Author: Andrea Anderson and Danielle Kaeding / Source: Wisconsin Public Radio
Authorities have identified the suspect in the kidnapping of Jayme Closs and the killing of her parents as Jake Thomas Patterson, 21, of Gordon.
Patterson is being held at the Barron County Jail on two counts of first-degree intentional homicide and one count of kidnapping, and is expected to make an initial court appearance at 3:30 p.
m. Monday in Brown County Circuit Court where he will be formally charged for the crimes.
Patterson was arrested Thursday after Jayme escaped from a home in the Town of Gordon and gave Douglas County authorities a description of Patterson’s vehicle.
Patterson was arrested without incident, Douglas County Sheriff Tom Dalbec said at a news conference Friday.
Barron County Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald said Patterson made a calculated plan and went to the Closs home to kidnap Jayme. The reason why and how Patterson came to know of Jayme are two questions law enforcement is working diligently to piece together.
“I know all of you are searching for the answer why any of this happened, believe me, so are we,” Fitzgerald said. “Not knowing will plague us for some time, but again our goal is to continue to do what is right for Jayme and see that justice is served.”
“What I can tell you is we don’t believe there was a social media connection and we are determining how he became aware of Jayme,” Fitzgerald later said. “I do not have that answer in complete form yet to release.”
Patterson worked at the Jennie-O Turkey plant in Barron more than three years ago for less than two days but law enforcement doesn’t believe he had contact with Jayme’s parents — James Closs, 56, and Denise Closs, 46 — who also worked at the plant.
Patterson is accused of killing the parents Oct. 15 at their home in Barron while Jayme was home, and then kidnapping the teenager.
“At this time, nothing in this case shows the suspect knew anyone at the Closs home or at any time had contact with anyone in the Closs family,” Fitzgerald said. “The suspect had specific intentions to kidnap Jayme and went to great lengths to prepare to take her.”
Patterson also took steps to avoid being detected by law enforcement and the public, like altering his appearance by shaving his head, Fitzgerald said. The sheriff would not comment further, citing the ongoing investigation.
Jeanne Nutter was walking her golden retriever Henry around a roughly two-mile loop of cabins near her home when she saw a young girl walking toward her wearing shoes too big for her, a sweatshirt and leggings.
“She said, ‘Please help me. I don’t know where I am. I’m lost,'” Nutter told WPR.
Nutter said it became clear as the girl came closer that she was Jayme, the 13-year-old girl that had been missing since her parents were found dead in October.
When Nutter recognized Closs, Nutter asked her what kind of vehicle the person who took her was driving so they could be ready to run. The two then headed down the road to the home of a nearby neighbor, Peter Kasinskas.
“I said, ‘Don’t ask me any questions. Just call 911 because I have Jayme,'” Nutter said.
The Kasinskas called 911 and wrapped Jayme in a blanket. When asked how the girl was doing, Nutter said, “She’s a child who’s been traumatized.”
News of Jayme being found alive broke Thursday night after the Barron County Sheriff’s Department posted the news to Facebook at around 8 p.m.
The Town of Gordon is about 45 minutes southeast of Superior and an hour north of Barron.
The investigation of the killings and apparent abduction drew in members of the FBI and thousands of civilian volunteers who showed up to help search the area surrounding the Closs home.
The Investigation Continues
Eighty-eight days. That’s how long Jayme was missing for.
Since Oct. 15, law enforcement officers have been weeding through tips and claims that Jayme had been seen.
Sheriff Fitzgerald said his head was “spinning” at points from tips that were coming in from other parts of the state and sometimes the country.
The kidnapping garnered national attention and at one point there was a tip that Jayme was spotted in Miami, but that was quickly dismissed. The Town of Gordon wasn’t even on law enforcement’s radar, Fitzgerald said.
So what changed the case and brought Jayme home? Jayme.
“That is the will of a kid to survive. It’s the unthinkable,” Fitzgerald said Friday. “It’s amazing the will of that 13-year-old girl to survive and escape, and that comes from the hope and the prayers and this community.”
The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office received the 911 call at about 4:30 p.m. from the Kasinskas household, Douglas County Sheriff Dalbec said, and deputies “immediately” responded “en masse” to the home.
Using Jayme’s description of the vehicle, a “short time later” an officer located Patterson’s vehicle “down the road” and Patterson was taken into…
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