Ethan Anderson, the 8-year-old who was presumed kidnapped or missing, was found dead in a burned out home in Southern California.
The boy’s body was found in a burning house in Southern California, the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department told The Associated Press Friday. The body of the boy’s mother, 44-year-old Christina Anderson, was also found in the home. Investigators have said that Christina was murdered.
Officials said in a statement on Friday night that investigators positively identified the boy via DNA extracted from his bone marrow.
Ethan’s sister, Hannah Anderson, 16, is thought to have been kidnapped by family friend James Lee DiMaggio.
Hannah believed to have been kidnapped from Boulevard, California after DiMaggio allegedly burned the home down. His blue Nissan Versa was found in central Idaho in a rugged wilderness area.
Horseback riders told authorities they spoke with two people who they believed was DiMaggio and Anderson.
San Diego County Sheriff Bill Gore told the Los Angeles Times: “I’m very confident and I think we should all be optimistic that she appeared to be in somewhat good health and alive on Wednesday.”
Officials say DiMaggio was close to the family, and Christina Anderson’s husband, Brett, told reporters that he was like a best friend. The children also trusted him and thought of him as an uncle.
But officials said DiMaggio may have had an “unusual infatuation” with Hannah Anderson, but Brett Anderson said he never noticed such a thing.
