Posted on 08/13/2013 7:57:19 AM PDT by Rio
For six days, Hannah Anderson was at the mercy of her kidnapper, a family friend who spirited her away to the Idaho backcountry in a blue Nissan Versa. He carried a rifle. He made threats. But he never told her about the gruesome scene he left in San Diego County.
Not until FBI agents gunned down James DiMaggio and began to interview Hannah did she learn the fate of her mother and younger brother, authorities said. DiMaggio, they said, killed them on his sprawling property near the Mexican border before setting off with Hannah, 16, and his gray cat.
Although authorities have released few details of Hannah's ordeal, they said Monday that she played no part in the killings. Earlier in the search, they had been uncertain whether she went with DiMaggio willingly.
"I want to emphasize that during our law enforcement interviews with Hannah, it became very clear to us that she is a victim in every sense of the word in this horrific crime. She was not a willing participant," San Diego County Sheriff Bill Gore told reporters.
Although the investigation is ongoing, he said, authorities may never be able to piece together the reason for DiMaggio's rampage.
"When you get a completely irrational act like we've seen here with two murders and a kidnapping, sometimes you might not be able to come up with a rational explanation," Gore said, adding that when FBI agents cornered DiMaggio, he fired at least one shot.
Hannah has returned to San Diego County, where she will receive counseling, Gore said. Her father, Brett Anderson, who lives in Tennessee, told reporters that his daughter needed privacy to deal with her grief.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
More at the link. A fairly complete coverage of the case.
I know she wasn’t involved but just based on some of the pictures of this ‘girl’ who looks like a woman in her 20’s being friendly with this loner...Well, I just wonder where her parent’s judgment was? And she’d been alone on week-long trips with this man in the past...how’s that the right thing? And reportedly she didn’t like him? So who made her go on trips with him?
Don’t get me wrong, but I wonder if maybe this guy ended up doing a favor for her by ending her mother’s custody? Because not even MY mom would’ve allowed any of this and my mom was a meth head.
I’m surprised the people on horseback didn’t notice that the kidnapper was carrying a rifle.
This article sets things straight, which is good.
It’s Idaho, why would anybody take notice of a rifle?
Typical news media. Yesterday at the SD Sheriff’s press conference, one of the press asked about the disposition of the cat.
Agreed. However, walking around in the great outdoors with a cat is a whole different story. Who does that?
Maybe it was like carrying a hunting hawk with you...
you release the cat, it catches the mouse, and brings it back to you...
maybe.
I know the Mexicans want the whole western US, but that is a stretch.
vaudine
Yoy’re right.
Mom certainly dropped the ball.
ouch! how’d you end up on a nice conservative site with a background like that?
Good on you for surviving such an ordeal. I have known too many situations like that and they nearly all turn out badly
Wouldn’t everyone carry a rifle out there in the wilderness of Idaho??? Think!
The one guy said he was looking, and didn’t see any gun, and as a former sheriff, he would know what to look for. The kidnapper probably had it rolled up in something, or back in the tent.
That was one of the red flags. One another site, one of the equestrians commented that the only reason for bringing a cat into the Idaho wilderness would be to attract a mountain lion or a bear.
They’re talking about the place near San Diego where he burned the house down.
I found my own way. I’m doing pretty good now IMHO. Thanks!
Think yourself.
Last year we spent four weeks in ID, WY & MT. Other than during our elk hunt we saw zero folks in backcountry carrying rifles. Maybe 5-10% had handguns, but not rifles. Just too damned heavy.
I’m still not fully convinced. Where exactly was she on his “weed choked” property that she didn’t see the house burning? And in her pajamas? Or did he pack her stuff for the trip and have camping equipment or did he buy her clothes later? Surely, she had questions. He didn’t just say hey, let’s go for a week long camping trip and she jumped into the car. There’s a lot more than we’re being told.
Exactly. I remember someone new at work from out of the are freaking out because they were at a restaurant where people pull out guns at the tables. I had to explain that that restaurant is where everybody goes to trade and sell guns. Some concepts are too hard for some people to grasp.
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