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Sheriff: Calif. Girl Rescued, Alleged Abductor Killed In Rural Idaho

A combination of undated file photos provided by the San Diego Sheriff's Department shows James Lee DiMaggio, 40, left, and Hannah Anderson, 16.
Uncredited
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Associated Press
A combination of undated file photos provided by the San Diego Sheriff's Department shows James Lee DiMaggio, 40, left, and Hannah Anderson, 16.

(Updated 8:40 p.m. ET)

Sixteen-year-old Hannah Anderson, the subject of a multistate police search, was rescued alive Saturday, and the suspect in her abduction was killed in rural Idaho, the San Diego County, Calif., sheriff announced Saturday.

"Hannah was successfully rescued, and appears to be in pretty good shape," said Sheriff William Gore at a news conference.

James DiMaggio, 40, who allegedly kidnapped Anderson last weekend and is suspected in the murder of Anderson's mother and brother, was killed in a confrontation with law enforcement officials who were trying to arrest him, Gore said.

(Original Post Below)

The search for abducted teen Hannah Anderson and her suspected kidnapper "has spanned three states and thousands of miles," according to The Associated Press.

The Los Angeles Times says "more than 100 searchers," as well as helicopters, are part of the effort to comb through the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness.

Anderson, 16, is believed to have been abducted by 40-year-old James Lee DiMaggio. On Friday, officials announced that they'd found DiMaggio's car about 40 miles east of Cascade, Idaho. That's triggered the massive search.

As we reported earlier, the hunt for DiMaggio has been going on since last Sunday, when the body of Hanna's mother, 44-year-old Christina Anderson, and eight-year-old brother, were found in the burned remains of DiMaggio's home in Boulevard, Calif., about 65 miles east of San Diego.

San Diego County Sheriff's Capt. Duncan Fraser has said that DiMaggio may have an "unusual infatuation" with the girl.

Update At 4:00 p.m. ET:

Officials say about 150 FBI agents have joined 100 U.S. Marshals, Idaho State Police and local law enforcement officers.

"We are parents. If this was our child, we'd want the same resources out there," said Jason Pack, an FBI special agent from the agency's national press office in Washington, D.C. "We'll be here as long as it takes."

"The suspect is believed to be armed, so you can't have untrained folks out there. They have to have law enforcement training," Pack said.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Scott Neuman is a reporter and editor, working mainly on breaking news for NPR's digital and radio platforms.