Finding Hannah: 'One Chance in a Trillion'

Horseback rider had 'gut feeling about' DiMaggio
By Matt Cantor,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 12, 2013 4:37 AM CDT
Finding Hannah: 'One Chance in a Trillion'
This combination of undated photos provided by the San Diego Sheriff's Department shows James Lee DiMaggio, 40, left, and Hannah Anderson, 16.   (AP Photo/San Diego Sheriff's Department)

The horseback riders who spotted missing teen Hannah Anderson and her abductor, James DiMaggio, are telling the story of their "one chance in a trillion" discovery, NBC News reports. When they encountered Hannah in Idaho backcountry—days before she was rescued—she looked out of place in pajama pants, say Mike and Mary Young, 62 and 61, one of two couples on horseback. Their companion Mark John, a former sheriff, says Hannah and DiMaggio "were like a square peg in a round hole—they didn’t fit," NBC Los Angeles reports.

The couples' chat with the two was uncharacteristically short: "In the backcountry, you exchange pleasantries. These people did not want to talk," John said. Hannah turned away from him, though he heard her say, "Looks like we’re all in trouble now." John later recognized Hannah on the news. "I told my wife, 'That was the girl we seen up there on the mountain.'" Now, Hannah has been reunited with her father, Brett. "It's now healing time," he texted CNN. (More Hannah Anderson stories.)

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