Child abduction survivor Elizabeth Smart warns of 'terrifying territory' for today's kids
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Elizabeth Smart was 14 years old when she was kidnapped at knifepoint from her Salt Lake City home. For nine months, she survived on hope.

“[The key to my survival] was truly the belief that my family would love me no matter what and that my family would want me back, no matter what,” the 37-year-old told Fox News Digital. “Maybe nobody else, but my family would. That was worth doing whatever it took to survive.”

Today, Smart is a married mother of three, but her story is far from over. She is a child safety activist who regularly speaks on behalf of missing and exploited children. She’s also partnering with “America’s Most Wanted” to serve as a guest speaker for Monday’s episode of “America’s Most Wanted: Missing Persons.”

Elizabeth Smart wearing a purple sweater and looking down at a phone.

Elizabeth Smart at her Utah home. She told Fox News Digital that now, more than ever, parents need to monitor their children’s activity online. (Chad Kirkland for The Washington Post via Getty Images)

“It makes me sound slightly neurotic, which I suppose I probably am, truth be told,” she said. “But these are my children. I would rather double, triple, quadruple check — no — keep eyes on them [at all times] to ensure their safety than ever look back and have regrets that I didn’t take it seriously enough.”

A close-up of Elizabeth Smart smiling

Today, Elizabeth Smart wants to empower other parents with the tools they need to protect their children from predators. (Taylor Hill/Getty Images)

Smart continues to hope. This time, she’s hopeful that “America’s Most Wanted: Missing Persons” will help raise awareness for families in need.

“These families deserve answers,” she said. “They deserve to be reunited with their loved ones. And I just know that if these stories had the same amount of attention that my story did, we would see a lot of people coming home. We would see a lot more happy endings.”

“America’s Most Wanted: Missing Persons” premieres April 28 at 8 p.,m. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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