Hannah Anderson unharmed in rescue that left James DiMaggio dead

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Phillip Garrido enters a courtroom in Placerville, Calif. Phillip Garrido was sentenced to 431 years in prison for Jaycee Dugard’s abduction. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)

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A tent in the backyard of a home in Antioch, Calif., where authorities say kidnap victim Jaycee Lee Dugard lived. (Paul Sakuma / Associated Press)

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Elizabeth Smart addresses the media outside a federal courthouse following the guilty verdict in the Brian David Mitchell trail in Salt Lake City. Mitchell was found guilty in the June 5, 2002, kidnapping of Elizabeth Smart. (Colin E. Braley / Associated Press)

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Elizabeth Smart poses with her parents, Lois and Ed, outside their home in 2003. Smart was abducted from her Salt Lake City bedroom in 2002 (Tom Smart / Associated Press)

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Brian David Mitchell, Elizabeth Smart’s kidnapper, is escorted into the Frank E. Moss Federal Courthouse in Salt Lake City in 2010. (Jim Urquhart / Associated Press)

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Katie Beers, whose kidnapping attracted nationwide headlines in 1992, poses for a photo in Old Westbury, N.Y. The 30-year-old mother of two co-wrote a new book about her ordeal. (Frank Eltman / Associated Press)

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John Esposito sits handcuffed in a van in Hauppauge, N.Y., as he is about to be taken to court for arraignment on charges of kidnapping Katie Beers. (Michael Albans / Associated Press)

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Shawn Hornbeck, 15, watches as his parents Craig and Pam Akers talk to the media in Richwoods, Mo. Shawn, who was missing since Oct. 2002, was recovered in 2007 with another missing boy. (Tom Gannam / Associated Press)

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Michael Devlin is escorted out of the Franklin County Courthouse in Union, Mo. Devlin pleaded guilty in Franklin County to one charge of child kidnapping and one count of armed criminal action in the 2007 abduction of 13-year-old William “Ben” Ownby. (Tom Gannam / Associated Press)

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Steven Stayner, right, and and his brother Delbert Stayner walk toward their Merced County home as Steven was reunited with his family following a 7-year kidnap ordeal. (Ted Benson / Associated Press)

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Convicted kidnapper Kenneth Eugene Parnell during a court appearance in Oakland in 2003. Parnell was convicted in the kidnappings of Steven Stayner in 1972 and Timothy White in 1980. (Nick Lammers / Associated Press)

By Jason Wells and Kate Mather

Aug. 10, 2013 7:43 PM PT

CASCADE, Idaho -- Authorities in Idaho on Saturday divulged few details about how an FBI tactical agent had just shot and killed the suspected kidnapper and subject of a five-state Amber Alert.

James Lee DiMaggio, 40, was shot and killed at about 5:20 p.m. local time as ground units moved in on his camp, which was spotted from the air, authorities said.

Roughly one hour later, officials at news conference in Cascade, Idaho said Hannah Anderson, the 16-year-old who DiMaggio allegedly abducted from an east San Diego County home, was recovered safely and recuperating from her ordeal in a hospital.

“Hannah is safe, and that was the best outcome we were hoping for, our top priority,” said Ada County sheriff’s spokeswoman Andrea Dearden.

Hannah did not appear to have any physical injuries, Dearden added.

“She does appear to be doing OK at this point,” Dearden said.

FBI Special Agent In Charge Mary Rook declined to divulge details of how the confrontation between agents and DiMaggio went down, citing protocols for first processing the crime scene and completing an initial investigation into the shooting.

She did say that the multi-agency task force faced a “very challenging situation” and that it would take “some time” to process the crime scene.

About an hour earlier, at a news conference in San Diego, County Sheriff Bill Gore said his team was notified minutes after DiMaggio had been killed.

“Obviously, we would have liked Mr. DiMaggio to surrender and face justice in a court of law, but that’s not going to be the case,” Gore said.

DiMaggio allegedly killed Hannah’s mother, Christina Anderson, and 8-year-old brother, Ethan, whose bodies were discovered Sunday in the suspect’s burning home in eastern San Diego County.

Back in Cascade, Idaho, where at least 30 locals and vacationers had gathered to witness the news conference.

Reporters peppered officials on how the encounter between agents and DiMaggio transpired, but they remained tight-lipped, citing the ongoing investigation.

Patti Bolen, sheriff of Valley County, where the incident occurred, gave a brief statement.

“Hannah is safe and that was our first priority from the very beginning,” she said.

After a short round of questions, she and collage of local and federal officials left the microphone stand and started walking to their awaiting cars, at which point the crowd of onlookers broke into applause, with some shouting “thank you!”

Officials on Saturday said they planned to get Hannah’s father, Brett Anderson, to Idaho to be with his daughter in the morning.

jason.wells@latimes.com

Follow: @jasonbretwells / Facebook / Google+

kate.mather@latimes.com

Twitter: @katemather

Mather reported from Cascade, Idaho; Wells from Los Angeles.