Closs feeling ‘stronger’ a year after abduction
GREEN BAY, Wis. – Barron County Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald still remembers what it felt like to see 2,000 people searching fields for any sign of missing teenager Jayme Closs.
One year has passed since Jake Patterson gunned down Wisconsin couple James and Denise Closs and kidnapped their only child. Some of the memories hurt.
But others, like that day in the field, remind Fitzgerald of how people came together to support one another, convinced every day Jayme would eventually come home.
And she did.
“There’s no reason to give up hope, and we proved that to the world,” Fitzgerald said in a recent interview with USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin.
After abducting Jayme on Oct. 15, 2018, Patterson held her captive for 88 days in his rural Wisconsin home before she broke free. The 22-year-old Patterson was sentenced to life in prison in May.
Patterson didn’t know the Closs family prior to the day he decided to kidnap Jayme after watching her board a school bus, fulfilling a fantasy of holding a young girl prisoner, prosecutors said. He is now imprisoned in New Mexico.
Fitzgerald said the community is moving forward and learning to live with a “new normal.”
A town once consumed by search parties, media and signs pleading to find Jayme appears quiet one year later. People are more vigilant and aware of their surroundings.
Jayme has started high school and lives with her aunt and uncle. At a news conference Monday, Closs family attorney Chris Gramstrup said the teenager spent her summer hiking through state parks, reconnecting with friends and celebrating special occasions with her family – including her 14th birthday.
Gramstrup also read a statement on behalf of Jayme, who thanked everyone for the kindness and concern they have
shown her.
“I’m very happy to be home and getting back to the activities that I enjoy,” she said. “I love hanging out with all my friends, and I feel stronger every day.”
A new mission to help
Fitzgerald and Barron County District Attorney Brian Wright used Monday’s news conference to thank law enforcement who helped the Closs family find justice.
According to the sheriff, the sevenmonth case generated 32,000 tips, nearly 700 pieces of evidence and the longest-running active Amber Alert in Wisconsin history.
Fitzgerald, joined by the president of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, also encouraged people to use the lessons of Jayme’s case to help the 40 other missing people in Wisconsin. One woman, Sara Bushland, disappeared at 15 after she got off a school bus in Spooner in 1996.
Barron County illustrated the importance of never giving up, Fitzgerald said.