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Amber Alert Suspect James DiMaggio Dead, Hannah Anderson Safe
Aired August 10, 2013 - 21:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: We have just been told by investigators that James DiMaggio is dead. 16-year-old Hannah is safe and with police officers. Her father is being transported to meet with her. This happened in western Idaho where DiMaggio's car was found yesterday. The teenager was last seen a week ago at her cheerleading practice in San Diego County, California.
CNN is on top of this story. We have reporters in the region as well as a former FBI profiler who can speak exactly to how this man was found, how Hannah -- why Hannah is alive and how he was taken down.
According to investigators, a campsite was spotted from the air at a campsite -- or at a park in the wilderness, in Idaho. Ground units were sent in, and then an FBI tactical agent took down James DiMaggio. This is at the north end of Moorhead Lake in Idaho. It happened around 4:22 pacific standard time.
I want to go now to CNN's Miguel Marquez.
Is Miguel Marquez with us now?
Miguel is on the scene.
Miguel --
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm here.
LEMON: -- you have been following this story really from the very beginning now. You are in Idaho. Tell us about this operation, how it happened and what you're hearing now.
MARQUEZ: Well, one thing you just said, Don, that caught my interest is Moorhead Lake. This is an area that was about six miles from where that car was ditched on -- presumably on either late Monday, possibly Tuesday. They were then seen around 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday on -- by a horseback rider near Moorhead Lake. So -- and then it wasn't until Friday morning that this search really kicked off. So you're talking about 48, perhaps 60 hours between the time they were spotted and the time this investigation got going. And here we are on Saturday, 72 hours later. They didn't move very far from where they were seen at Moorhead Lake. So either they were extraordinarily tired. They only got six miles in a day, perhaps, two days.
It's incredibly rough territory. We flew over it today. There is smoke in the air from fires. It's hard to breathe. It's very rough terrain, very steep terrain, very rocky terrain. They -- it was described to me as having gear that was medium to light. Not the sort of hardcore gear that you would expect if you were going to be out in that sort of wilderness for an extended period of time. That apparently is what that horse rider felt when he talked to them afterwards, realizing, well, you know, it was a little odd, they weren't really dressed appropriately and correctly for being that far out. Very, very cold at night, especially up that high. Easily, you could slip into hypothermia in the low 40s and high 30s.
But amazing to see how quickly this thing has come to a head. I can tell you there's this area where we are, where you can see they're preparing for a press conference here soon. Just a block away here in Cascade, there's also a huge area where all the law enforcement is. That parking lot is now rammed with vehicles, individuals coming in.
The sense around here is one of jubilation. And I'm sure for the Britt family, the grandparents, and for the Anderson family, for Brett Anderson, despite losing Ethan, their son, Christina Anderson, his wife, and the grandson, and the daughter of all of them, there is a real festive attitude and enormous relief this thing has been brought to a conclusion this swiftly.
This was a huge concern going into this that not only were these guys doing a search and rescue operation, but they were facing somebody who was potentially armed and dangerous and could have taken a hostage and done harm to her or she could have been injured or killed in the crossfire -- Don?
LEMON: Hey, Miguel, just out of curiosity, you're there on the scene. Tell us what's going on around you there.
MARQUEZ: Well, I can tell you, the media from across San Diego, from California, from all over Idaho is here. This is the fire station here in Cascade, Idaho. And people are starting to come by, people from Idaho. Here, one young man is standing here next to me who's just been watching all of this unfold in front of him. The cars are starting to come by. The media always attracts attention when we come to these places. But this has been topic "A" across this place. Everybody -- you know, I wear this hat into cafes here and the only thing people do is come up to me and say, did they get him, did they kill this person? Is she OK? And everybody, everybody was -- their hearts were going out to that family, to this young woman, and hoping that this thing ended well. It is a great relief that it has -- Don?
LEMON: Very well said. Very well said.
If there's any good news in this, I mean, it's such a horrific story, is 16-year-old Hannah has been found alive.
Please stand by, Miguel Marquez.
We want to go to San Diego now where our other CNN correspondent is standing by, Paul Vercammen, who has been following this story for us as well.
