| Chicago Tribune | - |
SALMON,
Idaho —. A massive multi-agency manhunt for the suspect in the
kidnapping of San Diego County teen Hannah Anderson ended Saturday after
a tactical team shot him dead at a campsite deep in the Idaho
wilderness.
California murder-kidnap suspect killed in Idaho, girl rescued
- Kate Middleton PhotosStunning Pictures of Princess Kate Middleton and the Royal Family. Kate-Middleton.StyleBistro.com
SALMON, Idaho —
A massive multi-agency manhunt for the suspect in
the kidnapping of San Diego County teen Hannah Anderson ended Saturday
after a tactical team shot him dead at a campsite deep in the Idaho
wilderness.James Lee DiMaggio, 40, was slain by an FBI agent while authorities were attempting to take him into custody at remote Morehead Lake in central Idaho, San Diego County Sheriff William Gore said at an afternoon news conference.
The girl, Hannah Anderson, was found at the lake with DiMaggio and rescued by authorities apparently in good health. She was taken by helicopter to an Idaho hospital and would be reunited with her father, Brett Anderson, as early as Sunday. In a message sent to CNN, Anderson said he was "nervous" and excited to see Hannah, and "worried about what my daughter has been through."
"Hannah is safe and that's the best outcome we were hoping for, our top priority," Andrea Dearden, spokeswoman for the Ada County Sheriff's Department, told reporters at a separate news briefing in Idaho.
Mary Rook, spokeswoman for the FBI's Salt Lake City office, said DiMaggio and the teen were spotted by agents with a special hostage rescue team at a campsite near the lake at about 5:20 p.m. Mountain Time (7:20 p.m. EDT).
"Agents moved in to rescue Hannah and the suspect is deceased," she said.
Rook declined to provide more details of what she called a "very challenging situation" pending an investigation of the incident by an FBI shooting review team. It was not immediately clear if DiMaggio fired on the agents but there were no reports of law enforcement officers injured in the operation.
"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," she said.
More than 150 law enforcement officers on foot and on horseback had descended on the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness after a group of people returning from a horseback ride in the back country told police that they had spotted DiMaggio with the girl backpacking there on Wednesday.
LONG-PLANNED CRIME?
One of the riders told police he exchanged casual pleasantries with them and saw no indication that the girl was in distress or being held against their will. He said that she and DiMaggio had behaved oddly but gave no cause for alarm.
Police searched the trailhead for clues and found DiMaggio's car, stripped of its license plates and covered with brush. Police feared the car could be rigged with explosives but a bomb squad found none on Friday.
The telecommunications technician was wanted in the killing of Christina Anderson, 44, and 8-year-old Ethan and the abduction of Hannah, all of whom were last seen last Saturday.
The following day DiMaggio is suspected of setting his home on fire in the San Diego area community of Boulevard, triggering a multi-state search and child abduction Amber Alerts.
The San Diego County Sheriff's office confirmed on Friday that the remains of a second body found at the house were Ethan's. Police declined to say how Christina Anderson or her son were killed.
Since then, DiMaggio had been the subject of a massive manhunt. Authorities issued child-abduction alerts across the U.S. West and notified authorities in Canada and Mexico to watch for the fugitive and either of the Anderson children.
Police say DiMaggio bought camping equipment and other gear in the weeks leading up to his flight, suggesting that he had planned to hide out in the 2.3 million-acre, largely roadless Frank Church long before he fled with the 16-year-old.
He has been described as a longtime friend of the Anderson family who was like an uncle to the children.
Authorities have said they have no evidence of a precipitating incident or circumstances that might have led to the killings and abduction.
"She does appear to be doing OK at this point," Dearden said.
FBI Special Agent In Charge Mary Rook said that the multi-agency task force faced a "very challenging situation" and that it would take "some time" to process the crime scene.
Patti Bolen, sheriff of Valley County, where the incident occurred, gave a brief statement.
"Hannah is safe and that was our first priority from the very beginning," she said.
Reuters and Los Angeles Times contributed
end quote from:
No comments:
Post a Comment