Picture the scene: You’re walking downtown, and you see someone who resembles the wanted poster for a suspect in a child abduction 9 months ago. Do you (1) trust your judgment and call the police or (2) shrug it off, assume you must be mistaken, and carry on with your day? The case of Elizabeth Smart highlights four people who found themselves in exactly that situation, and whose courage, awareness, and commitment to being active bystanders played a crucial role in bringing a missing child home.

Elizabeth Smart was abducted from her bedroom in Salt Lake City, Utah, in June 2002 at the age of 14, with her younger sister as the only witness. For nine months, she was held captive by her abductors, Brian David Mitchell and Wanda Barzee, and was moved around a range of locations while disguised with a face-concealing shroud. Several months after the abduction, Elizabeth’s sister Mary Katherine realised that the........

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