Paul, the news came from San Diego about what happened. Of course, it happened in Idaho. What's happening where you are now? PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, there's this tremendous sense of relief because, Don, in this building behind me, it may seem sort of faceless right now and, if you will, sort of antiseptic, but they are euphoric because a resolution has come to this. They've been working hard on this. Some 20 detectives, I was told, at one point, including those from NCIS, because he does have a military background. He was a Navy corpsman.
And off the record here, when you talk to people sort of in the neighborhood, that sort of thing, they said, I hope she lives. And one man said, "Frankly, I hope he dies." We talked with briefly over the phone her grandfather. He said he is absolutely euphoric, thrilled with the news. So the grandparents talking to us over the phone just briefly, Don. So there's a great sense of relief here after this terrible tragedy that shattered a family.
LEMON: Do you know anything, Paul, about the dad? We heard that the dad, Brett Anderson, was on his way to meet with his daughter. Do you know where they -- they said they were transporting him? Where they got him from? And how long is the journey between there? Between the two places?
VERCAMMEN: From what we understand, he, of course, would be the first person informed of all of this. And when a crew of ours across town from where we are tried to go to his house, to go to the grandparents' house, he was not there. And someone suggested that he had been gone for at least an hour. So I imagine, Don, he's headed to the airport where he will be put on a plane and hopefully he can reunite with his daughter tonight. Not sure if that would be a commercial flight or a private plane or just what would work out here. It should be about a two-and-a-half-hour flight by my estimation, if there are not any stops. Sometimes it can be a little difficult to connect to Boise. What we understand, from Boise to this wilderness area is probably going to take, oh, at least another hour's drive. I think it's 70 miles away-plus. I know that driving in the mountains of Idaho can be rather painstaking in those curvy, windy mountain roads. And Cascade is getting to the foot of this remote wilderness.
LEMON: All right. Paul, thank you very much. Appreciate that.
Listen, I'm just getting this into my inbox. Paul, stand by. This is a statement from Brett Anderson, the father of Hannah Anderson. It says -- he just texted this to a CNN, someone here at CNN. It says "I am nervous, excited, saddened for my wife and son and worried what my daughter has been through. It's now healing time. Keep us in your prayers." Keep us in your prayers. And that is from Brett Anderson, the father of Hannah Anderson.
The information is just coming in now.
I want to get now to Marissa Chavez, who is a friend of Hannah Anderson.
Marissa, you have been speaking as well about your friend. How are you taking this news?
MARISSA CHAVEZ, HANNAH ANDERSON'S FRIEND: Very happy about it. Excited.
LEMON: Yeah. What do you plan to say to her? Because I know you're going to talk to her and probably very soon.
CHAVEZ: Just make sure she's OK and tell her that she got a lot of support, and she still does, and everyone's still going to be here for her.
LEMON: Yeah. Marissa, you mentioned something about the suspect here, who is now dead. You said that you overheard, or she overheard him saying that he had a crush on her?
CHAVEZ: Yes. I was in the car with him. Yeah.
LEMON: What did you hear?
CHAVEZ: That he told her that he had a crush on her, but he didn't want her to think of him as creepy or anything. He was just saying if she was his age, he'd date her.
LEMON: And how did she react to that?
CHAVEZ: It was -- uncomfortable about it.
LEMON: Yeah. And did it make you uncomfortable as well?
CHAVEZ: Yeah.
LEMON: Yeah.
CHAVEZ: A little bit.
LEMON: Yeah. So, you know, when they were spotted apparently at this -- at this campsite, or at this park --
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: -- people didn't think anything out of the ordinary. They said she may have been acting just -- they thought something was a little bit off, but it didn't appear that she was being held against her will. Do you think that she was doing that to make sure that she stayed alive?
CHAVEZ: Yes, I'm very sure of that. I know she wouldn't have just gone willingly with him.
LEMON: Yeah. Tell us about -- a little bit more about Hannah, because her dad talked about her, saying she was someone, or she is -- she's still here -- she is someone who has so many friends.
CHAVEZ: Yeah.
LEMON: No one would ever say a bad word about her or any of his children.
CHAVEZ: Yeah. She had a lot of friends and never wanted to start problems with anyone. And she was really outgoing. She was really outgoing and fun, crazy.
