Amber Alerts issued in Oregon, Washington state for kidnapped Calif. kids

SAN DIEGO –  Amber Alerts for two children possibly abducted by a man suspected of killing their mother were issued in Oregon and Washington state Wednesday after the fugitive's car was believed to have been spotted.

Oregon State Police issued an Amber Alert for a blue 2013 Nissan Versa allegedly being driven by 40-year-old James Lee DiMaggio after it was reportedly seen heading northbound from Alturas, Calif. near the Oregon border. The car also was possibly spotted in southern Oregon Wednesday afternoon, near the town of Lakeview, police said.

Shortly after Oregon put out the alert, the Washington State Patrol followed suit. Authorities believe that DiMaggio might be heading toward Texas or Canada with 16-year-old Hannah Anderson and possibly 8-year-old Ethan Anderson. 

DiMaggio is suspected of murdering the children's mother, Christina Anderson, whose body was found Sunday night in DiMaggio's fire-damaged home in Boulevard, Calif., a remote hamlet 65 miles east of San Diego. The body of a child was found near Christina Anderson's remains, and DNA tests will be performed to determine if the body is Ethan's.

"It is a possibility that it's Ethan," said San Diego County Sheriff's Department Lt. Glenn Giannantonio. "Right now we just don't know. And we're praying that it isn't Ethan."

Also Wednesday, The Associated Press reported that one of Hannah Anderson's friends claimed that DiMaggio had told her he had a crush on the 16-year-old and would date her if they were the same age. 

15-year-old Marissa Chavez said that DiMaggio explained that he didn't want the girls to think he was weird in an effort to defend himself after noticing they exchanged glances. She said he spoke while driving them home from a high school gymnastics meet a couple months ago.

On Tuesday the children's father pleaded with his friend to release his daughter and turn himself in.

"Jim, I can't fathom what you were thinking," said Brett Anderson. "The damage is done."

Anderson also pleaded with his missing daughter, who authorities said was in grave danger, to run away from DiMaggio if she got the chance.

“Hannah, we all love you very much. If you have a chance, you take it. You run. You’ll be found," Anderson was quoted as saying by Fox5SanDiego.com.

He did not mention Ethan Anderson's name.

The San Diego County Sheriff's Department has said DiMaggio and Christina Anderson had been in a close, platonic relationship.

Sheriff's officials referred to Brett Anderson, who arrived from out of town to talk to investigators Tuesday, as her ex-husband, but he told The Associated Press that the couple had still been married.

Giannantonio told Fox5SanDiego.com that investigators had been receiving calls from the public throughout the day Wednesday.

“Realistically, we don’t know where they’re going,” Giannantonio told the station. “We’re keeping a wide net, and hopefully we’ll find them. We’re looking everywhere. … We’re going to work on this case until we find them.”

The FBI joined the search and the Amber Alert was later extended to Mexico's Baja California state, which borders Boulevard.

Monday marked the first time that mobile phone users were notified of a statewide Amber Alert in California through their phones, CHP spokeswoman Jamie Coffee said. The alert system, which was introduced in December, sends messages automatically, based on the phone's location, not the phone number.

Christina Anderson grew up with her mother and stepfather in the east San Diego suburb of Santee, and she aspired to a career in child psychology, said her ex-husband, James Chatfield of La Grande, Ore. The marriage lasted four years, until 1992, and Chatfield said he lost touch.

"She was a high school sweetheart," he said. "It was a marriage of convenience that just didn't work out."

Chatfield said he helped Anderson's current husband move to The Dalles, Ore., in the early 1990s, but they lost contact.

The blue Nissan Versa has a California license plate of 6WCU986. A reward of up to $1,000 is being offered for information leading to an arrest.

Anyone with information is asked to call (858) 974-2321.

The suspect, James Lee DiMaggio, 40, left, is being sought in the disappearance of Ethan Anderson, 8, and Hannah Anderson, 16. DiMaggio and the children's mother, Christina Anderson, 44, who was found dead on Sunday, were in a “close platonic relationship,” according to authorities.