Disappearance of Jayme Closs

On Monday, October 15, 2018, a 911 call was received from the Barron, Wisconsin, United States home of 13-year-old Jayme Closs and her parents. Upon arrival by police, Closs's parents were discovered shot to death and the teenager missing. According to police, Closs is believed to have been abducted and is not a suspect in her parent's deaths. Description: Jayme Lynn Closs was 13 years old at the time of her disappearance. An Amber Alert was issued nationwide around 3:30 pm on October 15; Closs was described as 5 feet tall, 100 lbs, with blonde or strawberry-blonde hair. She was last seen on October 14 at a family member's birthday party. The Barron County Sheriff announced she had been found alive on January 10, 2019. Disappearance: The night of the disappearance a 911 call was made from the home of the Closs family around 1:00 am. While the operator did not speak with anyone, they heard a disturbance and a lot of yelling. When the dispatcher attempted to call the number back, they received the voicemail of Denise Closs. Upon arrival four minutes after the call, police noticed that the front door had been kicked in, and her parents, James Closs (56 years old) and Denise Closs (46 years old), were dead from gunshot wounds. The family dog was still in the home when officers arrived, and it was believed that Jayme was home at the time of the shooting, based on details in the 911 call and evidence from the home. No gun was recovered after searching the home. Two vehicles were spotted on surveillance footage near to the home, with police identifying them as vehicles of interest, and as a red or orange 2008 - 2014 Dodge Challenger and a black 2006 - 2010 Ford Edge or 2004 - 2010 Acura MDX. Neighbors also claimed to hear two gunshots around 00:30 am on October 15, but dismissed it as hunting was common around their home and did not call 911. Investigation: Investigators have received more than 2,000 tips in the case and have reviewed a large majority of them. There was an initial search on October 18, where searchers concentrated on the sides of US Route 8, which is near the home. On October 23, 2018 volunteers spent the day searching for the missing 13-year old. A US$25,000 reward for any information leading to the location of Closs was issued on October 24. On October 26, the reward was doubled to $50,000. Recovery: On January 10, 2019, the Barron County Sheriff's Department announced that Jayme Closs had been found near Gordon, Wisconsin and a suspect had been taken into custody. Late on January 10, investigators blocked all roads leading to a cabin in the 14100 block of South Eau Claire Acres Circle as they combed for evidence. A cabin at that address was previously owned by Patterson's parents, but ownership was turned over to the Superior Choice Credit Union about a week after the Oct 15 abduction. In a Facebook post at 7:55 pm, Sheriff Fitzgerald announced that the Douglas County Sheriff's Department had located Closs alive. He stated: "Shortly after this a suspect was taken into custody in regards to this case. We do not have any other details at this time as this is a very fluid and active investigation. We will not be answering any questions or taking calls on this tonight." A KMSP-TV report said the relatives of Closs did not recognize the name of the kidnapper. According to reports by KSTP, a station based in St. Paul, a Douglas County woman was walking her dog Thursday afternoon when she was interrupted by a teenage girl who ran up to her screaming that a man had murdered her parents. The woman took her to a neighbors' house in order to call 9-1-1 and for shelter. Jayme was found in Gordon at 4:43 p.m. and the suspect was taken into custody at 4:54 p.m. Child safety advocate and kidnapping survivor Elizabeth Smart described the recovery as a miracle and described Closs as a hero, commenting: "What a brave, strong, and powerful survivor! No matter what may unfold in her story let’s all try to remember that this young woman has survived and whatever other details may surface the most important will still remain that she is alive." Suspect: Minutes after Jayme was found, a Douglas County sheriff's deputy spotted a car described by Jayme as belonging to the suspect. Authorities took the driver, 21-year-old Jake Thomas Patterson, into custody. Patterson faces two counts of first-degree intentional homicide and one count of kidnapping. Barron County Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald said Patterson had no previous criminal history in Wisconsin. Patterson is in custody in Barron County, authorities said at a news conference on the morning of January 11.