LEMON: Yeah. And I'm sure you're glad to have her around. Did you know her brother?
Chavez: Yeah. What?
LEMON: Did you know her brother, Ethan?
CHAVEZ: Yeah. I did.
LEMON: Yeah. And he's no longer with us.
CHAVEZ: Yeah.
LEMON: What kind of kid was he?
CHAVEZ: He was always the sweetest, probably, kid I've ever known. He always was -- played in sports or played his Xbox. He was just always a sweet, sweet kid. He was always there for everyone.
LEMON: Yeah. Marissa Chavez, thank you very much. We know this is a tough time for you, and a happy time --
CHAVEZ: Yeah.
LEMON: -- because your friend is alive now. Thank you. Be well.
CHAVEZ: Bye.
LEMON: All right. Viewers of breaking news on CNN that we are following is that the suspect in this case, this missing teenager case, which is a murder case as well, has now been killed. Has now been killed. James DiMaggio, 40 years old, killed at a campsite in Idaho. His 16-year-old person that he had taken, kidnapped, that hostage, in many ways, Hannah Anderson, found alive and is about to be reunited with her father.
We're awaiting a press conference in Idaho. It should happen at any moment. We'll bring it to you. Details after this break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Hello, everyone. Don Lemon, in New York.
CNN breaking news this hour that we are following, we've been following it carefully throughout the week here. A California teenager missing since last weekend and believed to have been kidnapped is alive and well. The man who police believe kidnapped her, and also believe responsible for the death of Hannah's mother and her 8-year-old brother, that man is dead, shot dead by an FBI agent in western Idaho. This ends a frantic weeklong manhunt involving hundreds of police officers and federal agents. 16-year-old Hannah Anderson's mother, 8-year-old brother, died when their home was burned last Sunday. Hannah had not been seen since then. A tip led law enforcement to western Idaho where James DiMaggio was found dead -- killed today by FBI agents. I want get now to Marc Klaas. Marc is, of course, the father of Polly Klaas, who went missing almost 20 years ago, October of 1993.
Marc, you've been a bit critical of the emergency system, the Amber Alert that was put out in California, and other areas. And -- but now it has come to this. Do you think that this Amber Alert helped in this case?
MARC KLAAS, FATHER OF POLLY KLAAS: Ultimately, I do, Don. And let me just say how -- how important this is, what an object lesson this has to be for a small agency throughout the country, that if one of your children is taken, you need to get a hold of the FBI. They have resources that are unavailable any place else. They have -- they have the ability to organize massive amounts of agencies, multiagency task forces and bring it to this result.
I think my criticism of Amber Alert stands. I think that it was rolled up very, very badly. And I think that many people have probably opted out that wouldn't have opted out had it been rolled out in a more judicious manner. But I do want to say that I think that this is a perfect ending. I'm glad that DiMaggio is dead, and I --
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: You're happy for this family, I'm sure.
KLAAS: I'm so happy for the family. I -- it's the perfect ending. She survived and he didn't. So he's finish. We won't have to deal with him anymore. He won't be in the headlines anymore. And Hannah will be able to move forward with her life and begin her recovery today.
LEMON: Marc Klaas, thank you for the words of encouragement. We really appreciate it
We want to get now -- speaking of the family -- get to CNN's Miguel Marquez in Idaho with new information on that.
Miguel, what do you have for us?
MARQUEZ: I just spoke to the grandparents of Hannah, Sarah and Ralph Britt, who are in Santee, California. And, you know, they said that they are ecstatic. Despite losing two members of their family, they are ecstatic that Hannah is coming home to them. They called her their honey bunny. They didn't have a sense of the shape she was in. They fear that she's been through a heck of a traumatic experience the last several days, and certainly today as well because we don't know the details of how Mr. DiMaggio was taken out today. But they said they are coming home. And jokingly at the end of the conversation, Sarah Britt said, you know, tell all parents to name their kids Hannah. It is remarkable what this family has gone through. To lose so much, but to have, for days on end, to be kept on tenterhooks over whether or not 16-year-old Hannah would be found alive and well, to have this news today is enormous.
Brett, Hannah's father will be coming here in the morning to collect her and take her back to San Diego. That is a reunion that I'm sure words and pictures cannot express, the joy that will be felt on that day.
