BOISE — Saturday will make the five-year anniversary of a kidnapping out of California that ended with a dramatic rescue in the Idaho wilderness.
On August 3, 2013, 16-year-old Hannah Anderson was abducted after cheerleading practice in San Diego by 40-year-old James Dimaggio.
That same day, Dimaggio lit his California home on fire where Hannah's mother and younger brother were staying, killing them, and then drove to Idaho with Hannah.
On August 9, former sheriff Mark John, his wife Christa and two friends were on horseback making their way to Morehead Lake in Valley County when they spotted Hannah and Dimaggio.
"The girl looked like she had an absolute look of fear all over her face and he looked just plain evil," recalls Mark John.
Dimaggio told the Johns the two were headed to the Salmon River but they were going in the wrong direction and weren't dressed for the backcountry they were in.
"He was clearly out of his element, he had no clue where they were going. They were kind of dressed in those exercise pants, looked like pajamas to us, and they were wearing those real thin-soled tennis shoes and he had just a little fanny pack on," says John.
Both the Johns and their two friends thought the encounter was strange but pointed them in the right direction.
About three hours, the Johns noticed Dimaggio again.
"I looked off to the left and here's this guy standing there, looking down at us and he's stroking a house cat. At that point we knew something was definitely wrong, seriously wrong," says John.
Unnerved by the situation, the Johns and friends were unable to shake the strange encounters.
"At first it maybe looked like kind of a boyfriend-girlfriend thing, then the closer we got to him he was so much older than her," says John.
The four headed home the next day and it was then they learned the true nature of Dimaggio and Hannah's relationship.
The Johns immediately called police and it was that tip that led to Hannah's rescue.
An FBI agent shot and killed Dimaggio.
To this day, the Johns keep in touch with Hannah and her grandparents and even see each other
occasionally.
"She seems to be handling it quite well," says John.