SAN DIEGO — A massive search entered a sixth day Friday for a man suspected of abducting a 16-year-old family friend as police warned he may have abandoned his car while on the run and rigged it with explosives.
James Lee DiMaggio, 40, may have had an “unusual infatuation” with the missing girl, Hannah Anderson, said San Diego County Sheriff’s Capt. Duncan Fraser.
“That is kind of a working theory, that it may be something of a motivator,” Fraser said Thursday.
On Sunday night, authorities found the body of Hannah’s mother — 44-year-old Christina Anderson — when they extinguished flames at DiMaggio’s rural home. A child’s body also was discovered as they sifted through rubble in Boulevard, a tiny town 65 miles east of San Diego.
The body may be that of Hannah’s 8-year-old brother, Ethan. Fraser said it could take several days to identify the badly burned remains. Investigators were unable to extract DNA.
Evidence found in the rubble suggested DiMaggio may have fled with homemade explosives, Fraser said, declining to elaborate on what was discovered. The car may be booby-trapped, he said.
“In the event that someone comes across the car, they need to use caution,” Fraser said.
DiMaggio is wanted on suspicion of murder and arson in a search that began in California and spread to Oregon, Washington, Nevada, British Columbia and Mexico’s Baja California state.
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