If I could show you, you know, a couple seconds ago, you asked what it was like here. You know, the more we go live, the more the people show up. I think about half the people from Cascade, Idaho, are here tonight.
You guys happy that this is happening? You excited this is happening?
(CHEERING)
MARQUEZ: It is amazing, it is absolutely amazing how the country, the people here, everyone, has focused on this and just this great sense of relief out of such sadness -- Don?
LEMON: Miguel, don't go anywhere because you were talking about the father. I want to read this.
If we have that, we can put that back up.
I'm going to continue on with Miguel.
This is a statement from the father. He says "I am nervous, excited, saddened for my wife and son, and worried what my daughter has been through. It's now healing time. Keep us in your prayers."
Miguel, you said the dad will be there in the morning to be reunited with his daughter. And what a wonderful moment that will be.
MARQUEZ: Oh, I can't even imagine how tearful that is going to be. This is a family that has had its trials. You know, he lost his job in San Diego. He was forced to move to Tennessee. They've had a tough time in their relationship. Christina Anderson was raising two kids along with the family there. She was a massage therapist. She was, you know, getting her life together. She was working incredibly hard. Ethan was a football player. Hannah was a cheerleader. It was constant trips to here and there, as parents know. Just a good, you know, salt of the earth, hardworking people.
Mr. DiMaggio is someone who they came to know and trust for many, many years. He knew them since the kids were babies. Hannah was about 6 months old when he came into their lives. He knew Ethan their entire life. And for this to turn around on him -- he was losing his house. He begged Christina Anderson to come up to the house one last time, he said, because he was going to lose the House and have to move in Texas. Instead, it turned into this. I can't tell you -- taking advantage of her nature. You know, Ethan had football practice the next morning. She was tired from a very long week. But she still went out there and then this happened. It's just -- words can't describe how difficult it has been for this family. And I am so happy for them that it has ended well, and I know there's a great sense of relief in the Anderson and Britt households tonight -- Don?
LEMON: Miguel Marquez, thank you very much. Miguel is in Cascade. There's a reason he's there. We're awaiting a press conference there shortly. Miguel will cover that. We'll carry it for you live.
Details on this story, more of them, and that press conference right after a break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Hello, everyone. Don Lemon, here in New York.
Breaking news here on CNN on a story we have been following carefully for you all week. A California teenager missing since last weekend, and believed to have been kidnapped is alive and well. The man who police believe kidnapped her, and also believed responsible for the death of Hannah's mother and brother, that man is dead, shot dead by an FBI agent in western Idaho. This ends a frantic week-long manhunt involving hundreds of police officers and federal agents. The good news in all of this is 16-year-old Hannah Anderson is alive.
We're awaiting a press conference. The box that you see there on your screen, the small box, now it is taken full, we've taken it full. A press conference expected to start now at any moment. We'll carry it for you live.
We're back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: We're following breaking news here on CNN that we have been following really for you all week, a California teenager missing since last weekend, believed to have been kidnapped, is alive and well. The man who police believe kidnapped her, and also believed responsible for the death of Hannah Anderson's mother and brother, that man is dead. He was shot by an FBI agent in western Idaho.
We have just been told by officials in Cascade, Idaho, that we should expect this press conference at any moment. They came out and gave us the warning that they would be ready in minutes. And the sheriff of Valley County, Idaho, will be speaking among others.
Our Miguel Marquez is in Cascade, Idaho. Paul Vercammen is in San Diego, California.
This has been a multistate operation, a manhunt really for this man. I'll get to you in just a minute, Paul.
But I want to go to Miguel Marquez because, Miguel, getting ready for that press conference. I think they said it will happen in about five minutes, it should be about four minutes now that this is going to happen.
You have been speaking to family members as well. And give us an idea of the mood where you are as we await this press conference.
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the mood is jubilation. Half of the town, I can show you once again here, half of the town, half of Cascade, has shown up. How good is this news? And, you know, it's the same with law enforcement. You see around. There's clearly a great relief has been lifted off of people's shoulders, and, you know, Jason Pat coming out here today to say the agent in charge will be speaking with the FBI.
