(Reuters) – A 13-year-old girl who escaped from a rural home where she was held captive for three months by a 21-year-old Wisconsin man charged with the murder of her parents helped resolve the case and she should be treated as a hero, said Friday the sheriff of the locality.
Thousands of volunteers and hundreds of law enforcement officers searched the entire small town of Barron after the discovery of Jayme Closs's parents,
. that Barron County Sheriff, Chris Fitzgerald, called "a child's willingness to survive," a disheveled woman escaped from a home in the tiny town of Gordon where she had been held captive, about 60 miles north of Barron. She was found by a woman walking her dog on Thursday afternoon.
"Jayme is the hero of this case.It was she who helped us solve this case," Fitzgerald told reporters on Friday.
30 PHOTOS
Case of kidnapping of Jayme Closs
Gallery view
Jayme Closs
(Photo: FBI Milwaukee)
This photo courtesy of the Barron County Sheriff's Department in Barron, Wisconsin, shows Jake Thomas Patterson of the City of Gordon, Wisconsin, incarcerated for murder and homicide on month of October. murder of a Wisconsin couple and kidnapping of their teenage daughter, Jayme Closs. Closs was found alive Thursday, January 10, 2019 in Gordon. (Barron County Sheriff's Department via AP)
A sign is seen in the small town of Barron, Wisconsin, on Tuesday, October 23, 2018, when 13-year-old Jayme Closs was found missing after the death of his parents. were found dead at home. A search was underway to find the missing girl of the couple. (AP Photo / Jeff Baenen)
A missing person poster from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) shows Jayme Closs, a 13-year-old Wisconsin girl, missing since her parents were fatally injured by bullet three months ago, was found in Gordon, Wisconsin, USA, as shown in this poster provided on January 11, 2019. FBI / Handout via Reuters CAUTION: THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY.
Volunteers search along 15th Avenue. off Highway 25 just north of Barron, Wisconsin, on Tuesday, October 23, 2018, 13-year-old Jayme Closs was found missing on October 15 after her parents were found shot dead at home. (1965) – Barron County Sheriff, Chris Fitzgerald, holds up the photo of Jake Thomas Patterson's booking, allegedly kidnapping Jayme Closs, at a press conference held on Friday, Jan. 11, 2018 in Barron, New Jersey. Wisconsin. Closs, a 13-year-old girl from northwestern Wisconsin who disappeared after her parents' murder in October, was found alive in the rural town of Gordon, Wisconsin, about 60 km north of her home. , in Barron. Investigators believe that Patterson, who was arrested shortly after the discovery of Closs, killed his parents because he wanted to kidnap her. (Jean Pieri / Pioneer Press via AP)
Greg Niemuth, of Eau Claire, Wisconsin, searches a wooded area along the 15th Ave. near Highway 25, north of the city, to find 13-year-old Jayme Closs in Barron, Wisconsin, on Tuesday, October 23, 2018. Hundreds of aligned volunteers walked around the wetlands on Tuesday. , the cornfields and the woods looking for clues investigators of the Wisconsin girl whose parents were killed and who would have been abducted. (Jerry Holt / Star Tribune via AP)
Jayme Closs
(Photo: FBI Milwaukee)
Louie Lauderdale, of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, searches near a cornfield along 15th Avenue. near Highway 25 just north of Barron, Wisconsin, on Tuesday, October 23, 2018, for 13-year-old Jayme Closs, who was found missing on October 15 after her parents were found shot dead in the US House. (Jerry Holt / Star Tribune via AP)
Barron County Sheriff, Chris Fitzgerald, speaking at a press conference held on Friday, January 11, 2018 in Barron, Wisconsin, About the arrest of Jake Thomas Patterson, allegedly kidnapped Jayme Closs. Closs, a 13-year-old girl in northwestern Wisconsin who disappeared in October after her parents were murdered, was found alive in the rural town of Gordon, Wisconsin, about 60 km north of Wisconsin. his house, in Barron. Investigators believe that Patterson, who was arrested shortly after the discovery of Closs, killed his parents because he wanted to kidnap her. (Aaron Lavinsky / Star Tribune via AP)
A sheriff vehicle from Barron County, Wisconsin, sits on Tuesday, October 23, 2018 outside the house where James Closs and Denise Closs were found slaughtered on October 15th. A search was organized to find the missing girl of the couple, Jayme, 13 years old. (AP Photo / Jeff Baenen)
Hundreds of volunteers gathered on Tuesday, October 23, 2018 in Barron, Wisconsin, to help search for missing Wisconsin teenager Jayme Closs whose parents were killed in the family home. House. Jayme has been missing since October 15, when MPs responding to a 911 call found that someone broke into the family home in Barron and shot James and Denise Closs. (Jerry Holt / Star Tribune via AP)
