Almost three months after 13-year-old Jayme Closs went missing, a 21-year-old man was arrested and charged with kidnapping her and killing her parents.
Jayme went missing on October 15 after her parents, Denise and James Closs, had been fatally shot inside their home in Barron County, Wisconsin. After an exhaustive effort to locate Jayme, police arrested Jake Thomas Patterson on Thursday.
Jayme had managed to escape from a home where she had been held against her will. She gave Douglas County police officers a description of a vehicle, which they quickly located and pulled over. Barron County Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald said Patterson had planned his actions and sought to conceal his identity from the community and law enforcement.
Patterson was charged with two counts of first-degree homicide and one count of kidnapping. Barron County District Attorney Brian Wright told reporters that a criminal complaint would be filed next week, and it was his job to "obtain justice for James, Denise and Jayme Closs."
Fitzgerald said Jayme was the only target. After she was found, she was taken to the hospital, examined and held overnight for observation.
FBI Milwaukee Special Agent Justin Tolomeo told reporters on Friday that "In cases like this we often need a big break, and it was Jayme herself who gave us that break."
Where Was Jayme Closs Found?
Jayme had made her way to a neighborhood in Gordon, Wisconsin. Law enforcement did not say how far Jayme had walked from where she'd been held to where she was found.
Who Found Jayme Closs?
Jayme approached a woman who was out walking her dog and gave the woman her name, and the woman, according to The Minneapolis Star Tribune, had a neighbor call 911. Douglas County Sheriff Thomas Dalbec said they received a call around 4:30 p.m. from a woman who said Jayme had been found. Officers responded en mass and identified the young girl.
"The will of a kid to survive," Fitzgerald said about Jayme's ability to escape the home.
Fitzgerald said that both women who had come in touch with Jayme recognized her immediately, which he attributed to the overwhelming media coverage and postings on social media.
Who Is James Thomas Patterson?
Patterson had no criminal record in Barron County or the state of Wisconsin, according to Fitzgerald. He was arrested without incident and was being interviewed by law enforcement on Friday.
Fitzgerald said that the home where Jayme had been held was in a remote area but couldn't say if Patterson owned it. At Friday's news conference he said he wasn't sure if Jayme knew Patterson, although he did say that there did not appear to be any connection between Patterson and James and Denise Closs.
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