Granddad: Girl has no link to kidnapping suspect

MADISON, WIS. >> The grandfather of a northwestern Wisconsin girl who authorities say was abducted during a home invasion that left her parents dead said Saturday the family has no connection to the suspect and doesn’t understand why he targeted her, deepening a mystery that has captivated the state for months.

Someone blasted open the door of James and Denise Closs’ home near Barron with a shotgun in October, gunned the couple down and made off with their 13-year-old daughter, Jayme Closs.

Jayme had been missing for nearly three months Thursday when she approached a stranger near the small, isolated north woods town of Gordon and pleaded for help. Officers arrested 21-year-old Jake Thomas Patterson minutes later based on Jayme’s description of his vehicle. He was jailed on suspicion of kidnapping and homicide.