Jayme Closs: What we know so far
15 January 2019
Thirteen-year-old Jayme Closs is back with her family after being held captive in rural Wisconsin for 87 days. She disappeared the day her parents were found murdered at their home in Barron, reappearing months later, 70 miles (113km) away. Jake Patterson, 21, is accused of killing Jayme's parents to abduct her after allegedly seeing her board a school bus in a chance encounter. He was charged with kidnapping, homicide and armed burglary on Monday. A criminal complaint released on 14 January offered new details of the kidnapping, including how Mr Patterson targeted Jayme. The document quotes Mr Patterson as saying that when he saw Jayme, "he knew that was the girl he was going to take." Here's what we know so far about the case. Just after midnight early on 15 October, police received a 911 emergency call from Denise Closs' mobile phone. Nobody spoke, but the dispatcher could hear muffled yelling at the other end of the line. When the police arrived only four minutes later, they found the front door kicked in and Denise, 46, and her husband James, 56, shot dead. No gun or suspects were found at the scene and there was no sign of Jayme. Police ruled Denise and James' deaths homicide, and appealed for help finding Jayme. Jayme's school district held a "Gathering of Hope" for their missing student at a local high school on 22 October, while a funeral for the Closs parents was held on 27 October. But despite thousands of tips, the authorities had few leads. In a town of only about 3,400 residents, the murders and disappearance gripped the local community. At one point, more than 2,000 people joined the sheriff's hunt for the 13-year-old. Mr Patterson told officials he first saw Jayme as she boarded a school bus, the complaint states. He had stopped behind the bus while driving to work at a cheese factory - on one of two mornings he was employed there. The 21-year-old began scouting the Closs home, planning how to kidnap Jayme. He abandoned two attempts after seeing people in the house, he told investigators. On the night of the murder-kidnapping, Mr Patterson took measures to conceal his identity, including shaving his head, stealing a licence plate, and wiping his shotgun of fingerprints. Mr Patterson then stormed the family's home, the complaint alleges, shooting Jayme's father first, then coming for Jayme and her mother as they hid in a bathroom. He taped Jayme's hands and legs and dragged her from the house to his car, where he put her in the boot and drove to the rural cabin in Gordon. Jayme told officials Mr Patterson would make her hide under his twin bed whenever he went out or had visitors, stacking containers with heavy weights around it "so she could not move them without his being able to detect it". At times, she would be confined for up to 12 hours with no food, water or bathroom breaks, the complaint states. On 10 January, the Douglas County Sheriff's Office announced Jayme had been found alive in Gordon, Wisconsin. Jayme told investigators she was able to move the weights and crawl out of the room, fleeing on foot until she encountered a neighbour - Jeanne Nutter. Ms Nutter was walking her dog on Thursday afternoon when Jayme approached her for help, revealing her identity. "She just yelled please help me I don't know where I am. I'm lost," Ms Nutter, a social worker, told the Associated Press. Local teacher Kristin Kasinkas told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune Ms Nutter had knocked on her door and told her, "This is Jayme Closs! Call 911!". She said Jayme did not know where she was or anything about Gordon, and Peter Kasinkas said she was quiet and her emotions were "pretty flat". Jayme is now in the care of her aunt, Jennifer Smith. Police found Jake Thomas Patterson only 11 minutes after they recovered Jayme. According to the local officers who arrested Mr Patterson, when he stepped out of his vehicle "he stated 'I know what this is about'", adding: "I did it". Mr Patterson, who is unemployed, has no criminal history in the state of Wisconsin and appears to have a sporadic work history, being employed for just days at a time at various rural factories. He told investigators "he never would have been caught if he would have planned everything perfectly". Neighbour Ms Kasinkas told the AP she taught Mr Patterson in secondary school but did not remember much about him. She did not recall seeing him around town or on her street. "He seemed like a quiet kid," she said. "I don't recall anything that would have explained this, by any means." Mr Patterson's former classmates told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel he was voted the quietest student in his grade one year and never made an impression.
Just after midnight early on 15 October, police received a 911 emergency call from Denise Closs' mobile phone. Nobody spoke, but the dispatcher could hear muffled yelling at the other end of the line. When the police arrived only four minutes later, they found the front door kicked in and Denise, 46, and her husband James, 56, shot dead. No gun or suspects were found at the scene and there was no sign of Jayme. Police ruled Denise and James' deaths homicide, and appealed for help finding Jayme. Jayme's school district held a "Gathering of Hope" for their missing student at a local high school on 22 October, while a funeral for the Closs parents was held on 27 October. But despite thousands of tips, the authorities had few leads. In a town of only about 3,400 residents, the murders and disappearance gripped the local community. At one point, more than 2,000 people joined the sheriff's hunt for the 13-year-old.
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When did she disappear?
Mr Patterson told officials he first saw Jayme as she boarded a school bus, the complaint states. He had stopped behind the bus while driving to work at a cheese factory - on one of two mornings he was employed there. The 21-year-old began scouting the Closs home, planning how to kidnap Jayme. He abandoned two attempts after seeing people in the house, he told investigators. On the night of the murder-kidnapping, Mr Patterson took measures to conceal his identity, including shaving his head, stealing a licence plate, and wiping his shotgun of fingerprints. Mr Patterson then stormed the family's home, the complaint alleges, shooting Jayme's father first, then coming for Jayme and her mother as they hid in a bathroom. He taped Jayme's hands and legs and dragged her from the house to his car, where he put her in the boot and drove to the rural cabin in Gordon. Jayme told officials Mr Patterson would make her hide under his twin bed whenever he went out or had visitors, stacking containers with heavy weights around it "so she could not move them without his being able to detect it". At times, she would be confined for up to 12 hours with no food, water or bathroom breaks, the complaint states.
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How was she kidnapped?
On 10 January, the Douglas County Sheriff's Office announced Jayme had been found alive in Gordon, Wisconsin. Jayme told investigators she was able to move the weights and crawl out of the room, fleeing on foot until she encountered a neighbour - Jeanne Nutter. Ms Nutter was walking her dog on Thursday afternoon when Jayme approached her for help, revealing her identity. "She just yelled please help me I don't know where I am. I'm lost," Ms Nutter, a social worker, told the Associated Press. Local teacher Kristin Kasinkas told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune Ms Nutter had knocked on her door and told her, "This is Jayme Closs! Call 911!". She said Jayme did not know where she was or anything about Gordon, and Peter Kasinkas said she was quiet and her emotions were "pretty flat". Jayme is now in the care of her aunt, Jennifer Smith.
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How did she escape?
Police found Jake Thomas Patterson only 11 minutes after they recovered Jayme. According to the local officers who arrested Mr Patterson, when he stepped out of his vehicle "he stated 'I know what this is about'", adding: "I did it". Mr Patterson, who is unemployed, has no criminal history in the state of Wisconsin and appears to have a sporadic work history, being employed for just days at a time at various rural factories. He told investigators "he never would have been caught if he would have planned everything perfectly". Neighbour Ms Kasinkas told the AP she taught Mr Patterson in secondary school but did not remember much about him. She did not recall seeing him around town or on her street. "He seemed like a quiet kid," she said. "I don't recall anything that would have explained this, by any means." Mr Patterson's former classmates told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel he was voted the quietest student in his grade one year and never made an impression.
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Who is Jake Thomas Patterson?