Volunteers cross a cove and barbed wire near Barron, Wisconsin, on Tuesday, October 23, 2018, in search of a ground combatant for Jayme Closs, 13 years old. found missing on October 15 after her parents were found deadly slaughtered at home. Closs's research was expanded on Tuesday and nearly 2,000 volunteers are expected to participate in research in the region. (AP Photo / Jeff Baenen)
Jayme Closs
(Photo: FBI Milwaukee)
Volunteers line up along Highway 25 just north of Barron, Wisconsin, on October 23, 2018, to help research Jayme Closs, a teenage girl missing from Wisconsin, whose parents were killed at the family's home. Jayme has been missing since October 15, when MPs responding to a 911 call found that someone broke into the family home in Barron and shot James and Denise Closs. (Jerry Holt / Star Tribune via AP)
Volunteers gather in a cornfield along 15th Avenue. near Highway 25, just north of Barron, Wisconsin, on Tuesday, October 23, 2018, while they were looking for 13-year-old Jayme Closs, who was found missing after her parents were found shot dead at home. (Jerry Holt / Star Tribune via AP)
People attend a meeting during a moment of silence in front of Jayme Closs at the High School Barron Football Stadium on Monday, October 22, 2018. Authorities have revealed that they were looking for two vehicles linked to the disappearance of the Wisconsin girl whose parents were shot dead last week, calling hundreds of volunteers to resume ground searches. Local, state and federal investigators have been searching for Closs since the beginning of October 15, when members discovered that someone had broken into the Barron family's rural home and shot dead his parents. (Jerry Holt / Star Tribune via AP)
Jayme Closs
(Photo: FBI Milwaukee)
Chris Kroeze, a competitor of the show The Voice, performs at a vigil for Jayme Closs at the Barron High School football stadium in Barron, Wisconsin, Monday, October 22, 2018. Authorities revealed they are looking for two vehicles related to the disappearance of the Wisconsin girl whose parents were shot dead last week, calling hundreds of volunteers to resume ground searches. Local, state and federal investigators have been searching for Closs since the beginning of October 15, when members discovered that someone had broken into the Barron family's rural home and shot dead his parents. (Jerry Holt / Star Tribune via AP)
Steven Fowler of Wis., And his dog Cheeka search a cornfield along 15th Avenue. near Highway 25 just north of Barron, Wisconsin, on Tuesday, October 23, 2018, for 13-year-old Jayme Closs, who was found missing on October 15 after her parents were found shot dead in the US House. (Jerry Holt / Star Tribune via AP)
A group of volunteers searched the ditches along Highway 8 on Thursday, October 18, 2018 in Barron, Wisconsin, near the house where Jayme Closs, an elderly resident, lived. 13 years old. the parents James and Denise. (Jerry Holt / Star Tribune via AP)
Jayme Closs
(Photo: FBI Milwaukee)
People attend a meeting during a moment of silence in front of Jayme Closs at the Barron High School in Barron, Wisconsin, on Monday, October 22, 2018. Authorities revealed that they were looking for two of them. vehicles related to the disappearance of the Wisconsin girl whose parents were shot dead last week, calling hundreds of volunteers to resume ground searches. Local, state and federal investigators have been searching for Closs since the beginning of October 15, when members discovered that someone had broken into the Barron family's rural home and shot dead his parents. (1965)
Russell T Fell, WRN MNR Guards Supervisor, selected 100 volunteers to search ditches along Highway 8 on Thursday, October 18, 2018 in Barron, Wisconsin, near the house where they had spent 13 years. Jayme Closs lived with her parents, James and Denise. (Jerry Holt / Star Tribune via AP)
Wisconsin MNR custodian supervisor Russell T Fell selected 100 volunteers to dig ditches along Highway 8 on Thursday, October 18, 2018 in Barron, Wisconsin. Wisconsin, near home Jayme Closs, one year old, lived with her parents, James and Denise. Joan Smrekar spoke about the night she heard two gunshots at home where James, 13, mother of Jayme Closs, and Denise were killed on Thursday, October 18, 2018, in Barron, Wisconsin (Jerry Holt / Star Tribune via AP)
The Sheriff of Barron County, Chris Fitzgerald, speaking at a press conference held on Friday, January 11, 2018 in Barron, Wisconsin, about the company. arresting Jake Thomas Patterson, who reportedly abducted Jayme Closs, a 13-year-old girl from Wisconsin, Closs, who died in October after her parents' death, was found alive in the rural town of Gordon. Wisconsin, about 60 kilometers north of his house Barron. Investigators believe that Patterson, who was arrested shortly after the discovery of Closs, killed his parents because he wanted to kidnap her. (Aaron Lavinsky / Star Tribune via AP)
Barron County Sheriff, Chris Fitzgerald, brandishes the photo of Jake Thomas Patterson's reservation, allegedly kidnapping Jayme Closs, at a press conference held on June 9th. Friday January 11, 2018 in Barron, Wisconsin. Closs, a 13-year-old girl from northwestern Wisconsin who disappeared after her parents' murder in October, was found alive in the rural town of Gordon, Wisconsin, about 60 km north of her home. , in Barron. Investigators believe that Patterson, who was arrested shortly after the discovery of Closs, killed his parents because he wanted to kidnap her. (Aaron Lavinsky / Star Tribune via AP)
