Murder suspect James DiMaggio shot dead in Idaho wilderness and 16-year-old girl he abducted is saved

The man suspected of abducting 16-year-old Hannah Anderson has been killed and his kidnap victim has been found safe in the Idaho wildeess, San Diego County Sheriff's department said this evening.

San Diego Sheriff Bill Gore said James DiMaggio was shot by an FBI tactical agent during an arrest attempt at about 4pm Pacific Time, near Morehead Lake in the remote Frank Church-River of No Retu wildeess.

DiMaggio was suspected of killing Hannah's mother, Christina Anderson, 44, and her eight-year-old brother Ethan, whose bodies were found last Sunday night in his buing house in Califoia.

Search: Law enforcement officers have shot dead James DiMaggio and rescued the teenage girl he abducted

Shot dead: James DiMaggio was killed after officers tracked him down in the wildeess

Hannah's father was said to be elated at hearing his daughter was safe. He is due to be reunited with Hannah, who has been taken to a hospital, on Sunday moing.

'He was very relieved and very excited and looking forward to being reunited with his daughter,' San Diego Sheriff William Gore said.

The full details of how DiMaggio came to be shot by FBI tactical agents have not yet been released, but he was found after their campsite was spotted from the air.

Sheriff Gore told Fox 19: 'Hannah Anderson was located with DiMaggio. She appears well, was rescued and will be transported to a hospital in Idaho.'

Federal and local law enforcement officers had spent Saturday combing the rugged area in search of Hannah and her 40-year-old abductor.

The search in the Idaho wildeess - 1,000 miles from where Hannah's mother and brother were killed -  began Friday moing, about 40 miles from Cascade, when DiMaggio's car was found at the start of a trail.

The isolated area, which has only a few cabins and limited cell phone service, was searched via helicopter and officers on horseback, according to NBC News.

Police revealed that two riders on horseback believed they saw DiMaggio and Anderson on Wednesday.

Hannah appeared healthy and safe at the time, leading San Diego County Sheriff Bill Gore to conclude: 'As far as we know, it didn't appear she was being held against her will.'

Hunt: Officers have been combing the wildeess after finding the suspect's car at a trail head

Hunt for a murderer: FBI agents walk toward a Blackhawk helicopter at the Cascade Airport during the search for James DiMaggio in Cascade, Idaho

1,000 miles from home: James DiMaggio's car was found in a remote area near Cascade, Idaho, on Friday moing

San Diego County Sheriff Bill Gore said earlier this week that Hannah 'did not appear to be held against her will'

Hidden: DiMaggio's Nissan Versa was found covered in brush, hidden in a hard-to-reach area of Idaho wildeess on Friday moing. Police are searching the vehicle for booby-traps

DiMaggio's Nissa Versa car was found in a remote, hard-to-reach area. It was covered in brush in an attempt to conceal it and its license plates were removed.

Authorities have not said whether they think Hannah knows her mother and little brother were murdered at DiMaggio's house.

Police said Thursday they feared that DiMaggio might have rigged the vehicle with explosive booby traps. A bomb squad was still working to reach the car Friday afteoon and inspect it for bombs.

The riders said they encountered a man and a young woman hiking in the wildeess on Wednesday. The pair had a tent and each was carrying a backpack.

DiMaggio is said to be an avid outdoorsman and authorities had previously said he could be hiding out at a campground or in the forest.

The Frank Church-River of No Retu Wildeess is 2.3 million rugged acres of cliffs and mountains and river valleys. It is the second-largest wildeess area in the contiguous United States.

When the riders retued home at the end of the day, they heard news reports of the nationwide hunt for DiMaggio and 'put two and two together,' San Diego County Sheriff Bill Gore said on Friday.

No expense spared: 150 personnel have arrived in Idaho to search for James DiMaggio. Here, law enforcement officers head into the Valley County Emergency Operations Center

Rugged: The River of No Retu Wildeess, 2.3million acres, is the second-largest national wildeess area in the contiguous United States

 

Victims: Ethan Anderson, 8, died in the fire and his sister Hannah, 16, was abducted

Friends say DiMaggio 'had a crush' on 16-year-old Hannah and that he stated he would date her if he was her age.

Police feared DiMaggio was armed with improvised explosives and would use them  if confronted. They also believed he may have booby-trapped his abandoned car.

'Working on the theory that he abandoned the car, we think there is a possibility that the car might be rigged,' San Diego County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Jan Caldwell told CNN.

A source told the Los Angeles Times that investigators believe Mrs Anderson was bludgeoned with a crowbar.

DiMaggio was described as being like an uncle to the children. But Hannah's friend, Marissa Chavez, painted a different picture.

'He said he had a crush on her, but didn't mean it in an intimate way,' 15-year-old Marissa Chavez told The San Diego Union-Tribune. 'He said, "If I was your age, I'd date you."'

Beautiful: Hannah's Facebook page shows her as a popular teenage girl who loved dancing

Marissa said she witnessed the exchange when DiMaggio was driving them home from a high school gymnastics meet.

Hannah asked Marissa to join her from then on whenever DiMaggio drove her to meets because she was uncomfortable with the attention, according to Marissa .

'She was a little creeped out by it. She didn't want to be alone with him,' Marissa said.

She also said that DiMaggio took her to Hollywood in late June or early July for her birthday, and that he cut the week-long trip short because he was upset that Hannah was paying more attention to her phone than to him.

DiMaggio took Hannah (far left and far right) to Hollywood for her birthday, but cut the week-long trip short because he was upset that Hannah was paying more attention to her phone than to him

'After that she never responded to his texts and e-mails,' Marissa told the San Diego newspaper.

DiMaggio was in a 'close platonic relationship' with Hannah, a sheriff’s statement said without further explanation.

Brett Anderson, father to Hannah and Ethan, flew to San Diego Tuesday to be interviewed by investigators and to plead with DiMaggio to retu his daughter safely.

'Jim, I can't fathom what you were thinking. The damage is done,' he said outside San Diego County Sheriff's Department headquarters.

Addressing Hannah, he said he loved her very much and pleaded, 'if you have a chance, you take it. You run. You'll be found.' 

Sorrow: Their father, Brett Anderson, pleaded for the children's safe retu at a candlelit vigil on Tuesday

Athena Stewart lights a candle during a vigil for Hannah, 16, and Ethan, 8, Tuesday night

Mr Anderson lives in Tennessee after moving away from the area for a job a few months ago.

On Tuesday, Mr Anderson joined hundreds of family friends and neighbors at a candlelight vigil in the parking lot of El Capitan High School in Lakeside, where Hannah was about to start her junior year.

Pink paper cups stuffed between holes in the fence read 'Pray Hannah' and dozens of white, blue and pink balloons lifted into the air.

At the vigil, Mr Anderson and other family members address the large crowd.

'Hannah will come back and Ethan and Tina, I love you both,' he said. 'We all love you. I know everybody’s here for support of all three of them and I want to thank you all. God bless.'

Destroyed: The body of the children's mother, Christina, was found in DiMaggio's bued down house

The remains of a home owned by 40-year-old James Lee DiMaggio, a suspect in the murder of two people, is shown in the Boulevard neighborhood of San Diego County

Her Facebook page reveals a popular teenage girl with a passion for dance. She was also a gymnast on her high school team.

'You would never see her without a smile on her face,' said Marlee Friszell, 16, who attended Hannah's birthday party last week.

Ethan Anderson liked to play football and baseball and go fishing, neighbors said.