Jayme Closs will get at least $25,000 of reward

BARRON - Jayme Closs will receive at least half the $50,000 reward established during her 88-day disappearance.

Hormel Foods announced Wednesday that the company, which owns Jennie-O Turkey Store in Barron, will donate its $25,000 contribution to the reward to the 13-year-old who escaped her alleged captor Jan. 10.

“Her bravery and strength have truly inspired our team members around the world,” Hormel Foods CEO Jim Snee said in a statement.

“Barron is an incredibly strong community and one that never lost hope. We celebrated with the community, and the world, that Jayme is home.”

Jennie-O President Steve Lykken said the company hopes a trust fund can be established for Jayme’s current and future needs.

Police say Jayme freed herself from the Douglas County home of Jake Patterson on Jan. 10, nearly three months after he shot and killed her parents, James and Denise Closs, and dragged her from the family’s Barron home.

After fleeing Patterson’s Town of Gordon residence, Jayme stumbled upon Jeanne Nutter, and the woman and her neighbors contacted authorities.

The neighbors, Peter and Kristin Kasinskas, told CNN the reward should go to Jayme — a sentiment echoed by many on social media.

The FBI set a $25,000 reward for information on Jayme’s whereabouts early on in the investigation. That amount was doubled with the donation from Jennie-O, where James and Denise both worked for 27 years.