Manhunt for Alleged Killer, Kidnapped Girl Ends in Gunfire

Aug. 10, 2013— -- After a massive search in a remote area of Idaho, police on Saturday located a suspected killer and the 16-year-old girl he allegedly kidnapped. The girl was found safe but the alleged kidnapper was killed, police said.

Sheriff Bill Gore in San Diego County, Calif., said 40-year-old James Lee DiMaggio was killed by an FBI agent at 4:22 p.m. Pacific time near a campsite. His captive, 16-year-old Hannah Anderson, was located and "appears well," Gore told reporters Saturday evening.

"Rhett Anderson, the father, has been notified. Obviously, he is elated that we found his daughter alive and plans are being made to reunite him with his daughter hopefully tomorrow morning," Gore said.

The search spanned three states and thousands of miles. The suspect left with the girl last Sunday after her mother and brother were found slain at the girl's house in California. The pair was located today near Morehead Lake, in the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness, the largest roadless area in the lower 48 states, sprawling across central Idaho and reaching north to the Montana border, near the town of Cascade.

About 150 FBI agents converged on the region Saturday morning, joining roughly 100 law enforcement officers from the U.S. Marshal's Service, Idaho State Police, Valley and Ada County sheriff's offices, the San Diego Sheriff's Department and other agencies, the Associated Press reported.

Earlier, the body of a child found in the Southern California home of murder and kidnapping suspect DiMaggio was positively identified as 8-year-old Ethan Anderson, who was previously thought to have been abducted, the San Diego County Sheriff's department said. The boy's body was found after fire officials were called to put out a blaze at DiMaggio's home in Boulevard, Calif., and its detached garage at around 8 p.m. Aug. 4.

Inside one of the burned buildings, they found the body of the boy's mother, Christina Anderson, 44, police said.

Investigators found the badly burned body of a child while searching the scorched buildings, according to the sheriff's department, but did not confirm the body was Ethan until Friday night.

Authorities were able to identify the body after performing DNA analysis extracted through his bone marrow.

DiMaggio is suspected of killing Christina Anderson and her son, Ethan and then abducting her daughter, Hannah, 16, after setting his house on fire.

READ MORE: Amber Alert For Missing Teen Expands After Possible Sighting

DiMaggio and Christina Anderson "were in a close platonic relationship," according to the sheriff's department, and officials said DiMaggio might have had an "unusual infatuation" with the teenage daughter.

An Amber Alert was in effect for both children on Friday until the second body recovered from the home where Christina Anderson was found was identified as belonging to Ethan.

READ: Amber Alert Suspect's Car Found in Idaho After Possible Sighting

Authorities were tipped off to the remote area, located about 70 miles from Boise, after a horseback rider Wednesday reported seeing a man and a teenager matching the description of DiMaggio and Hannah.

DiMaggio's car was found covered in brush near Cascade, Idaho, on Friday, San Diego County Sheriff Bill Gore said.

The blue Nissan Versa was found without license plates, but authorities were able to determine that the vehicle belonged to DiMaggio through its identification number, Gore said.

While police believed DiMaggio might be armed with explosives and could potentially use them to rig his vehicle or hideout, the Boise Police bomb squad did not find any explosive devices inside or near the car during their initial search Friday afternoon, Ada County Sheriff's spokesman Patrick Orr said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.