Teen found safe, suspect killed in Idaho
Rebecca Boone | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 11 years, 7 months AGO
CASCADE - A harrowing weeklong search for a missing California teenager ended Saturday when FBI agents rescued the girl and shot and killed her apparent kidnapper at a campsite deep in the Idaho wilderness.
Hannah Anderson, 16, appeared to be uninjured and will be reunited soon with her father at a hospital, authorities said. Her suspected abductor, James Lee DiMaggio, 40, was killed after his campsite was found in Idaho's rugged Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness, roughly 40 miles from the tiny town of Cascade.
Hannah was taken to a hospital where crisis counselors and health care providers were assisting her. Her father was expected to arrive in Idaho on Sunday to reunite with her.
"We will make sure she gets as much care as possible, physically and emotionally," said Andrea Dearden, a spokeswoman from the Ada County Sheriff's Department.
The shooting came after officers participating in a massive manhunt for the pair spotted the campsite from the air and an FBI hostage recovery team trekked to the site near Morehead Lake.
"No one really knows where an investigation like this will lead," said Mary Rook, special agent in charge of the FBI's Salt Lake City division. "In this case, our team faced a very challenging situation."
The FBI said it was sending a team to investigate what unfolded before, during and after the shooting. Authorities offered few details Saturday night.
The location wasn't far from what had been the last known sighting of the pair. A horseback rider called authorities Thursday night to report that on Wednesday he had seen two people who resembled Anderson and DiMaggio with camping gear on a trail near the lake. The rider, whose name wasn't released, didn't realize they were subjects of a massive search until he got home and saw news reports.
The case began when the charred bodies of Hannah Anderson's mother, Christina Anderson, 44, and the teen's 8-year-old brother, Ethan Anderson, were found in DiMaggio's burning house outside San Diego, near the Mexico border.
DiMaggio was close to the family. Christina Anderson's husband, Brett Anderson, has described him as a best friend and said the children thought of him as an uncle.
Authorities have said DiMaggio had an "unusual infatuation" with Hannah, although the father said he never saw any strange behavior.
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