Brian David Mitchell and Wanda Barzee
It may have been the most sensational case ever broken by a TV show. Nine months after being abducted from her bedroom in the middle of the night, teenager Elizabeth Smart (pictured) was returned to her family after witnesses recognized one of her alleged kidnappers, Brian David Mitchell, from his appearance on America's Most Wanted. On March 12, 2003 — after months of candlelight vigils, mounted police patrols and a $250,000 reward offered by her family failed to speed Elizabeth's return — Mitchell was spotted walking on the side of the road just outside Salt Lake City, Utah, with two women wearing robes and veils, just weeks after he was named on the show as a possible suspect. Witnesses called with tips about the bizarre trio, and police subsequently discovered that one of the women was Elizabeth — disguised in a wig, but alive and well. The other woman — Wanda Barzee, Mitchell's wife — also played a role in the abduction and was later sentenced to 15 years in prison for aggravated kidnapping, aggravated sexual assault and aggravated burglary. Mitchell has yet to be sentenced, as he was declared mentally incompetent and is still considered "unfit" to stand trial.