Searchers find nothing as hunt for missing Wisconsin girl continues
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Authorities in northwestern Wisconsin said Friday a ground search the previous day turned up nothing useful as investigators look for a 13-year-old girl who vanished after her parents were found dead.
Deputies discovered Jayme Closs' parents, Denise and James Closs, shot to death in their home in rural Barron, Wis., early Monday. The girl was nowhere to be found. Investigators have said she's in danger and that she isn't a suspect.
The Barron County Sheriff's Office also released dispatch logs Friday that indicate responding deputies found that multiple gunshots were fired in the home, and the door was kicked in.
The logs also indicate the initial 911 call that summoned deputies to the home early Monday came from a cellphone belonging to the girl's mother.
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Barron County Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald said that the ground search would not resume Friday. The search began Thursday with 100 volunteers combing fields and ditches, but Fitzgerald said they found nothing of evidentiary value.
Fitzgerald said his office has received more than 1,000 tips in the case and conducted hundreds of interviews, but has not received information that would justify continuing the ground search.
The FBI has sent out a nationwide missing-person alert for Jayme Closs.
On Friday the sheriff's office also put out a call for information about Denise and James Closs.
"We are hopeful to learn more about the Closs family to help bring Jayme home," the sheriff's office said in a news release. "If you spent time with members of the Closs family recently, or if you have ever had a misunderstanding with members of the Closs family, or know someone who has, please call the tipline."
The sheriff's office also asked the community to be aware of changes in behavior or routines in people they know.
"People may act differently shortly after committing a violent act. You may have observed such behaviors and not realized it at the time," the sheriff's office reported.
Authorities are gathering tips at (855) 744-3879, or by email at jaymetips@co.barron.wi.us.
