Jayme Closs: 'I feel stronger every day' 1 year after kidnapping
By Brady Carlson via Wisconsin Public Radio
Jayme Closs is thanking the public for their "kindness and concern" a day before the one-year anniversary of her abduction and the killing of her parents.
Family attorney Chris Gramstrup read her statement at a news conference Monday morning with the Barron County Sheriff's Department.
She said, 'I really want to thank everyone for all the kindness and concern that people all over the country have shown me. I'm very happy to be home and getting back to the activities that I enjoy. I love hanging out with all my friends, and I feel stronger every day,'" Gramstrup said, reading her statement.
Jayme, who is now 14, is working very hard on her emotional well-being, Gramstrup said.
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Her parents, James and Denise Closs, were killed Oct. 15, 2018, at their home in the community of Barron before the man responsible for their deaths abducted Jayme and held her for 88 days at a cabin an hour north of Barron before she escaped on her own Jan. 10.
Jake Thomas Patterson, of Gordon, pleaded guilty in March to two counts of intentional homicide and one count of kidnapping. He is serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole.
On Monday, Barron County Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald thanked the members of local, county, state and federal law enforcement who worked on the seven-month investigation, as well as the many members of the public who volunteered or supported the search.
"This community showed the world what you do (in these situations) and how to help," Fitzgerald said.
Fitzgerald said Jayme’s disappearance prompted the longest active Amber Alert in Wisconsin history. He said there were 700 pieces of evidence collected in the investigation, and "approximately 32,000 reports" as part of the case.
"If we learned anything from this case, it’s that you never give up hope," Fitzgerald said.
Barron County District Attorney Brian Wright said he was grateful for the many moments when individuals and communities took time to show their support for Jayme during her disappearance and to offer their help in finding her.
"We had a gentleman here during the winter months, who drove all the way up from Tennessee because he simply wanted to be here in person to ask if there was anything he could do to try to find Jayme," Wright said Monday. "On one particular day in my office, we had calls from reporters in Germany and Australia, asking if we could provide any updates on Jayme. That was the care and support that people throughout the world had for her."
Authorities said they now want to direct the energy that was focused on finding Jayme during her 88 days of captivity to other missing children.
Robert Lowery of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children noted that a woman out walking her dog recognized Jayme after she fled Patterson's cabin.
"That woman got Jayme to safety and sheriff's deputies moved quickly to arrest her abductor," Lowery said. "That's how missing children come home, when communities pull together and we work collaboratively."
Lowery spoke next to a poster showing photos of 40 Wisconsin children and young adults who are still missing. The children on the banner, he said, "need and deserve your help. Never, never give up, never stop searching, just as you did for Jayme."