Elizabeth Smart To Tell Her Abduction Story at Carthage

KENOSHA COUNTY, WI — Elizabeth Smart lived to tell the story of her own child abduction and 9-month captivity. She is telling her story at Carthage College in an event that is open to the public.

The Fight to End Exploitation (FEE), RUUD Family Foundation and Carthage College are bringing Elizabeth Smart to Carthage College on Friday, September 22, 2017 at 7 pm. The event is open to the public. Tickets are $5 per person or free with any student ID and can be purchased athttp://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/3079546.

Students with ID can order a free ticket and print it off and bring with ID to event for free admission. Due to the sensitive nature of this topic, this event is recommended for ages 12 and up.

The event will be held in the A.F. Siebert Chapel and will also include a Q & A with local authorities on human trafficking and child abduction, a special performance by the amazing indie rock band Well-Known Strangers, and book signing and opportunity to purchase the book, “Elizabeth Smart, My Story”.

The abduction of Elizabeth Smart was one of the most followed child abduction cases of our time. Elizabeth was abducted on June 5, 2002, and her captors controlled her by threatening to kill her and her family if she tried to escape. Fortunately, the police safely returned Elizabeth back to her family on March 12, 2003 after being held prisoner for 9 grueling months. Through this traumatic experience Elizabeth has become an advocate for change related to child abduction, recovery programs and National legislation. Elizabeth triumphantly testified before her captor and the world about the very private nightmare she suffered during her abduction, which lead to conviction.

The Founder of the Elizabeth Smart Foundation, Elizabeth has also helped promote The National AMBER Alert, The Adam Walsh Child Protection & Safety Act and other safety legislation to help prevent abductions. Elizabeth advocates for victims of human trafficking through her speaking events. She has also chronicled her experiences in the New York Times best-selling book, “My Story.”

The I-94 Project is a cross-collaboration between many organizations, agencies and community members to fight human trafficking across southeastern Wisconsin. The Project aimed to create the largest amount of awareness to date along the I-94 corridor between Illinois and Milwaukee during peak summer travel season from Memorial Day to Labor Day 2017.

It was seen by over 7 million travelers and approximately 35,000 southeastern Wisconsin residents during this time. This event concludes the I-94 Project 2017 campaign.

To find out more about the I-94 Project, go to www.I-94project.com. The I-94 Project is developed and administrated by Fight to End Exploitation (FEE), a Wisconsin-based 501(c)(3) whose mission is to be a collaborative network that advocates for victims and educates the communities. FEE is supported partially by the Racine Community Foundation. To learn more:www.fighttoendexploitation.org.

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