by Patrick H. Moore
The Joseph Lee DiMaggio Amber Alert kidnapping and multiple murder story is so weird and compelling that one fervently wishes it was a movie starring Kristen Stewart as Hannah Anderson rather than a true crime story. On Wednesday August 7th, Joseph DiMaggio and the 16-year-old kidnapped victim were sighted on foot with camping gear in a rugged Idaho backcountry area near Morehead Lake 70 miles northeast of Boise.
The sighting was not reported immediately, however, because the man — who was on horseback when he encountered them — didn’t t realize that they were the missing Amber Alert couple at the time, and only put the pieces together later based on news reports.
What is very strange is the fact that based on the rider’s observations, it did not appear that the girl, believed to be 16-year-old Hannah Anderson, was being held against her will. The rider reported that both the man and the girl seemed healthy and were equipped with the appropriate gear to hike and camp in the remote Idaho wilderness.
The rider also told police it did not appear that the girl was being held against her will:
“There was nothing that was so alarming at the time that he felt threatened or alarmed,” Ada County Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman Andrea Dearden said of the unidentified rider. “But after seeing the Amber Alerts, there was something that made him think, in hindsight, that it all seemed a little odd.”
Two other key pieces of the puzzle came together on Friday:
- A car that was positively identified as belonging to DiMaggio was found in the Idaho wilderness.
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Late Friday, five days after his charred body was pulled from the burning remains of DiMaggio’s home near the California-Mexican border, San Diego County sheriff’s officials announced that — based on DNA extracted from bone marrow — they were now certain that the deceased was Hannah’s 8-year-old brother, Ethan Anderson.
Christina Anderson, 44, the children’s mother, was also found dead at the burning house on Sunday night. Since then law enforcement throughout the west have been looking for DiMaggio and Hannah Anderson.
Backstory: A Part of the Family
Law enforcement is well aware that in sexual abuse crimes that target underage victims, more often than not, the perpetrator is a relative or close friend of the family. Such is the case here. According to Hannah’s sole surviving parent, Brett Anderson, DiMaggio was so close to the Andersons that he was considered part of the family. He was already good friends with Brett and Christina Anderson before Hannah was born.
As a result of this, despite the evidence, Brett Anderson struggles to accept the fact that Anderson is really behind this nightmare:
“I have been through every scenario in my brain. There was nothing ever to show any indication of this.”
DiMaggio would join the family on camping trips and was always very friendly toward all of them.
“I can’t fathom what happened in Jim’s head. He obviously just lost it,” Anderson said.
“You’ve taken everything,” Anderson pleaded to DiMaggio. “The damage is done. Just let my daughter go, let her go home safe, let her be with me and try to mend things from there.”
This, sadly, is unrealistic. Based on the fire, the deaths of 8-year-old Ethan and Christina Anderson, and the subsequent kidnapping of Hannah, there would appear to no no readily available way for DiMaggio “to try to mend things from here.”
Although certain witnesses have come forward with the information that DiMaggio had a crush on Hannah, Brett Anderson has said the family had no knowledge of that.
The Search:
As of late Friday, there had been no other reported sightings of the pair since Wednesday. A massive search for Hannah and DiMaggio is now taking place in the southwest corner of The Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness.
Upwards of 100 people were searching on foot and on horseback or were on their way to join the search of an area that has been described as covering 320 square miles.
Brett Anderson is naturally “very happy” that Hannah may have been spotted alive. He doesn’t know why his daughter didn’t ask the horseback rider for help.
“We don’t know what kind of frame of mind she was in or what he told her. Maybe if she acted differently, there would be more dead people.”
Hannah’s grandfather, Christopher Saincome, also refused to try to explain the girl’s reaction.
“He could have strapped something to her and told her it was a bomb. He could have had her tethered to him. I’m sure she’s totally in shock.”
Meanwhile, the search continues.