family. "The family still feels strongly that Elizabeth is alive and it is a difficult time to not be with her, but they feel this is a time to celebrate her life."

For Elizabeth's 15th birthday Sunday, the family will celebrate her life at one of her favorite places, Disneyland.

In the five months since the young woman was taken at gunpoint from her bedroom, as many as 15,000 community volunteers have participated in the search.

As the community interests wane, the family channels feelings of uncertainty towards empowering people to be proactive in similar situations.

Thomas said people tend to become sheltered and shy away from the media when a crisis happens, but the family has tried to bring to light the national epidemic of child kidnapping.

During the first week of October, Ed and Lois Smart and other members of the family went to Washington D.C. to lobby support of a legislation called the "Comprehensive child protection act of 2002." The bill would cover doubling penalties of people who abduct children, battling virtual pornography, and helping coordinate local and FBI law enforcement.

The Smart family has also expressed support for the passage of the national Amber alert bill.

"At this time we feel the greatest thing Elizabeth wants is the Amber Alert to go in effect," said Ed Smart at Jim Matheson and Chris Cannon's Tuesday's press conference.

"The Smarts have been working so hard at legislation because they believe that every child deserves the same attention and resources [Elizabeth] has received," said Thomas.

Elizabeth's uncle, David Smart, is also developing a software program to help other families set up their own Web site, like www.elizabethsmart.com, to provide a vehicle to help organize volunteer searches and give training for searches.

Thomas said at the height of the abduction, the site was getting two million hits a day, as well as several e-mails of condolences and tips.

"In a sense, she is the quintessential girl, who represents boys and girls of all ages and races when sometone entered in her home and took her at gunpoint," said Dwayne Baird, detective for the Salt Lake City police.

With no new leads or prime suspects, the police are weary but hopeful. "We've just exhausted about all our resources. I think the public is as frustrated as we are," Baird.

But until she is found, we cannot forget, Baird said.

Along with the case's national attention, it also was a target for criticism. When Salt Lake City mayor Rocky Anderson met with the local Hispanic community in early October, some people expressed that Elizabeth Smart kidnapping received so much attention and help from the community because she is Caucasian, from an upper socio-class and Mormon.

Baird felt the outpouring of the community was from the effect of Sept. 11 because the nation learned the need to look out for each other more.

"I don't think it has anything to do with she is a blond kid from the east side," Baird said. "It is the public saying they want to look out for anyone of any race. This is a national trend of what we want to do as a nation, society and as a state."

Since then, eleven states have enacted Amber alerts.

"As difficult as it has been, Ed and Lois said it has brought their family and their marriage closer together," Thomas said.



Copyright Brigham Young University 31 Oct 2002