The teenager could be
seen entering the Boll Weevil restaurant in Lakeside, a community of
about 20,000 people located 20 miles northeast of San Diego.
Hannah didn't speak
publicly before entering the building, though her father later did talk
to reporters. The media were invited to the fundraiser at the
family-friendly restaurant but were not allowed inside.
"This is a small
community that we are a part of, and the community came together putting
on this great fundraiser for Hannah and hopefully for her future and
healing," Brett Anderson said, before he thanked local residents, family
and friends, the media and law enforcement. "This is how Lakeside
rolls."
Hannah went missing after cheerleading practice in San Diego County, California, on August 3.
The next day, the bodies
of her mother, 42-year-old Christina Anderson, and 8-year-old brother,
Ethan, were found about 45 miles east in the burned Boulevard house of
James DiMaggio, who had been considered a friend of the Anderson family.
That horror spurred a
manhunt, which zeroed in on central Idaho after two critical clues: the
discovery of DiMaggio's blue Nissan Versa outside the city of Cascade
and a sighting of the pair by horseback riders.
One of the horsemen
recalled noticing multiple "red flags" during their brief interaction
with the pair, including their brand-new camping equipment and the
pajama-like bottoms Hannah was wearing.
Brett Anderson said
Thursday that he'd been able to offer "our thanks and our love" to the
horseback riders in a phone conversation.
"It was a chance encounter, but it did save my daughter's life," he said Thursday.
The dramatic ordeal
ended last Saturday, after authorities spotted DiMaggio and his teenage
captive's campsite near Morehead Lake.
Hostage rescue teams had
to hike more than two hours to get to the scene, local sheriffs'
departments said. Eventually, they got close enough, and an FBI tactical
agent fatally shot DiMaggio, before whisking Hannah away.
Speaking Thursday about her condition, Brett Anderson said "she's just happy to be here."
"Hannah sends her love," her father said. "She's doing good day by day, and we'll keep moving forward from here."
One of her friends,
Alyssa Haugum, said from outside Thursday's fundraiser that she was
looking forward to seeing Hannah in person and giving her a hug. They
had communicated via Facebook, she said.
Haugum described Hannah, whom she knows from school and dance, as strong, funny and "usually really bubbly."
"It takes a lot to make her upset," she said of her friend.
The entire ordeal was surreal and scary, as it hit so close to home, Haugum said.
"It just felt like it
was untrue: One day somebody could be with you, and the next day they
are missing and you don't know where they're at," Haugum said.
Then, alluding to her friend Hannah, she added, "But I knew she was strong. I knew she would come back."
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