California kidnapping survivor Hannah Anderson and her captor exchanged dozens of letters, text messages and phone calls in the years leading up to her abduction, Anderson said Thursday.
Anderson, 16, said on NBC’S the Today show that she relied on James DiMaggio for emotional support when she was fighting with her mother, and that their exchanges were meant “just to help me through tough times.” They traded up to 13 messages on the day of the abduction. DiMaggio was a friend of the family picking her up from camp when he kidnapped her.
DiMaggio, who it is now believed may have actually been Anderson’s biological father, was killed Aug. 10 as authorities rescued Anderson after almost a week in captivity. Anderson said she is recovering after the ordeal, in which DiMaggio is also suspected of killing her mother and brother.
“In the beginning, I was a victim,” she said. “But now knowing everyone out there’s helping me, I consider myself a survivor instead.”
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