Hannah Anderson texted kidnapper DiMaggio, didn't call, she says

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Phillip Garrido enters a courtroom in Placerville, Calif. Phillip Garrido was sentenced to 431 years in prison for Jaycee Dugard’s abduction. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)

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A tent in the backyard of a home in Antioch, Calif., where authorities say kidnap victim Jaycee Lee Dugard lived. (Paul Sakuma / Associated Press)

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Elizabeth Smart addresses the media outside a federal courthouse following the guilty verdict in the Brian David Mitchell trail in Salt Lake City. Mitchell was found guilty in the June 5, 2002, kidnapping of Elizabeth Smart. (Colin E. Braley / Associated Press)

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Elizabeth Smart poses with her parents, Lois and Ed, outside their home in 2003. Smart was abducted from her Salt Lake City bedroom in 2002 (Tom Smart / Associated Press)

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Brian David Mitchell, Elizabeth Smart’s kidnapper, is escorted into the Frank E. Moss Federal Courthouse in Salt Lake City in 2010. (Jim Urquhart / Associated Press)

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Katie Beers, whose kidnapping attracted nationwide headlines in 1992, poses for a photo in Old Westbury, N.Y. The 30-year-old mother of two co-wrote a new book about her ordeal. (Frank Eltman / Associated Press)

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John Esposito sits handcuffed in a van in Hauppauge, N.Y., as he is about to be taken to court for arraignment on charges of kidnapping Katie Beers. (Michael Albans / Associated Press)

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Shawn Hornbeck, 15, watches as his parents Craig and Pam Akers talk to the media in Richwoods, Mo. Shawn, who was missing since Oct. 2002, was recovered in 2007 with another missing boy. (Tom Gannam / Associated Press)

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Michael Devlin is escorted out of the Franklin County Courthouse in Union, Mo. Devlin pleaded guilty in Franklin County to one charge of child kidnapping and one count of armed criminal action in the 2007 abduction of 13-year-old William “Ben” Ownby. (Tom Gannam / Associated Press)

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Steven Stayner, right, and and his brother Delbert Stayner walk toward their Merced County home as Steven was reunited with his family following a 7-year kidnap ordeal. (Ted Benson / Associated Press)

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Convicted kidnapper Kenneth Eugene Parnell during a court appearance in Oakland in 2003. Parnell was convicted in the kidnappings of Steven Stayner in 1972 and Timothy White in 1980. (Nick Lammers / Associated Press)

By Kate Mather and Samantha Schaefer

Aug. 22, 2013 8:27 AM PT

Addressing some of the scrutiny that has swirled around her case head-on, Hannah Anderson said she was texting -- and not calling -- kidnapper James DiMaggio the day she disappeared because he was supposed to pick her up from cheerleading practice.

Search warrants released last week referred to phone calls and letters between the pair. The documents indicated that the two called each other about 13 times before their phones were shut off, a detail that had raised questions about their relationship.

In an interview with NBC News that aired on the “Today” show Thursday morning, Hannah said the calls were “just texts” to let DiMaggio know where to pick her up after practice.

“The phone calls weren’t phone calls,” she said. “He didn’t know the address or where I was.”

The letters written by Hannah found at DiMaggio’s home -- the contents of which authorities have not detailed -- were from a year ago, Hannah said, when she and her mother weren’t getting along.

“They weren’t anything bad,” she said. “They were just to help me through tough times.”

The six-day manhunt for Hannah began Aug. 4 after her mother and brother were found dead at DiMaggio’s burning property in eastern San Diego County. Authorities believe DiMaggio killed Christina Anderson, 44, and Ethan Anderson, 8, before kidnapping Hannah and taking her to a remote stretch of Idaho wilderness.

Hannah and DiMaggio were spotted in Idaho by a group of horseback riders, who reported seeing the two near Morehead Lake, roughly 75 miles north of Boise. FBI agents raided the camp on Aug. 10. Hannah was rescued unharmed; DiMaggio was shot and killed.

Hannah’s behavior in the days following her rescue has fueled public speculation about whether she may have gone willingly with DiMaggio. She has posted on Facebook, Instagram and friends have said she went on ask.fm to answer questions about her ordeal.

“They don’t really know the story, so they kind of have their own opinion on what they hear,” she said on “Today” of those commenting on her actions.

She defended her social media presence, saying it’s part of her healing process.

“It just helps me grieve, like, post pictures to show how I’m feeling,” she said. “I’m a teenager. I’m gonna go on it.”

In response to the criticism and personal attacks, she said, “I didn’t know people could be so cruel.”

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Twitter: @katemather | Google+

Twitter: @Sam_Schaefer

kate.mather@latimes.com | samantha.schaefer@latimes.com