Elizabeth Smart's Kidnapper Wanda Barzee Smiles in Recent Sex Offender Registry Photo: Here's Why She Went to Prison

• Wanda Barzee, who was convicted of kidnapping Elizabeth Smart and holding her captive for 9 months, is listed on Utah’s Sex Offender Registry
• Barzee is seen smiling in her most recent sex registry photo, which all offenders are required to update
• On May 1, she was taken into custody after violating her parole

Wanda Barzee, the woman who helped hold Elizabeth Smart captive for nine months, is on Utah’s Sex Offender Registry — and it appears that she couldn’t be happier about it.

Barzee, 79, is seen beaming at the camera in an updated mugshot for the sex offender registry, which provides information to the public, law enforcement agencies, businesses and other entities about sex offenders in the state and is publicly available online. 

Those on the registry in Utah are required to check in twice a year – once on their birthday and then again exactly six months later. At those check-ins, they may take new photographs if their appearance is markedly different.

Barzee is now required to do weekly check-ins after her arrest for allegedly visiting parks in Salt Lake City, which she is restricted from doing due to her status as a registered sex offender.

“Detectives developed information that Barzee had allegedly visited at least two parks in Salt Lake City, including Liberty Park and Sugar House Park, in violation of state law,” Brent Weisberg, a spokesperson for the department, told PEOPLE.

Barzee was later released on judicial orders. However, the SLCP said it will continue to monitor this situation moving forward as part of a joint effort with other agencies.

“While the criminal prosecution in this matter remains our priority, our SLCPD social workers and crisis intervention detectives will continue utilizing our co-response model to help ensure that appropriate resources and safety plans are made available as the case progresses through the justice system,” Weisberg said.

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Barzee was initially arrested with her husband, Brian David Mitchell, in 2003 after they kidnapped Smart in 2002 and held her captive for close to a year, moving between rundown houses and abandoned campsites in Utah and the San Diego area.

During the time that Smart was held captive, she was subjected to near-daily sexual assaults by Mitchell. Smart discussed Barzee’s participation in the assaults, saying she would encourage her husband and often be present while the teenager was being abused by Mitchell. 

The public was alerted to Mitchell and Barzee’s identities after Smart’s sister, who witnessed the kidnapping, recalled that the man whose voice she heard that night was the same man who had previously been hired to do work at the family’s home.

Photos of Mitchell and Barzee then ran on America’s Most Wanted around the same time the two started appearing in public with Smart, leading to a person recognizing the pair and contacting authorities.

Despite being arrested in 2003, Barzee did not stand trial on federal charges until 2009 and state charges until 2010.

Before that, she had been deemed mentally unfit, and in 2006, a judge in Utah signed off on forcibly medicating Barzee in hopes that she might be competent to stand trial.

That seemed to work, and in 2009, she entered a guilty plea to federal charges of kidnapping and enticement of a minor.

She also struck a deal with prosecutors, agreeing to testify against Mitchell at his state and federal trials.

In 2010, she entered a guilty plea to aggravated kidnapping in Utah.

Barzee then went to Texas, where she served out her federal sentence until 2016, at which time she returned to Utah.

Two years later, Barzee was released from prison, having gotten credit for the seven years she spent in custody before both her sentences.

That release date came as a surprise to Smart, who said in interviews at the time that she had not anticipated Barzee would be released from prison until 2024.

In a 2018 interview with CBS This Morning, Smart alleged that Barzee still worshipped Mitchell.

She told Gayle King that prison sources allegedly informed her that Barzee still carries around a “book of revelations” that Mitchell wrote while posing as a Christ-like religious figure.

“Hearing that she’s still carrying that around and still holding onto me, holding onto that. I find that very discomforting,” Smart said. “I think that she is a danger because, clearly, she hasn’t let it go. 

“She is still a big threat, and not just to me but to the public in general,” Smart said of Barzee. “I mean, to any person who’s vulnerable out there.”

If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.