An Amber Alert has been issued in California after officials feared that two children were abducted by a suspected murderer, The Los Angeles Times reported.
Authorities believe Hannah Anderson, 16 and her brother Ethan Anderson, 8, were kidnapped by James Lee DiMaggio after he killed their mother, Christina Anderson, 44, of Lakeside.
Officials found the mother's body on Sunday night in the burning rubble of a house and garage in Boulevard in eastern San Diego County owned by DiMaggio. Her two children were most likely taken on Saturday near 5 p.m., according to the California Highway Patrol website.
Police said they also found the remains of a child in the rubble, although Lt. Glenn Giannantonio of the San Diego County Sheriff's Department said they have not been identified yet.
DiMaggio drives a blue Nissan Versa with the California license plate 6WCU986. It is believed that he is trying to flee to Canada and has both or at least one of the Anderson children with him.
He is described as 5-foot-9, 150 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes.
Hannah Anderson is 5-foot-7, 115 pounds, with blond hair, blue eyes, a belly button ring, nose stud, and pierced ears.
Ethan Anderson is 4-foot-11, 65 pounds, with sandy blond hair.
Anybody with information on this case should call the homicide detail at (858) 974 - 2321or (858) 565 - 5200, or San Diego County Crime Stoppers at (888) 580 -8477.
The Amber Alert system was established statewide in California in 2002 and has helped recover 200 children back home. Until 2002, it had only been introduced in the state as a regional concept in 1999.
The system originated in Texas in 1996 after 9-year-old Amber Hagerman was abducted and murdered. As a result, people organized to create a program that enabled law enforcement agencies to notify the media directly following a confirmed abduction.
