Last October, Jayme Closs, a 13-year-old girl from rural Wisconsin, mysteriously went missing after authorities arrived at Closs’ residence to find a tragic crime scene. Her parents—James and Denise Closs— had been fatally shot and left dead in the home, but Jayme was no where to be found.
Authorities launched a nation-wide search, which culminated on Thursday, January 10, nearly three months after Jayme went missing, as she was found just 70 miles from where she originally went missing.
Here’s what we know about Jayme Closs’ abduction.
When did she actually go missing?
On October 15, police officials received a call from someone yelling and crying for help and arrived in Barron, Wisconsin to the Closs residence. Upon arrival, authorities found two dead bodies — James, 56, and Denise, 46— yet no weapons were left at the scene. Jayme, the couple’s 13-year-old daughter was also missing from the scene. The call apparently came from Denise’s cell phone.
So what happened to Jayme?
Jayme was ruled out as a suspect in the murder of her parents, as police officials considered the teen endangered, but there were no concrete leads and Jayme’s whereabouts remained unknown. “I’m telling you: Jayme is missing and endangered,” Barron County sheriff Chris Fitzgerald said at a news conference, per Fox News. The Barron County Sheriff’s department launched a search party, asking volunteers to meet up on the city of Barron to find Jayme.
At the time, the Barron Sheriff Department asked the public for help in locating two vehicles of interest: a 2010 black Acura MD and bright red Dodge Challenger.
When was she found?
According to the Douglas County Sheriff’s office, Closs was found in Gordon, Wisconsin. “The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office confirms that Barron County missing person JAYME CLOSS was located alive in the Town of Gordon in Douglas County at 4:43pm and a suspect was taken into custody at 4:54pm, also in the Town of Gordon,” the office wrote on their official site.
TMZ reported that Jayme was found after she escaped a cabin and pleaded with a stranger, Kristin Kasinskas, who was walking her dog at the time. When Closs was found, she was reportedly dressed in dirty clothes and looked malnourished. Kasinskas said Jayme’s emotions were “pretty flat” when she found her.
The Barron Sheriff’s Department also issued a statement on Thursday night, January 10, informing the public Jayme was found.
Elizabeth Smart, a woman who was kidnapped at the age of 14 back in 2002 (and has since become an advocate for child-safety) was overjoyed once Jayme was found alive, and took to Instagram to celebrate. “What a miracle!!! Jayme Closs has been found!!!! I’m so thrilled to hear the news. What has been such a heart wrenching tragedy finally has some happiness in the story,” she captioned a photo of Jayme. “I’m praying for Jayme and all her family that they can have a joyous reunion and as the rest of the country celebrates alongside this happy occasion we all are mindful to give the family their space and privacy on their road to finding a new sense of normal and moving forward. I have no doubt Jayme and her family will forever appreciate the efforts and prayers of the many thousands of people who contributed and kept them in their thoughts and prayers!”
Who do police believe kidnapped Closs?
Following the news, police took 21-year-old male Jake Thomas Patterson into custody. Police said that he watched Closs board a school bus at her nearby stop, then designed a detailed plan to kidnap her. He allegedly shot Jayme’s father James with a Mossberg shotgun from outside the home, then broke in and found Jayme and her mother, Denis. According to the Washington Post, Patterson “wrapped duct tape around Jayme’s mouth, wrists and ankles before shooting Denise in the head…As he drove away from the crime scene, he had seen three squad cars with their lights and sirens on.”
Patterson faces two counts of first-degree intentional homicide and one count of kidnapping.
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