Officials in Barron County, Wisconsin are recounting the relief they felt when missing 13-year-old Jayme Closs was found safe. Barron County Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald says many sleepless nights were spent in the eighty-eight days Closs was missing. But, Fitzgerald says the million-dollar-question of why the kidnapping and homicide happened in the first place has yet to be answered. Jayme went missing in October after her parents were fatally shot in their Barron County home. She was found alive on Thursday after escaping her alleged captor identified as 21-year-old Jake Patterson.
Barron County School Superintendent Diane Tremblay says she is committed to making sure Jayme resumes a normal life with her family and friends. Tremblay noted that the community really banded together to find Jayme and never lost hope.
After an emotional 88 days, the family of Jayme Closs is finally reunited with the 13-year-old who went missing. On Facebook yesterday, Closs’s aunt, Jennifer Smith, posted two smiling pictures of Jayme and herself. In an interview, Smith said she’s never going to let Jayme go. She also thanked everyone for not giving up hope in the search for her niece.
Jayme and her dog Molly will reside with her aunt, for now. Meanwhile, a Facebook fundraiser for Closs has raised 50-thousand-dollars in under 24 hours.
The suspect in the kidnapping of a Wisconsin teenager and the murder of her parents is due to make his initial court appearance on Monday. Barron County Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald remarked that Jake Patterson will be charged with two counts of homicide and one count of kidnapping.
