Jane Bright, Survivor: Nicaragua Contestant, Dead at 71
Onetime Survivor contestant Jane Bright, who competed on Survivor: Nicaragua in 2010, has died. She was 71.
Bright's death was announced by her daughter Ashley Hammett in a Facebook post on Thursday.
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'Today Jane Hammett Bright was found passed away within her home by a good friend and county sheriff,' Hammett wrote. Further details, including a cause of death, were not disclosed.
Bright, a dog trainer from Jackson Springs, N.C., was a castaway on Survivor's 21st season, which took place in the San Juan del Sur region of Nicaragua. Originally a member of the Espada tribe, Bright ultimately finished in sixth place (out of 20 contestants), though she did go on to pocket $100,000 as the winner of that season's Fan Favorite Award, known as the Sprint Player of the Season.
Bright's time on Survivor was marked not only by her skill in the challenges, but by a memorable rivalry with tribemate Marty Piombo.
Survivor favorite Sandra Diaz-Twine was among those to honor Bright on social media Thursday, writing in an Instagram post, 'Rest in heavenly peace.'
How will you remember Bright, fans? Leave your commemorations in a comment below.
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Mitchell and Barzee first met in the mid-1980s at a group counseling session in Salt Lake City run by the Mormon church, The New Yorker reported. At the time, Mitchell's marriage to his second wife, Debbie, was falling apart amidst allegations that he had abused Debbie's two younger children from a previous marriage, according to CNN. Meanwhile, Barzee alleged in court that she was in the process of ending a 20-year abusive marriage while also losing custody of her six children, per CNN. The two were married within nine months of their first meeting, on Nov. 29, 1985 — the day Mitchell's divorce was finalized, Deseret News reported. In the following years, Mitchell worked as a die cutter at O.C. Tanner, while Barzee stayed home to practice and study the organ. Both were active members in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. But by the mid-1990s, all of that changed when Mitchell quit his job and stopped paying taxes, according to CNN. 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'There were no secrets. She knew what was going on.' In July 2002, seven weeks after Elizabeth was taken, Mitchell attempted to abduct Elizabeth's cousin, 18-year-old Jessica Wright. Mitchell allegedly cut through Wright's bedroom window screen and attempted to enter her room using a chair he placed below the window — similar to how he had broken into Elizabeth's home, according to ABC News. However, in Wright's case, Mitchell fled when the family dog began barking. 'When I heard that, I thought they were trying to get a companion for Elizabeth,' her uncle David told PEOPLE in March 2003. 'We were like, 'No question, she's alive.' ' Elizabeth later revealed in her 2018 book, When There's Hope: Healing, Moving Forward, and Never Giving Up, that Mitchell had attempted to kidnap another girl while she was in captivity. According to Elizabeth's recollection, Mitchell began looking for his 'next wife' and searched local churches for young girls. He befriended a Mormon family in El Cajon, Calif., and after learning they had a young daughter, selected her as 'his next victim,' Elizabeth wrote. One night, Mitchell left their campsite dressed in dark clothes and with a knife in hand to kidnap the young girl. However, his plan was foiled when he entered the home and was alarmed by a man snoring. The sound compelled Mitchell to leave and abandon his plans to take the young girl. 'I know most people consider snoring a health risk or an annoyance, but in the case of this young girl, it saved her life,' Elizabeth wrote. The road to rescuing Elizabeth — and catching her captors — got its first break in October 2002, when Elizabeth's sister Mary Katherine told her parents she remembered who had taken her sister. Mary Katherine revealed it was the worker she knew as 'Immanuel,' and Ed knew immediately it was the man who had worked on their roof, PEOPLE previously reported. Based on Mary Katherine's recollections, a police sketch of Mitchell was revealed in February 2003. Following the police sketch, Mitchell's sister came forward and provided photos, which were then featured on a February episode of America's Most Wanted. Additional photos of Mitchell were shown for a second time on the program in March. On March 12, 2003, two separate couples who had seen America's Most Wanted spotted Mitchell walking around Sandy, Utah, with two females and called 911, PEOPLE reported at the time. When they were approached by police officers, Elizabeth — who was disguised in a gray wig and sunglasses — claimed her name was Augustine Marshall. At the police station, Elizabeth eventually