Elizabeth Smart to be ABC commentator

NEW YORK, July 8 (UPI) -- One-time kidnap victim Elizabeth Smart is to serve as a special contributor to ABC News regarding missing person stories, The Hollywood Reporter said.

Smart was kidnapped from her Salt Lake City home in 2002 when she was 14. She was held captive and sexually abused for eight months before she was discovered and rescued.

"She'll help our viewers better understand missing person stories from someone with the perspective to know what a family experiences when a loved one goes missing," ABC News spokeswoman Julie Townsend told the entertainment industry trade newspaper.

Smart is expected to make her first appearance on ABC News in the next few weeks, the report said.