by Patrick H. Moore
The entire nation is watching closely as the details of the rescue mission that ultimately killed kidnapper James DiMaggio and liberated his victim, 16-year-old teenager Hannah Anderson, are slowly being revealed. Although the FBI, whose special tactical teams actually shot and killed DiMaggio and rescued Hannah, may launch an investigation into what actually occurred, at this point only bits and pieces of information are being revealed by various non-Federal law enforcement agencies in Idaho and San Diego County. In addition, All Things Crime Blog has a source in Valley County, Idaho, who has provided us with a clear and succinct report.
The following information does not appear to be subject to much dispute:
After Mark John, a veteran wilderness rider and former Idaho sheriff’s deputy, reported that he and his three companions had encountered James Dimaggio and Hannah Anderson in the rugged Frank Church Wilderness near Lake Morehead, hundreds of law enforcement agents began scouring 300 square miles of rough terrain. They were hampered by the smoke from nearby wildfires.
The searchers got a lucky break on Saturday afternoon when overhead surveillance spotted the pair’s campsite near Morehead Lake. Due to the steep and forbidding topography of the area, helicopters had to drop the FBI search team quite a distance from the camp.
According to Valley and Ada county sheriff’s departments, hostage rescue teams had to hike more than two hours to get close to the campsite. The search team moved in cautiously so that they would not arose DiMaggio’s suspicions.
From this point forward, the available “official” information has been provided by the Valley and Ada counties sheriffs’ offices and San Diego County Sheriff Bill Gore:
“Once the teams set up, they waited until DiMaggio and Hannah separated and moved in,” the Valley and Ada county sheriffs’ offices said.
The Ada and Valley County sheriff’s offices have not yet addressed precisely what occurred once the FBI search teams had “moved in.”
San Diego County Sheriff Bill Gore has stated that a “confrontation” ensued between the authorities and DiMaggio which ended when an FBI tactical agent shot and killed the murder and kidnapping suspect.
“Obviously we would have liked for Mr. DiMaggio to surrender and face justice in the court of law,” Gore said. “But that’s not going to be the case.”
After DiMaggio had been eliminated, the authorities ushered Hannah to an area where a helicopter could whisk her away. It has also been reported, apparently by Sheriff Gore, that Hannah Anderson has stated that DiMaggio fired at least one round from “a shoulder weapon”.
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All Things Crime Blog’s source in Valley County, Idaho, has provided us with the following information:
The Valley County Prosecuting Attorney will not confirm DiMaggio was armed, he will not confirm there is an investigation into his killing, and he will not confirm who will be involved if there is an investigation. He is now referring me to Andrea Dearden, the spokesperson who, on Saturday,
confirmed on national television that she knows nothing. Ms. Dearden is not an employee of Valley County, but instead is an employee of Ada County, the most populated county in the state. He will not tell me under what authority Dearden is operating, since we are about 65 miles from Ada County with another county in between. She either has to be operating under the authority of the Sheriff’s Office or his office, but he will not tell me. He will not confirm what agencies are involved at all in the investigation of DiMaggio’s death. Funny how a Sheriff 1500 miles away is releasing more information than the locals here. I also confirmed with another officer that there was a “shoot quick discussion.” That is, if DiMaggio so much as twitched his nose, that he would be shot. They were worried about murder-suicide.
I personally place considerable faith in the accuracy of our Valley County source’s statements. We have been in contact with him since Sunday morning when he rightly objected to our initial statement that DiMaggio was killed “in a firefight.” Our source’s objections were based on the fact that at that point there was no evidence of a firefight which, of course, implies that both the authorities and DiMaggio were firing off rounds. Based on our source’s information concerning the “shoot quick discussion”, it does not appear that it would have been necessary for DiMaggio to fire so much as a single shot in the event that he acted suspiciously for the FBI teams to shoot to kill.
It is noted that the FBI has not yet addressed the issue of whether DiMaggio was armed when the confrontation occurred.
Click on the links below to view our previous posts on this case:
Breaking News: James DiMaggio Exchanged Gunfire with FBI Prior to Being Shot and Killed
Hannah Anderson Rescued: SWAT Team Kills Kidnapper James DiMaggio in Idaho Wilderness
Amber Alert: Abducted Teenage Girl Hannah Anderson Sighted with Kidnapper in Idaho Wilderness