Steve Jurman described the moment his team first spotted Anderson and her alleged abductor James DiMaggio. The rescue started with a glimmer of blue through the trees.
"We circled a few more times and focused in on that area. And then we were able to see that it was a blue tent," he said.
And then, he says two people came into focus.
"We were actually able to verify that is was a male and a female with blond hair and a small animal. So, at that point we knew we had something extremely valuable," said Jurman.
He says the task force was ready for a long search and they almost couldn't believe they had found the pair so quickly, or at all. Search teams worried DiMaggio and the 16-year-old Anderson might have made it to a river highly populated with rafters.
"That was a major concern of ours during the investigation was that maybe they made it to that river and floated out of our area," said Jurman.
When they were found, they were only three miles from the river and 1,000 miles from home.
Authorities say DiMaggio kidnapped Anderson from the San Diego area after killing her mother and 8-year-old brother.
Their bodies were found in DiMaggio's burning home on August 4.
Anderson is back in San Diego with her father. She only just learned that her mom and brother are dead.
"The healing process will be slow. She has been through a tremendous, horrific ordeal," said Hannah's father Brett Anderson.
Federal Bureau of Investigation agents shot and killed DiMaggio. They say he was armed with a shotgun and fired at least one shot at them.
The motive behind his apparent crimes is still not known.