There's a lot of credit as Mr. Clemente, who was speaking earlier from the FBI, a lot of credit goes to this team for pulling it off successfully, because the level of danger, and everybody here understood it. You know, you're deep in the woods. This has been going on for days. They've been in a car driving for days. They've been walking in the woods. They're tired. Desperate. Hungry, perhaps.
And, you know, for this to end as well as it has, I got to say, I've been covering this story for a bit. I cover a lot of stories. I was not so hopeful that this would end this way, and I am very, very, very pleased that it did -- Don.
LEMON: Stand by, Miguel. As we await that.
I want to get quickly to Paul Vercammen.
Paul, I may have to jump in if that press conference gets started. But the news was announced where you are in San Diego and officials obviously came out and went back inside. Is there any new information to garner from San Diego since this is where this story started?
PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No, there's no new information, but I would like to give you a little context to it, because in talking to relatives all week long, this is a story of colossal betrayal, almost of biblical proportions. Think Kane and Abel. Instead of a brother being dead, it was a wife and a son. After all, they considered Jim DiMaggio an uncle.
So, when you talk to these people all week long, they just couldn't believe this ever happened. At one point according to one person who's close to the family, they said that Jim DiMaggio was living with the paternal grandmother and basically getting himself on his feet financially, so he could buy the house down toward that border town and move into it. So you can imagine just how heartsick they were. So many people not believing at all that Jim DiMaggio would shatter this family, Don.
LEMON: Paul Vercammen -- Paul, thank you very much. We'll get back to you if anything happens.
I want to get back now to Miguel Marquez because, Miguel Marquez, this is where this press conference is going to happen where you are, and they are stepping up to the podium now.
Let's listen in to this press conference about how they got this man, killed this man, and they found Hannah Anderson, 16 years old, still alive.
MARY ROOK, SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE, FBI SALT LAKE CITY DIV.: Good evening. I'm Mary Rook, the special agent in charge of the FBI office of the Salt Lake City Division. I want to update you about the rescue operation that just concluded. At approximately 5:20 local time, special agents with the FBI's hostage rescue team, along with Salt Lake City's division of the FBI, observed Hannah and the suspect near Moorhead Lake at a campsite. Agents moved in to rescue Hannah. The suspect is deceased.
As a matter of policy, the FBI automatically dispatches a shooting review team from Washington to review the circumstances surrounding any situation where a special agent discharges a firearm. The team will interview witnesses and determine exactly what happened. For this reason, no other details can be released at this time.
When incidents like this occur, no one ever really knows where the investigation will lead. In this case, our team faced a very challenging situation. Our team of FBI agents, Valley and Ada County sheriffs deputies, Idaho state police, U.S. Marshals, the U.S. Border Patrol, and the rest of the entire team, worked tirelessly to find Hannah.
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. As grateful as we are that she was recovered safely, we also remember the other victims in this case who lost their lives. Moving forward, the FBI evidence response team, along with detectives from San Diego County sheriffs department, will process the crime scene at the site of the rescue. This will still take some time and require a great deal of logistical coordination.
As the Idaho portion of this case wraps up and transitions back to San Diego County, we will continue to work with our colleagues, both in Idaho and San Diego, and provide them with any continuing support they might need. It has been said that the greatest weapon against crime is the cooperation of all law enforcement, with the understanding of the public. And I think this case has proven that.
Thank you.
SHERIFF PATTI BOLEN, VALLEY COUNTY, IDAHO: Patti Bolen, Valley County Sheriff.
Hannah -- excuse me. Hannah is safe, and that was our first priority from the very beginning. We're so appreciative of all our law enforcement partners. And members of our community who all played a role in bringing Hannah home. Thank you.
REPORTER: Ms. Rook, can you describe (INAUDIBLE) of this?
ANDREA DEARDEN, PIO: I'm Andrea Dearden. I'm the acting public information officer for this incident. I also have Jason Park with Pack (ph), rather, I'm sorry, with the FBI here. We will attempt to field questions.
Now, again, as the special agent in charge explained, there is a special investigative team that comes in after incidents like this and so there's very little information about what transpired this afternoon that is really simple at this time. So happy to try to answer questions, however, please understand that the details available are very, very limited.
