Elizabeth Smart To Visit Wisconsin, Speak With Barron Community

Former kidnapping victim Elizabeth Smart is headed to Wisconsin in the wake of Jayme Closs' return home.

The public figure will visit Barron, Wisconsin next week to meet with members of the community. The Barron County Sheriff's Department shared the news Wednesday afternoon on their Facebook page.

Smart will host a "town hall" type of event at the Barron Area Community Center. She will be talking about her experience as a kidnapping victim and how to move forward.

The visit will be on Friday, March 15th. Doors open at 6 p.m sharp and Smart will speak from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. The event is free and open the public.

Elizabeth Smart was abducted in 2002 and held in captivity for nine months before being reunited with her family. Since then, she's written a New York Times Bestseller and now works as an advocate for child abduction and recovery programs, among many other things.

Many compared her ordeal with that of Jayme Closs, who was found alive and safe in early January after being missing for nearly three months. The case hit close to home for us here in the Northland, as both Barron and Gordon, the area where Closs was held captive, are both just a short drive away.