Hannah Anderson, the San Diego teenager kidnapped by family friend James Lee DiMaggio in August and who was rescued by FBI agents in Idaho, said her abductor tried to make her play Russian roulette.
Anderson, 16, told the "Today" show, which will air Thursday, that she feared for her life when DiMaggio brought her to his home home on Aug. 3. She said he was clear about his plans to kidnap her.
Editor's Note: ObamaCare Is Here. Are You Prepared?
"When we got into the house, after he told me the plan, he made me play Russian roulette with him sitting on the couch," Anderson said. "When it was my turn, I started crying, and like, was freaking out. And he said, 'Do you want to play?' And I said, 'No.' And I started crying and then he's like, 'OK.' And he stopped."
Anderson told "Today's" Savannah Guthrie when she arrived at DiMaggio's home, he handcuffed her, zip-tied her feet and sat her on the couch. She said DiMaggio told her that her mother and brother were in the house alive.
"He told me he was going to kidnap me and take me to Idaho, where my intention was just to carry his backpacks to the river," Anderson said, "and that he was gonna live there. And then he'd get me home afterwards."
DiMaggio rigged his house to explode into flames, killing Anderson's mother and her 8-year-old brother. Anderson was found and rescued in the backwoods of Idaho, after four horseback riders spotted her with DiMaggio and thought the two looked out of place.
The interview comes three weeks before a book comes out that casts doubt on Anderson's story, based on interviews with DiMaggio's family and friends,
according to KSWB-TV in San Diego.
"The River of No Return," written by criminal analyst Chelsea Hoffman, examines alleged inconsistencies in Anderson's actions during the multi-state manhunt.
"It wasn’t until her behavior after the rescue that I became suspicious," Hoffman said. "The four horseback riders made statements that Hannah didn't appear to be there against her will. She shows up to a carwash fundraiser wearing a brace on one leg and on that same exact day she’s wearing the brace on a different leg."
Editor's Note: Do You Support Obamacare? Vote in Urgent National Poll
Related stories:
James DiMaggio's Sister: Need More Evidence in Deaths, Hannah 'Trouble'
James DiMaggio Called Hannah Anderson 13 Times Before Abduction: Report