Members of the community listened to representatives of various Wisconsin law enforcement agencies speak at a press conference held on Friday, January 11, 2018 in Barron, Wisconsin, about the arrest of Jake Thomas Patterson. , who reportedly kidnapped Jayme Closs. Closs, a 13-year-old girl from northwestern Wisconsin who disappeared after her parents' murder in October, was found alive in the rural town of Gordon, Wisconsin, about 60 km north of her home town. house, in Barron. Investigators believe that Patterson, who was arrested shortly after the discovery of Closs, killed his parents because he wanted to kidnap her. (Aaron Lavinsky / Star Tribune via AP)
Kristin Kasinskas, who lives on Circle S. Eau Claire Acres with her husband Peter, speaks with the media on Friday, January 11, 2019 in Gordon, Wisconsin, called Kristin Kasinskas 911 Thursday, to report that Jayme Closs, 13, was found after another neighbor walks with her dog and brought her to Kasinskas. Closs disappeared in October after the death of his parents.
HIDE CAPTION
SHOW CAPTION
The woman and the neighbor immediately recognized the teenager on Thursday, because of the huge public campaign that followed her passing, Fitzgerald said. 19659002] Less than 15 minutes later, Jake Patterson, 21, was in police custody after the police intercepted his vehicle, according to Closs's description.
"The suspect was looking for police when law enforcement officers contacted him," Fitzgerald said. At a press conference, the police were not looking for any other suspects in the case at that time.
TARGET JAYME
Patterson, an unemployed Gordon, was charged on Friday with kidnapping and forcible confinement. murder James and Denise Closs with a shotgun. Their bodies were discovered on October 15th.
"The suspect was planning to kidnap Jayme and went to great lengths to get ready to take her," Fitzgerald said.
Patterson was detained in Barron County Jail. he was not yet clear if he had a lawyer. He faces a first hearing on Monday.
More than 200 law enforcement officers were on the ground day and night after Closs disappeared, sifting through thousands of tips but finding little to do.
(Jake Patterson via Reuters)
Research spanned cornfields and woodlands and attracted 1,500 volunteers, nearly half as much as Barron's total population of 3,400. , located about 145 km northeast of Minneapolis.
Hundreds of people Last month, residents of the city attended a Christmas tree lighting ceremony at Riverview Middle School, which Closs had attended in his honor. "The Tree of Hope" was decorated with messages and illuminated in blue, Closs's favorite color, and green to symbolize the sensibility of missing children, reported the Star Tribune.
Closs was talking to investigators on Friday after spending the night in the hospital. for evaluation. The authorities gave no details about the conditions of her captivity or how she managed to escape.
She was to be reunited with her extended family later on Friday.
"I just cried … very happy, tears," Jen Smith, the aunt of the girl, told ABC's "Good Morning America" program.
Attempts to reach Patterson's parents and neighbors on Friday were unsuccessful.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel newspaper, citing neighbors, reported that Patterson had been raised to Gordon. Police said Patterson had links with Barron but did not say what he said.
The president of the Jennie-O Turkey store in Barron, where James and Denise Closs had worked for decades, said Patterson had been employed for a single day three years ago. . Steve Lykken announced his resignation the next day.
"We are still mourning the loss of Jim and Denise, family members of the long-time Jennie-O family, but our entire team is rejoicing with the community and the world, that Jayme has been found," he said. Lykken.
Superintendent of the local school district, Jean Serum, said that Patterson was a nice boy, member of the "bowl of quiz" team from his high school. According to FBI data, he graduated in 2015.
Approximately 350 people under the age of 21 are abducted each year by foreigners in the United States, according to FBI data.
Closs is not the first victim of an abduction to survive in captivity. Elizabeth Smart, imprisoned for nine months after being kidnapped in Utah in 2002, posted a photo of Closs on Instagram, praising the "miracle" in which she was found.
Her story is all about remembering that this young woman has survived and whatever other details are revealed, the most important will always be alive, "wrote Smart.
(Reportage of Joseph Ax and Gabriella Borter in New York; Additional reportage by Rich McKay in Atlanta and Andrew Hay in New Mexico, edited by Bill Tarrant and Sandra Maler)
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