Wisconsin Man Arrested in Connection with Teen’s Abduction
Wisconsin authorities have arrested 21-year-old Jake Thomas Patterson on suspicion of kidnapping 13-year-old Jayme Closs and killing her parents during a home invasion back in October.
Investigators say Jayme managed to escape Thursday (January 10) from a cabin in the town of Gordon where Patterson was holding her. Gordon is about an hour away from Barron where the kidnapping took place.
During a press conference Friday morning, investigators announced Jayme Closs was discovered along a rural road after approaching a stranger out walking her dog, saying she'd been abducted in October and held against her will.
Jayme disappeared from her family's home in Barron when her parents were killed October 15. Barron County Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald said investigators don't believe Patterson had any prior contact with the family.
Fitzgerald said investigators believe Patterson killed Jayme's parents because he wanted to abduct her and that Patterson "planned his actions and took many steps to hide his identity."
Detectives pursued thousands of tips, watched dozens of surveillance videos, and conducted numerous searches in the effort to find Jayme. Back on October 23, some 2,000 volunteers conducted a massive ground search.
At the time of the abduction, Fitgerald said, "I have a gut feeling she's (Jayme's) still alive." He was right.
Source: Associated Press, KSFY TV