BARRON COUNTY, Wis. — Missing Wisconsin 13-year-old Jayme Closs has been found alive, Barron County Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald announced Thursday.
Closs has been missing since Oct. 15, when her parents were found murdered in their Barron, Wisconsin home. A suspect was taken into custody shortly after she was found, according to Fitzgerald.
The Barron County Sheriff’s Department was notified by the Douglas County Sheriff’s Department that they had located Jayme Closs alive, according to Fitzgerald.
Authorities say they have jailed a 21-year-old man on kidnapping and homicide charges in the October killing of a Wisconsin couple and abduction of their teen daughter, who was found alive.
Douglas County Sheriff Thomas Dalbec said at a news conference Friday that Jake Thomas Patterson was arrested Thursday after Jayme Closs was found near Gordon, where Patterson lives.
Barron County Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald says investigators believe Patterson killed Jayme’s parents because he wanted to abduct her, and that Patterson “took many steps to hide his identity.”
“Finally we want to especially thank the family for their support and patience while this case was ongoing,” The department posted on Facebook. “We promised to bring Jayme home and tonight we get to fulfill that promise. From the bottom of my heart THANK YOU!”
This is a developing story, authorities are asking the public to respect the privacy of the family.
