here is abc's linsey davis. >> reporter: she was kidnapped. her mother, brother tortured and killed. now a little more than a week after her rescue, 16-year-old hannah anderson, seen by so many as a victim feels the need to defend herself. in an interview broadcast on nbc news, she explained why she had written letters to jim dimaggio, her 40-year-old abductor, she had then known as uncle jim. >> the letters were from a year ago when me and my mom weren't getting along very well. me and him would talk about how to deal with it. he helped me through it. >> reporter: as for the 13 phone exchanges with dimaggio the day of her abduction she says they weren't phone calls but text messages. he was picking her up from cheerleading camp and didn't know where to find her. as the community comes together, to raise money for the funeral of her mother and 8-year-old brother, hannah expresses gratitude for the amber alert she says saved her. >> i didn't really know what it was.