SALMON, Idaho: A California teenager rescued from the Idaho wilderness after an FBI agent shot and killed her suspected abductor was expected to be reunited with her father yesterday, authorities said.
Hannah Anderson, 16, was airlifted on Saturday evening from an alpine lake in west central Idaho after a rescue in the rough terrain of the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness that culminated in the death of her suspected kidnapper, James Lee DiMaggio, 40. The FBI rescue came after a two-day manhunt by more than 150 law enforcement agents in the rugged mountains for DiMaggio, who was wanted in the killing of Anderson’s mother, Christina Anderson, 44, and her brother Ethan, 8.
DiMaggio, a longtime friend of the Anderson family, was killed by an FBI agent after he and the teenager were spotted at a primitive campsite on Saturday afternoon near Morehead Lake, about 145km northeast of Boise, the state capital. Authorities were withholding details about the shooting pending a required FBI investigation.
It was unclear if DiMaggio was armed or if he shot at officers during the rescue. The girl suffered no apparent injuries but was to be evaluated at an area hospital, Mary Rook, head of the FBI’s Salt Lake City office, said on Saturday.
Hospitals in Boise said Anderson was not among their patients. The medical centre in Cascade, a small town nearest the manhunt, declined to confirm or deny if she was there.
The search of Western states for the pair narrowed to Idaho last week after a group of backcountry horseback riders reported seeing them on a trail near Morehead Lake. The Frank Church wilderness stretches across 2.3 million acres of towering peaks, alpine forests and wild and scenic rivers in central Idaho.
Police found DiMaggio’s car, covered with brush and stripped of license plates, at a trailhead at the edge of the wilderness. That triggered a massive search on foot, horseback and air by federal, state and local law enforcement.
“Hannah is safe, and that’s the best outcome we were hoping for, our top priority,” said Andrea Dearden, a spokeswoman for the Ada County Sheriff’s Office in Boise.
Anderson, her mother and her brother were last seen on Aug. 3. The next day, DiMaggio, a telecommunications technician, is suspected of setting his home on fire in San Diego.
Reuters
