After six days of a widespread Amber Alert and with the help of more than 200 state and federal law enforcement officials, missing San Diego teenager Hannah Anderson was found safe and the man accused of abducting her, James Lee DiMaggio, is dead, San Diego County officials said Saturday.
DiMaggio was shot and killed at 4:20 p.m. PT Saturday north of Morehead Lake in the Idaho backcountry.
Three U.S. Marshals flying a plane above the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness area spotted a tent Saturday morning. They called in FBI SWAT and Hostage Rescue Team to move in on the campsite.
Few details were released by the FBI on how DiMaggio was killed. San Diego Sheriff Bill Gore said he was shot and killed by an FBI agent.
Gore said Anderson appeared to be in good shape and that her father, Brett Anderson, was expected to Idaho to reunite with his daughter.
"He's elated that we found his daughter alive," added Gore.
TIMELINE: Fire, Missing Teen Lead to Widespread Amber Alert
DiMaggio is suspected of killing Hannah's mother, 44-year-old Christina Anderson, and her 8-year-old brother Ethan Anderson, both of Lakeside. Their bodies were found on DiMaggio's property in Boulevard where a log-style cabin and detached garage burned to the ground Sunday.
Investigators say DiMaggio purchased camping equipment recently, which leads them to believe he had planned the events that unfolded this week.
Amber Alerts were launched in six states - California, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, Washington and Idaho - with millions of residents on the lookout for a blue Nissan Versa with California license plates.
The vehicle was eventually discovered Friday in the very rugged terrain of the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness covered in brush.
The Versa was towed Saturday from where it was found about six to eight miles from where a horseback rider reported seeing DiMaggio and Hannah Wednesday.
San Diego detectives and an FBI evidence response team will process the Versa evidence as well as the campsite, which officials called a crime scene.
Hundreds of searchers used helicopters, horses and all-terrain vehicles to search about 300 miles for any sign of the pair.
FBI Special Agent from the Salt Lake City division Mary Rook said special agents with an FBI hostage rescue team saw Hannah and DiMaggio at a campsite north of Morehead Lake.
Shots were fired, and DiMaggio was killed.
Officials could not reveal whether agents fired on the suspect or whether the suspect returned fire, as that portion of the investigation was pending.
“Our team faced a very challenging situation,” said Rook. “Our teams worked tirelessly to find Hannah.”
Rook said with Hannah safe, law enforcement would work with the teenager and her family to get them the resources they need to move forward and recover from this ordeal.
“Hannah is safe, and that was our first priority,” said Valley County Sheriff Patti Bolen, adding that she was proud of the way law enforcement came together to resolve this case and bring an end to the widespread Amber Alert.
Valley County acting Public Information Officer Andrea Dearden said Hannah appeared to have no physical injuries when she was recovered by FBI agents, and said law enforcement was relieved she was found safe.
“We wanted it to end safely, we wanted her home,” she added.
Idaho press briefings held earlier on Saturday:
Earlier on Saturday, officials in Idaho meticulously searched the rugged, backcountry terrain near Cascade and Morehead Lake for Hannah and DiMaggio.
At a morning press briefing, Dearden said all hands were on deck in the search for Hannah and DiMaggio.
“We are going to put in every resource possible,” said Dearden. “We are hopeful that we’ll be able to find these two.”
On Friday, crews searched the area on foot and horseback, given that there was no accessibility in the remote region for vehicles.
Dearden said multiple law enforcement agencies had assisted in the search, including officials from San Diego who traveled to Idaho overnight. Officers with local law enforcement, Idaho State police, the FBI, the U.S. Marshal’s service and U.S. Customs and Border Protection all joined in the search.
Dearden said an Idaho explosives team conducted an initial search of the vehicle overnight, and no explosives were found. Earlier this week, investigators believed DiMaggio could be armed with homemade explosives, and may have rigged the vehicle with explosive devices as well.
Dearden said “highly-trained teams with lots of equipment and resources” will scour the terrain all day searching for any trace of Hannah and DiMaggio. She said there are currently approximately 150 agents working the case, and more were expected to arrive in Idaho.
She expected to have 200 law enforcement officials on the ground searching for the pair, as well as aerial crews.
Dearden said there had been a positive shift in weather and visibility in the region, which was helping in the search, especially for crews in the air.
She said search teams would move into the wilderness where the pair was spotted and cover as much ground as possible, given the difficult, rugged terrain.
“Traditional search and rescue isn’t going to work here,” said Dearden. “Managing the terrain is tough.”
Dearden said no additional sightings of Hannah and DiMaggio have been reported.
She urged anyone who may have seen the pair – or DiMaggio’s vehicle – in the area to contact authorities immediately, adding, “Any information is valuable.”
Law enforcement officials have set up checkpoints in the backcountry area, and visitors and campers may be stopped. For now, there have been no evacuations ordered in the region, including Morehead Lake.
By noon, investigators with the San Diego County Sheriff's Department had reached DiMaggio's vehicle.
NBC 7 was the only camera crew to follow a caravan of forensic experts, including an FBI Evidence Response Team into the rugged area. Its located about 40 miles from Cascade - a long road, about an hour and a half drive.
At that point, investigators were not able to disclose any information regarding what, if anything, they'd found inside DiMaggio's car.
Meanwhile, about two miles from the crime tape, Idaho State Police had set up a road block on Saturday morning, and were thoroughly searching every vehicle and boat that traveled in and out of the area.
It was a bit frustrating for campers, but they understood.
"I hope they get the guy," one boat owner told NBC 7.
By 1 p.m., Dearden said all law enforcement officials working on the case were now in Idaho. She said the team included approximately 150 FBI agents, 60 local law enforcement officials and 50 to 60 officials from state and other federal agencies.
Dearden said the plan was to continue canvassing the area by ground and air.
At that point, she said officials were still hopeful Hannah and DiMaggio were in the Idaho backcountry near the area where they may have been spotted. She said authorities had no reason to believe the pair had moved elsewhere.
“We’re absolutely looking for two individuals – DiMaggio and Hannah, and we’re hoping to bring her home safely,” said Dearden. “We know any information, detail or clue could be what we need to bring Hannah home safely.”
Events leading to the search:
DiMaggio, 40, of Boulevard and Hannah Anderson, 16, of Lakeside are the subjects of an Amber Alert issued Monday. Hannah and her 8-year-old brother, Ethan Anderson, were originally believed to have been abducted by DiMaggio after their mother was found dead in a house fire.
A second body – the charred remains of a child – was also found in the burned out home in Boulevard. Late Friday night, officials positively identified that victim as Ethan.
On Friday, San Diego County Sheriff Bill Gore announced that officials had recovered the vehicle of James Lee DiMaggio near Cascade, Idaho, approximately 80 miles north of Boise and roughly 400 miles from the Canadian border.
The search then honed in on the rural Idaho community, known as the “River of No Return Wilderness,” where the focus remained Saturday.
On Friday, officials said that a horseback rider ran into a man and a teenage girl near Morehead Lake believed to be DiMaggio and Hannah. The horseback rider had a brief conversation with the pair and then parted ways.
When the horseback rider got home later that day, he saw the news about the Amber Alert concerning Hannah and DiMaggio, and reported his sighting to officials.
The rider told police the pair was equipped with backpacks and a tent. At the time of their interaction, the rider was not aware of the Amber Alert and didn’t know who they were, therefore he saw no reason to be alarmed.
When officials arrived in the Idaho wilderness, they discovered DiMaggio’s vehicle, the same car listed in the Amber Alert, in the area.
Photo Credit: Artie Ojeda/ NBC 7