California
Elizabeth Smart beams in bikini on family trip to California after recently celebrating 21st anniversary of kidnapping rescue
Kidnapping survivor and activist Elizabeth Smart enjoyed some fun in the sun on a family trip this week in Palm Springs, California.
Smart, 36, shared snippets of the getaway on social media, showing her poolside and sporting an array of swimsuits in between dips with her kids, board game sessions and family dinners.
The married mom of three last month celebrated the 21st anniversary of her rescue after being kidnapped at knifepoint at 14 years old from her Salt Lake City home in 2002.
She spent a grueling nine months at the hands of religious fanatic Brian David Mitchell and his wife, Wanda Barzee, who drugged, starved and raped her.
“Pool time equals best time,” she wrote in one post to her Instagram Story with her goggle-glad daughters on her lap.
In other photos, Smart posed at a Mexican restaurant with her crew, smiled next to a completed “Star Wars” puzzle and snuggled up to her husband, musician Matthew Gilmour, the Daily Mail reported.
She posed in beachwear including a fashionable black cover-up, oversized sunglasses and a sexy black bikini and linked the spring break necessities for her 245,000 followers.
In another, she threw her head back and floated in a turquoise suit that matched the serene water.
The trip, which her father and his husband also took part in, was a well-deserved break for the activist, film producer, author and television commentator.
Smart has become an outspoken advocate for kidnapped children and sexual assault victims and founded the Elizabeth Smart Foundation in 2011. She also launched Smart Defense, a program for teaching women the skills to defend themselves.
Last month, she celebrated the passage of a bill on child sexual abuse prevention in Utah that she helped advocate for.
Smart is now producing a Lifetime film on Tanya Kach, who was kidnapped in 1995 and held captive for a decade by her middle school security guard, People Magazine reported.
“My life is far from perfect but I’m so happy and grateful for the life I have today,” Smart wrote in a Facebook post on the anniversary of her rescue.
“When I was kidnapped, I thought I’d never finish school, go to college, fall in love, get married, or have a family,” Smart continued. “I thought every dream I had for myself was stolen. For me, today is a celebration of all the happy moments of my life, and a reminder to never give up.”
Smart was found about 14 miles from her home on March 12, 2003.
Mitchell was sentenced in 2011 and is serving two life terms. Barzee was released from prison in 2018 despite pleas to keep her locked up.
Loved ones are searching for a Southern California girl who has been missing for more than six months.
Keylin Reyes-Moreno, 15, was reported missing on Sept. 22, 2025, according to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC).
Reyes-Moreno was last seen in the Pacoima area.
She is 5 feet 6 inches tall and weighs 120 pounds. She has brown hair and dark brown eyes.
She may have been heading to the Los Angeles area when she disappeared.
Her family did not mention any health or mental issues that would’ve contributed to her disappearance. They have not heard from her since and are very concerned for her well-being.
Anyone who may know Keylin Reyes-Moreno’s whereabouts or has information on the case is asked to call NCMEC at 1-800-843-5678 or the Los Angeles Police Department at 877-275-5273.
RIVERSIDE, Calif. — Crews were making progress Saturday battling a fast-growing and smoky wildfire in southern California that broke out Friday morning, prompting mandatory evacuations and warnings.
Now encompassing roughly 6.3 square miles (about 16 square kilometers) east of Moreno Valley in Riverside County, the Springs Fire was 45% percent contained on Saturday, according to a state website. It was 25% contained on Friday.
More than a dozen zones in the county remained under mandatory evacuation orders or evacuation warnings, while six have been dropped. It was not immediately known how many households were affected by the orders.
Firefighters were battling strong winds. The National Weather Service issued an advisory for 15 mph to 20 mph winds, with gusts up to 45 mph, into Saturday afternoon. An air quality alert has also been issued for harmful fine particle pollution levels due to wildfire smoke.
Hundreds of people have been battling the blaze using helicopters, engines and water tenders. It’s located in a populated unincorporated part of Riverside County, in a recreational area near the city of Moreno Valley, which has a population of roughly 200,000. The city is 10 miles southeast of Riverside and 64 miles east of Los Angeles.
RIVERSIDE, Calif. — A smoky and fast-growing wildfire Friday in windy Southern California has prompted multiple evacuation orders and warnings.
The Springs Fire broke out at around 11 a.m. Friday and by the evening had grown to about 5.47 square miles (14.17 square kilometers), with fire crews starting to contain it. The cause of the fire east of Moreno Valley in Riverside County is under investigation. It was not immediately known how many households are under evacuation warnings or orders.
The fire was burning in a populated — but not densely so — unincorporated part of Riverside County, in a recreational area near the city of Moreno Valley, which has a population of roughly 200,000. The city is 10 miles (16 kilometers) southeast of Riverside and 64 miles (103 kilometers) east of Los Angeles.
“It’s windy out there,” said Maggie Cline De La Rosa, a public information officer for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection in Riverside County.
Alex Izaguirre, a spokesperson for the Cal Fire Riverside County, said the wind is “spreading the smoke,” prompting concerned calls from residents in neighboring cities who can see and smell the smoke.
The National Weather Service issued a wind advisory for San Bernardino and Riverside County valleys through Saturday afternoon, with gusts of up to 50 mph (80 kph) expected.
“Tree limbs could be blown down and a few power outages may result,” the advisory read.
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