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(Salt Lake City-AP) -- The father of kidnap victim Elizabeth Smart says the abductor got into his house by cutting a screen window that night in June.
Some reports had suggested that the screen window had been cut from the inside -- casting doubt on just how the kidnapper entered the house. At a news conference this morning, Ed Smart forcefully proclaimed that the screen was cut from the outside. He also says the kidnapper had a knife -- not a gun -- as the crime's only witness, the victim's nine-year-old sister, had originally said.
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Father Ed Smart said last night -- Elizabeth's first at home in more than nine months -- was a chance to begin getting back to normal.
Ed Smart says family members encouraged 15-year-old Elizabeth to play her harp -- which she did, though she complained of being a little out of practice. They also watched Elizabeth's favorite video, "Trouble with Angels."
Ed Smart refused to say much about what Elizabeth might have gone through during her captivity. He did say that Elizabeth had heard searchers calling her name shortly after she was taken -- but for some reason, she couldn't answer them. The girl was apparently unaware of the nationwide search to find her in the following months.
(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