REPORTER: (INAUDIBLE) thermal imaging, how did they see?
DEARDEN: I don't have any information about how they were spotted, but they were spotted from the air.
REPORTER: How soon after they were spotted (INAUDIBLE) --
DEARDEN: I do not have information on that, the exact timing. I also don't have information about whether or not the suspect fired.
(INAUDIBLE)
DEARDEN: No, we don't have any details about what Hannah is experiencing right now, but our top priority is to make sure she is OK in every way possible. That's important.
(INAUDIBLE)
DEARDEN: She was removed from the area by a helicopter.
REPORTER: Does she have any apparent injuries?
REPORTER: Rescue team involved (INAUDIBLE)?
DEARDEN: This is simply a team that is trained in these kind of situations. And so I don't -- I can't release any specifics on what transpired leading up to this. But these are the teams that go in, whether or not there's negotiation at that time or not. They're trained to handle these kinds of situations no matter what transpires.
REPORTER: How far from the original site where they were spotted on Wednesday were they found today?
DEARDEN: Not very far. They were relatively close to the same area.
REPORTER: Andrea, does Hannah have any apparent physical injuries?
DEARDEN: No. She does appear to be doing OK at this point.
REPORTER: She's in a Boise hospital right now, Andrea?
DEARDEN: I can't tell you exactly where she is. She was taken to a local hospital.
REPORTER: We had one report that they were swimming when he was taken out?
DEARDEN: I don't have that information.
REPORTER: They were spotted by a helicopter, by eyesight, or technology that was used?
DEARDEN: I don't have any specifics on the type of investigative tools that were used at this point. All of that, of course, part of this investigation. REPORTER: Andrea, without talking about the evidence, itself, can you just tell us, give us a sense of just how complicated, how sensitive a mission this was given the circumstances?
DEARDEN: Of course, this was a homicide suspect that was in a very rugged area and we had a 16-year-old girl who we wanted to bring home safely. That is what we wanted. We wanted it to end safely. We wanted her home. That's exactly what happened.
But as with any of these, we want to make sure safety is taken into consideration. We have to look at the tactical issues both because of the nature of the investigation, but also because of the land we're talking about. And so, it is certainly a complex search.
REPORTER: Were any law enforcement officers injured in the rescue effort?
DEARDEN: I don't have any reports of any injuries to any of the personnel that were on the ground.
REPORTER: Can you tell us when and where a reunion will take place?
DEARDEN: No, I don't know exactly when that will happen. I do know that they will reunite her with family as soon as possible.
REPORTER: Is she being attended to by --
DEARDEN: Absolutely. Victim witness counselors are with her, absolutely. We'll make sure she gets as much care physically and emotionally as absolutely possible as with any case like this.
REPORTER: Do you know when he was declared dead?
DEARDEN: No, I haven't released any of the specific times, and so, I don't have all of the times on that part of the investigation.
REPORTER: Do you know the direction --
DEARDEN: I don't have the exact directions. I apologize.
So this will be our last on-camera briefing that we will do on this incident. Our teams are now demobilizing. So, a lot of the federal teams will be heading back to their home bases. And so we will continue to send out any updates via e-mail as we get them, but we don't expect any new updates until we can get this team in place and they can process that.
So, all other information after today will come from the FBI office in Salt Lake City.
So, we appreciate all of your help through all of this. We -- you have been very, very helpful in getting this message to the community and, of course, our thanks to everyone who called in tips. This was a -- you know, started essentially in earnest yesterday morning, and today less than 36 hours later she is home and she's safe. Hannah is safe and that was -- that's the best outcome that we were hoping for, our top priority.
So we appreciate all your help. Good afternoon.
REPORTER: Are they going to wait until the morning?
DEARDEN: They will continue to process the scene as they can. I don't know when the crews will be there and all of that. They'll continue to work through the night.
REPORTER: How many FBI agents were in the hostage recovery team? And how many people were on the ground doing that sort of immediate rescue effort?
DEARDEN: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That part is still under investigation. It's unclear right now. That's part of the questions that the shooting review team from Washington who's coming will look into. Unfortunately, we're not going to say much anymore about the incident, itself because we have to wait on the shooting review team to come. They're the ones who will interview the witnesses and determine the facts.