confirmed her identity and was reunited with her family, while Mitchell and Barzee were arrested on suspicion of aggravated kidnapping, The New York Times reported. Due to delays, mental evaluations and competency hearings, it took nearly eight years for Barzee and Mitchell to be brought to trial for the kidnapping of Elizabeth. In November 2009, Barzee pleaded guilty to kidnapping and unlawful transportation of a minor in a deal with prosecutors, The New York Times reported. As part of her plea deal, Barzee also agreed to cooperate in the case against her estranged husband, Mitchell. (Barzee filed for divorce in November 2004, per the outlet.) In exchange for her guilty plea and cooperation, Barzee was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison, according to The New York Times. 'I am so sorry, Elizabeth, for all the pain and suffering I have caused you and your family,' Barzee said in court. 'It is my hope that you will be able to find it in your heart to forgive me.' Mitchell's trial began in November 2010, and his defense tried to argue he was not guilty by reason of insanity, but was found competent to stand trial, per The Seattle Times. In December 2010, a jury found Mitchell guilty of kidnapping and transporting a minor across state lines with the intent to engage in sexual activity, The New York Times reported. He was sentenced to life in prison. After getting arrested by Utah authorities in March 2003, Barzee spent the next several years in custody when she pled guilty in November 2009. She was subsequently sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for her role in Elizabeth's abduction, but received credit for time served. In 2016, Barzee was transferred from a federal prison to a Utah state prison to begin serving her separate one-to-15-year sentence for the attempted abduction of Elizabeth's cousin, NBC reported. However, in June 2018, Barzee's attorney requested that she receive credit toward her state sentence for her time spent in federal prison. Utah parole officials initially denied that request and set Barzee's sentence to run until January 2024. But the parole board unexpectedly reversed that decision in September 2018 — ruling that, after 'further review and advice from legal counsel,' Barzee's time spent in federal prison, as well as in a state hospital and jail, must be credited toward her current term. The news left Elizabeth 'surprised and disappointed,' she revealed in a statement at the time, per KSL. 'It is incomprehensible how someone who has not cooperated with her mental health evaluations or risk assessments and someone who did not show up to her own parole hearing can be released into our community,' Elizabeth said in her statement. During a press conference, Elizabeth urged the parole board to reconsider their decision. 'I do believe she's a threat,' she said about Barzee. 'I believe that she is a danger and a threat to any vulnerable person in our community, which is why our community should be worried.' Barzee was let out of prison on Sept. 19, 2018, and began five years of federal supervised release. She was first placed in a halfway house before moving into an apartment in Salt Lake City near an elementary school, The Salt Lake Tribune reported. Following her early release, Elizabeth spoke out about how she refused to let the past affect her present happiness. 'I'm not gonna let these people or this woman stop me from living the life that I want to live, and that's how I still feel,' she said. Most recently, in May 2025, Barzee was arrested for violating her parole. She allegedly visited parks in Salt Lake City, which she is restricted from doing due to her status as a registered sex offender. A spokesperson for the Salt Lake City Police (SLCP) told PEOPLE that "detectives developed information." Barzee was later released on judicial orders and the SLCP will continue monitoring the situation, requiring her to do weekly check-ins. While Barzee was released early from prison, Mitchell has been serving a life sentence with no possibility of parole since being convicted in 2010. Mitchell is currently an inmate at the United States Penitentiary, Terre Haute, a high-level security federal prison in Indiana, per its inmate directory. With Mitchell behind bars, Elizabeth revealed she does not spend much time thinking about the man who permanently altered the course of her life over two decades ago. 'They're not people that I think of regularly,' she told PEOPLE about her captors in September 2024. 'I guess every now and then, part of me wonders how you could get to a point where you would think it's okay to kidnap a young girl.' Mitchell, she added, 'should never get out' of prison. 'I just think no matter what, if he got out, he would be a danger if not to me than to another young girl,' Elizabeth said. 'I think he will always pose a threat.' Read the original article on People
