() Elizabeth Smart, who was kidnapped at the age of 14 and held for nine months in 2002, calls the discovery of reported kidnap victim Abdul Aziz Khan “a miracle” and says it serves as a powerful reminder that “we cannot give up on any missing person.”

Khan was reportedly kidnapped from Atlanta in 2017 by his noncustodial mother. 

“We don’t know what he went through, and as a survivor myself, I’m grateful that I was kidnapped by a stranger,” Smart said during an exclusive appearance on “Banfield.” “I’m grateful I was raped and abused by a stranger because I can’t imagine how deep that betrayal would feel if it was by a family member.”

Smart also stressed that “We can’t judge what he’s been through or brush it off as not being that bad just because it was his (alleged) mother who kidnapped him…”

Khan was safely located last month along with another younger child, and two people have been arrested on kidnapping charges.

In late February, deputies with the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office were called to a home in Highlands Ranch, about 20 miles south of Denver, to investigate a reported burglary in progress.

When deputies arrived at the home, they found two children in a vehicle parked in the driveway. The two suspects, a man and woman, exited the house and told deputies they were associated with the Realtor. However, the sheriff’s office said their story began to unravel as they worked for four hours to identify the couple.

The woman was identified as 40-year-old Rabia Khalid, who had an active warrant for kidnapping. The man was identified as 42-year-old Elliot Blake Bourgeois.

Child went missing out of Georgia in 2017

Khalid had previously been accused of abducting Khan from Atlanta in November 2017.

Khan’s family is from Louisiana, authorities said, but had moved from New Orleans to Atlanta when Khalid got a new job. According to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, over time, Khalid reportedly made it difficult for Khan’s father to see the boy, and the parents entered a bitter custody battle.

Ahead of a custody hearing in November 2017, NCMEC said it was clear Khalid was about to lose custody of Khan. That’s when she allegedly kidnapped the boy. In 2020, a warrant was issued for Khalid’s arrest.

Denver affiliate KDVR contributed to this report.