The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

Girl Found Alive After Being Kidnapped by Man Who Murdered Her Parents

Posted on | January 11, 2019 | Comments Off on Girl Found Alive After Being Kidnapped by Man Who Murdered Her Parents

 

Thirteen-year-old Jayme Closs escaped with her life Thursday after being held captive for nearly three months by the man who police say murdered her parents James and Denise Closs. The suspect, 21-year-old Jake Thomas Patterson, specifically targeted the Closs home Oct. 15 with the intention of kidnapping Jayme, according to authorities in Wisconsin:

Barron County Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald said Patterson had ‘zero’ criminal history, but said he had “specific intent” to kidnap Jayme Closs, during a 4 p.m. press conference Friday.
Fitzgerald said the suspect used a shotgun to shoot open the door to the Closs family home on Oct. 15 and then used the gun to kill James and Denise Closs before kidnapping Jayme. Fitzgerald said law enforcement recovered a gun that is consistent with the gun used at the crime scene. Investigators are waiting on forensics to prove that it is the same weapon.
Patterson planned his actions and took significant steps to hide his identity from law enforcement, according to Fitzgerald. Those steps included shaving his head so he would not leave trace evidence of his hair at the crime scene.
Jayme escaped from Patterson’s home in Gordon, which is in Douglas County, Thursday afternoon when Patterson was not home, according to Fitzgerald.
“Jayme is the hero in this case, there is no question about it,” Fitzgerald said.
She left the house on foot and was found around 4:30 p.m. Thursday, a short distance away from Patterson’s home, after approaching a woman who was walking her dog. The woman took Jayme to a neighbor’s home and the homeowner called 911.
Douglas County Sheriff Tom Dalbeck said his deputies responded and quickly identified Jayme. They soon located a vehicle matching the description of the suspect’s vehicle given to them by Jayme. Police believe Patterson was out looking for Jayme when they made contact with him. Patterson was arrested 10 minutes after Jayme was found. Officers interviewed Patterson and then brought him to Barron County.

 

The place where Jayme was found was about 70 miles north of where she was kidnapped, and at this point we don’t know how or why Patterson choose her as the target of what was evidently a crime he had planned carefully. We know almost nothing about Patterson, but there must be something unusual in his background to explain the level of evil required to do what he is accused of doing. Details of her escape:

On Thursday, Closs was able to escape from a cabin before flagging down a person walking a dog in Gordon and asking for help. Jeanne Nutter, the woman who first spotted Closs, told The Associated Press she “was terrified” but wanted to “get her to a safe place.” She recalled the teen looked disheveled, dirty and thin. She also noted Closs was wearing shoes too big for her feet.
“She [Closs] just yelled, ‘Please help me, I don’t know where I am. I’m lost,'” Nutter recalled.
The two went to the home of Peter and Kristin Kasinskas who called 911.
Kristin Kasinskas told The Associated Press she did not know why the teen was targeted. She said Closs told her that the suspect “killed my parents and took me.” Kasinskas said she didn’t know Patterson, although he lived three doors down from her. She said she taught him science in middle school but remembered him as being quiet. She said she did not see him during the months Closs was missing.

Another “quiet loner” type.



 

Category: Crime, Wisconsin

Comments

Comments are closed.