If we release anything publicly, that might skew it a little bit. What we want to do is wait on them. I know it's not good for you all because everybody wants to know what happened. What's important here is Hannah is safe tonight.
Thank you.
I don't know. I have to check it, too.
Thank you all.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you, guys. Thank you --
LEMON: OK. There's that press conference in Cascade, Idaho.
Basically the information coming out of that is that they are still processing the crime scene and there were details about the takedown of this man that they could not go into because the investigation is still going on. You saw our Miguel Marquez there ask one of the questions at the press conference and he is now getting more information from investigators. We're going to talk to Miguel on the other side of this break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Breaking news here on CNN. We've been following for a week now. And it has come to this. California teenager missing since last weekend, believed to have been kidnapped, is found alive and well. The man who police believe kidnapped her, and also believed responsible for the death of her mother and brother, that man is dead.
We're getting new information now. There was just a press conference held just a short time ago, just moments ago before the break, in Cascade, Idaho.
And we're getting new video in of the search for that suspect and the search for Hannah. This is raw video, unedited. We're just getting it in. I'm seeing it for the first time as you are.
You can see members of all those tactical teams that went out in the search for the suspect and the search for Hannah.
This was taken by Miguel Marquez's crew. Our correspondent who's out there who is at that press briefing in Cascade, Idaho.
Miguel, if Miguel is up, because you asked a question there -- Miguel, as we go through this video, and we're seeing, you know, the men in uniform, men and women in uniforms and also the search dogs as well, helicopter, tactical van, as well.
What did you see? Tell us about the hunt for this suspect and for Hannah.
MARQUEZ: Well, certainly that they saw the camp at 5:20 local time. And that they move in, that shots were fired, it's not clear if Mr. DiMaggio fired back, but they are saying very little else. A team now coming in from Washington to review this shooting. They say.
But I can tell you about that video that you're looking at. That was shot by Chris Hodick (ph), and Sonya Hamaski (ph), our team that was at the Cascade airport today. That was midday. Something interesting about that video, they were on custom and borders patrol helicopters. They were dressed in their camo gear, very heavily armed.
I wondered and asked, how long will these guys be good to go to the woods and go in there for long periods of time and be directed -- like Special Forces in a military-type operation, would be directed by somebody back at base? We also know those helicopters, I believe, were late in getting out the door this morning.
There was a lot of law enforcement here. There was a lot of poring over of maps. There was a lot of discussion with local officials about where they might be. What is stunning about this is that they weren't very far from where that individual saw them on horseback on Wednesday.
Clearly, they were tired. They were staying near a lake, so they had fresh water. It's a well-known lake around here now that I've been here a couple days. A lot of guys go fishing there. It's way out in the middle of nowhere, but it is a well-known lake here.
And they were just north of the lake. I believe from the folks I talked to earlier, they were seen on horseback south of that lake on Wednesday afternoon.
LEMON: Hey, Miguel?
MARQUEZ: So, through all of this -- yes?
LEMON: Yes, as you were speaking here, I want to talk to you a little bit about these are aerials that we're looking at now, and the reason I jumped in here is because at an earlier press conference, they said they were seen at the campsite spotted from the air and then the ground units were sent in, were sent in. That's why I want to talk about this aerial video that we're looking at now.
Go ahead, Miguel.
MARQUEZ: So it's also still not clear to me whether or not they used air -- if the air spotted them just before the ground ops moved in or whether or not those air resources were able to pick them up overnight. Perhaps with some sort of infrared or if they had drones or other, or even fixed wing aircraft, airplanes up overhead with sophisticated cameras watching out trying to figure out, spot exactly where they were.
The other concern with this is, even if you can see them by air, how do they know that these were the two? You can't just take a shot, obviously, and hope that you get the right guy. So they had to move in closely. They had to know they had the right person. There had to be some sort of exchange, whether verbal or otherwise with Mr. DiMaggio. They clearly realized very quickly that he was not going to give up and that's when they made that life-or-death decision -- Don.
LEMON: Miguel, these pictures, too, are exclusive pictures that we're looking at, these aerial shots.
