Hannah Anderson rescued James Lee DiMaggio killed as abduction ends

Teenager Hannah Anderson and her alleged abductor James Lee DiMaggio were found at a wilderness campsite in Idaho. Ms. Anderson was rescued safely and Mr. DiMaggio was shot and killed by an FBI tactical team.

By Brad Knickerbocker Staff writer / August 11 2013

Mary Rook of the Salt Lake City FBI speaks during a press conference at the Cascade Fire Station in Cascade Idaho Saturday. The man suspected of kidnapping 16 year old Hannah Anderson was shot dead in Idaho as the girl was rescued.

Robby Milo/AP

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The abduction of California teenager Hannah Anderson by a 40 year old family friend came to a violent end Saturday evening when James Lee DiMaggio was shot and killed by an FBI tactical team in the Idaho wilderness following three days of searching marked by Amber Alerts in five western states.

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Law enforcement authorities report that 16 year old Ms. Anderson was rescued apparently unhurt but taken to an area hospital for evaluation.

Although the main point of the search and rescue mission has been completed many important questions remain to be answered.

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Was Mr. DiMaggio directly responsible for the fire at his home that killed Hannah s mother Christina Anderson and her younger brother Ethan

Did DiMaggio resist arrest or put up a fight Based on what had been found at his home authorities had warned that his car found covered in brush at a trailhead might be rigged with explosives. But nothing so far has been reported about any firearms or other weapons he might have had when what authorities say was a confrontation occurred.

Did Hannah with whom DiMaggio had become infatuated leave the San Diego area voluntarily with the man said to be like an uncle to the Anderson siblings Did she know her mother and brother had been killed

She had indicated no distress to the horseback rider who saw the two with camping gear in the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness Area a rugged heavily forested area about 70 miles northeast of Boise a few days earlier chatting briefly with them.

But in other cases involving girls abducted by men the kidnapping of Elizabeth Smart in Salt Lake City in 2003 and held for nine months they had opportunities to tell police officers of their situation but didn t do so because the kidnapper had threatened their family.

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In Hannah Anderson s case freely joining DiMaggio seems unlikely for another reason When DiMaggio suggested to Hannah that they might date if they were the same age Hannah told friend Marissa Chavez 15 that she never wanted to be alone with him.

She was a little creeped out by it Marissa told the Associated Press.

Amber Alerts broadcast on television flashing roadside signs and as automatic text messages sent with a piercing noise to smart phones apparently played a big role in the rescue effort.

DiMaggio s blue Nissan Versa automobile was seen traveling north through rural California and then Oregon into Idaho. The horseback rider who met Hannah and DiMaggio on the wilderness trail recognized them from TV news reports when he got home and called the Amber Alert tip line.

Hundreds of local state and federal police agents aided by law enforcement aircraft swarmed to the area finding the pair camped at Morehead Lake not far from where they had met the man on horseback.

Obviously we would've liked Mr. DiMaggio to surrender and face justice in the court of law but that's not going to be the case San Diego Sheriff Bill Gore said at a press conference Saturday evening.

Hannah is expected to be reunited with her father Brett Anderson on Sunday.

Now that Hannah is safe and being evaluated in a medical facility FBI victim specialists are working with Hannah and her family to get them the resources they need as they enter this next challenging phase of this incident said Mary Rook spokeswoman for the FBI's office in Salt Lake City.

Officials say it will take some time before exactly what happened in the Idaho wilderness is known.

As a matter of policy the FBI automatically dispatches a shooting review team from Washington to review the circumstances surrounding any situation where an FBI agent discharges a firearm said Ms. Rook.

The team will interview witnesses and determine exactly what happened. For this reason no other details can be released at this time she said. When incidents like these occur no one ever really knows where the investigation will lead. In this case our team faced a very challenging situation.

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