By Noelle Lau
'Elizabeth, I miss you playing the harp, playing games with me,' said Mary Katherine Smart. 'Please come back to us.'
The siblings of Elizabeth Smart, the Salt Lake City girl who was kidnapped from her home June 5 of last year, spoke out for the first time on '48 Hours Investigates.'
In the seven months following the June kidnapping, Elizabeth''s parents, Ed and Lois Smart, had not allowed their children to be interviewed by the media until Friday night Jan. 10.
CBS reporter Jane Clayson spoke with Mary Katherine and Elizabeth''s four brothers.
The children''s faces were shadowed for their protection and Clayson was forbidden from asking Mary Katherine, the only eyewitness to the abduction, any questions relating to the night Elizabeth was kidnapped at gunpoint.
Each of the children was asked to share their thoughts and feelings on Elizabeth.
When Mary Katherine was asked what she would like to say to the kidnapper if he was listening she responded immediately.
'I''d say that I wish you''d let her go because she means a lot to us,' she said.
Clayson asked Ed and Lois to share how they respond to Mary Katherine when she talks of Elizabeth''s abduction and they described her as a very brave girl.
'I want the world to know how brave and courageous she was. Because in a nine-year-old''s mind, it could have been her whole family gone and she was the only one there,' Lois said. 'And she absolutely did the right thing. And I want her to know that. That we are so proud of her, she did the right thing.'
Ed and Lois say they worry about how this experience has affected all of their children, especially Mary Katherine.
'I think she has actually encased this little situation and probably put it somewhere for the time being,' Lois said. 'But I do believe that at some point in her life, she''ll want to deal with it and talk about it.'
During the one-hour special, Clayson revisited the crime scene with Task Force commander Cory Lyman who revealed new information relating to the investigation.
'The point of entry (a ripped screen), I believe was a ruse,' Lyman said. 'I believe that somebody staged it to look legitimate.'
Clayson also visited with the wife of Richard Ricci, the Smart''s former handyman, who remains at the top of the police''s list of potential suspects.
Ricci died three months after Elizabeth''s disappearance from a brain aneurysm while in custody for a violation of his parole.
His wife, Angela Ricci, still claims he is innocent of any involvement in Elizabeth''s disappearance.
'In this life we all have demons,' Angela Ricci said. 'We all have things that we have to conquer, but he had a true heart.' She said her husband 'would never hit a woman; he would never harm a child. He just would not do it.
Despite Angela Ricci''s conviction that her husband was in no way involved with the disappearance of Elizabeth, the Smart''s say they are not convinced.
When Clayson asked Ed and Lois if they thought Ricci had anything to do with the their daughter''s abduction, Lois did not hesitate to say 'Yes.'
The Smart''s say their faith in God and their love for one another keeps them going and hoping for a resolution.
The morning before the 48 Hours show, Ed and Lois joined Salt Lake Mayor Rocky Anderson in announcing an increase in the reward from $25,000 to $45,000.
A $250,000 reward from the Smart family remains for the safe return of their daughter.
Throughout this seven-month nightmare, the Smart''s say their memory of Elizabeth remains sweet.
'She''s not forgotten, and we bring her up continually,' Lois said. 'But it is always in sweet remembrance of the fun things we''ve done.'