Miguel, during the press conference you asked a question, but also, you know, both people who spoke reiterated the fact that the crime scene is still being gone over now. They can't release that much information because it's still an active investigation.
MARQUEZ: An incredibly delicate, complicated situation. It weighed on everybody here. I don't think a lot of people thought this would end very well because here you had a desperate guy who seemed to be, you know, in love with this 16-year-old who had already killed in a very, you know, dramatic and horrible way, that had betrayed the trust of people he'd known for a long time. So, there was a sense of what would stop him now -- the roughness of the territory that they were going into, the length of time they had been on the run, the tiredness.
You know, Mr. DiMaggio, I know, according to family who knew him, had lost, and the people in San Diego who knew him, he had lost a lot of weight in recent months and just like the last six months, to a worrying degree, we would pick up his shirt and show him what he called his abs, but it was really they said it was skin and bones literally.
So, it suggested somebody who had gone through a radical change physically, but clearly also mentally, and I think that weighed on the minds of everybody moving into this situation. The fact that they brought this around as quickly as they did and as successfully as they did is fantastic.
But, you know, Brett's statement about Hannah and what she's been through, I can't imagine -- the death of her brother, her mother, the fire, and then on the run, and then into this wilderness. And then to see, presumably, to be nearby as Mr. DiMaggio is taken down, that is a heck of a lot for anyone to take on, especially a 16-year-old girl -- Don.
LEMON: So, Miguel, you've been following this, I want you to go along with me with this timeline as I tell our viewers. You can feel free to jump in at any time if you want to comment on this.
We know that this all started Sunday. San Diego County firefighters responded to calls that DiMaggio's house was engulfed in flames, and they found the body of Hannah's mother, Miguel, inside, Christina Anderson. Correct?
MARQUEZ: Correct. And it wasn't until Monday that Brett Anderson got worried. Ethan was supposed to be at football practice on Sunday morning. He didn't show up.
They'd gone up 3:00 p.m., Friday -- Saturday afternoon. Ethan didn't show up for football practice the next morning, so presumably they may have already been dead or taken captive at that point. Then the fire happened Sunday night. Monday into Monday, the pictures start to come out and people think it's just another normal house fire out in the middle of nowhere in East County San Diego.
Brett Anderson gets worried, starts calling around. No one's getting back to him. No one's picking up his phone. They think, it's -- they're worried, actually, for DiMaggio, for Jim DiMaggio, because they think that's his house. Something's happened to him.
And, then, slowly into Monday, the realization of what has happened, who is in there and what appears to have happened with Mr. DiMaggio taking Hannah, going on the run and prompting this multistate, multi- country Amber Alert and just the level of focus and concern and fear, very, very high across the entire area -- Don.
LEMON: Yes.
And, Miguel, we want to say that Brett Anderson is the father, you mentioned him there. Again, I want to just real quickly here, Monday, August 5th, California issues the Amber Alert for DiMaggio, Hannah and Ethan. Then, by Wednesday, the teen is spotted with DiMaggio by a horseback rider in a remote rugged area about 70 miles from Boise, Idaho, which is near where Miguel is now.
And then on Friday, Idaho state police searched the trailhead there and they found the car that was registered to DiMaggio. And then this morning, confirmation came from the sheriffs department in San Diego that the second set of remains found in the burned out house were those of 8-year-old Ethan Anderson. Hannah's brother.
Don't go anywhere, Miguel. I want to get a quick break in and then we'll talk more on the other side of this break. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Breaking news here on CNN: A California teenager missing since last weekend believed to have been kidnapped, alive and well now.
The man who police believe kidnapped her, also believed responsible for the death of Hannah's mother and 8-year-old brother. That man is also dead. He was taken down by an FBI tactical agent in western Idaho at a campsite.
This ends a frantic week-long manhunt involving hundreds of police officers and federal agents. Sixteen-year-old Hannah Anderson's mother and 8-year-old brother died when their home burned last Sunday. Hannah had not been seen since then.
A tip led law enforcement to western Idaho where James DiMaggio was found dead and killed today. The information coming just a short time ago. That Hannah's father is on his way to meet with his daughter.
Stay tuned to CNN for more details and updates. I'm Don Lemon in New York. Good night.
