Was Smart stalked for months?

Brian David Mitchell may have stalked Elizabeth Smart for months before he allegedly cut through the window screen at the Smart home, kidnapped the teenager at knifepoint, and then took her to the foothills above her house where they camped for two months.

And as details about Elizabeth's nine months in captivity began to emerge Thursday, new questions also arose about Salt Lake police handling of the kidnapping case and Mitchell, a self-proclaimed polygamist.

Police would not comment on a possible motive in the kidnapping or whether Elizabeth was physically or sexually assaulted. But both police and Ed Smart believe she was "brainwashed," or affected psychologically.

"There's clearly a psychological impact that occurred. There's no question she was psychologically affected," Salt Lake Police Chief Rick Dinse said at a press conference.

The Sandy police officers who found her said Elizabeth at first denied who she was, even when the officers said they knew her name was Elizabeth Smart.

"I know you think I'm Elizabeth Smart, but I'm not," she said, telling officers that her name was Augustine.

Also Thursday, Salt Lake Mayor Rocky Anderson said he is seeking an independent investigation of the department to determine if the case was handled properly.

"I anticipate asking some people in our community to help out in an independent review. In doing that, there's no indication anything was done wrong," Anderson said Thursday night after speaking to a group of students at Westminster College of Salt Lake City.

Meanwhile, the Smart family and Salt Lake police apparently have buried any tension between them, although both sides admitted mistakes were made in the police investigation.

For one, Dinse admitted that not releasing a sketch artist drawing of Emmanuel sooner was a mistake.

"Hindsight is 20/20 vision," he said, conceding that all of the investigators involved "wish we had gone public with that photograph sooner."

Dinse said he was also worried that releasing the sketch would generate false leads that would "eat up" valuable time. On Feb. 10, the Smarts released the sketch on their own and received a call from Mitchell's family in less than 24 hours.

Despite the tensions, Ed Smart said that all that mattered was his daughter's safe return.

"We are human. We all make mistakes. We learn and move forward," he said. "We've got her back. That's what counts."

In other new details released Thursday and Friday: