Jayme Closs, a 13-year-old girl who went missing in October after her parents were murdered, was located alive on Thursday.
Jayme went missing on Oct. 15, after law enforcement said she was present in the house the day her parents—James Closs, 56, and Denise Closs, 46—were murdered in their Barron, Wisconsin home, 80 miles outside of Minneapolis. The door had been kicked in and several shots were fired, all while police believe Jayme was inside.
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An AMBER Alert was issued that afternoon.
Police had identified a vehicle they believed to be involved, a 2004-2010 Black Acura MDX or a 2004-2010 Black Ford Edge.
A strange false sighting came shortly after her disappearance in Miami, Florida. Surveillance footage showed a teenage girl in the front passenger seat of a black SUV with a man.
Miami Police shared the video and the Barron County Sheriff investigated. They determined it was not Jayme in the video.
As the search continued, as many as 2,000 volunteers showed up to help look for Jayme in October days after her disappearance.
The FBI announces a $25,000 reward for information, followed by a $50,000 reward two days later. Jayme was also placed on the FBI’s top missing persons list in October.
When the parents were laid to rest, the family was struck with tragedy once again as the home of Jayme Closs was burglarized the weekend of the funeral.
32-year-old Kyle Jaenke-Annis allegedly broke into the Closs home and stole Jayme’s clothing. He was charged with burglary, but was ruled out as a suspect in the murders and Jayme’s disappearance.
Around the same time, another Barron native was also in the news for different reasons. Chris Kroeze, a Barron musician, was on The Voice, and using his national platform he continued to urge people to remember Jayme and phone in tips if they knew where she was.
Kroeze remained on the national stage for the duration of the show, making it to the finale.
By November, the ground search was scaled back as the number of tips to investigate had declined, but Barron County Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald remained hopeful Jayme would be found.
The FBI examined more than 80 surveillance videos collected from businesses and other locations as the FBI and law enforcement continued to search for Jayme.
Later that month, the Barron County Justice Center dedicated their Christmas tree to Jayme Closs, and decorated it with green and blue ribbons to symbolize the colors of awareness and support. Instead of a star, the center put “Prayers for Jayme” on the top of the tree.
The sheriff also asked hunters to keep an eye out for Jayme during gun deer season while hunters sprawled out over the state.
Through November and December, investigators pursued more than 2,300 leads in the case. Detectives had not identified a suspect and Jayme’s relatives were puzzled and anxious to hear news of her whereabouts.
On Christmas Eve, Fitzgerald told the media he still believed, “There is a tip out there,” and that he believed Jayme was still alive.
This Monday, authorities said they planned to provide an update on the case. Next week will mark 90 days since her disappearance.
He was planning on updating the media on Jan. 15. Now that she has been located alive, Fitzgerald will be part of the news conference at 10 a.m. Friday, four days earlier than planned.
The investigation lasted 88 days. Jayme was found in Douglas County, near Duluth, Minnesota. One suspect, 21-year-old Jake Thomas Patterson, is in custody accused of killing Jayme's parents and kidnapping her.
A news conference was held earlier in the day Friday. Another is planned for 4 p.m. Friday afternoon.
