A missing 13-year-old Wisconsin girl who was kidnapped after her parents were found murdered in their home last October, has been found alive, police say.
Jayme Closs will be reunited with family members Thursday night, police said. She was located in Gordon, Wisconsin, officials said.
“We are just happy everyone kept praying and didn’t give up home like we didn’t,” Jayme’s aunt, Jennifer Smith, told ABC News. “A lot of happy tears in this house tonight.”
A suspect has been taken into custody, the Barron County Sheriff’s Department said in a news release. Police did not release any other details about the arrest.
A citizen phoned in the information that led to Jayme’s recovery, according to police.
“We thank everyone all around for their help,” Smith said.
Authorities have scheduled a press conference for 10 a.m. on Friday to discuss the case.
“We want to thank the Douglas Co Sheriff’s Department and agencies assisting them tonight. We also want to thank all the Law Enforcement agencies across the state and county that have assisted us in this case. We also could not have endured this case without the support of the public and I want to thank them for all the support and help,” police said in a statement
Investigators believe Jayme was abducted Oct. 15, 2018, before dawn after her parents, James and Denise Closs, aged 56 and 46, were gunned down in their home in Barron.
Police responded to the house after a strange 911 call just before 1 a.m. local time when someone called from Denise Closs’ cellphone, and the 911 dispatcher heard “a lot of yelling,” according to records from the Barron County Sheriff’s Department obtained by ABC News. The dispatcher called the number back but was unable to leave a voicemail.
More attempts were made, but the phone went unanswered. Authorities also tried calling the home’s landline but it was disconnected, records show.
When authorities responded to the home minutes later, they found the front door kicked in and the couple had been shot to death.
Jayme was believed to be home when they were killed but had been abducted by the time authorities arrived.
A $50,000 reward had been offered for any information leading to the discovery of Jayme. Half the reward was put up by Jennie-O Turkey Store, a turkey hatchery and processing plant in Barron where Jayme’s parents worked.
ABC News’ Emily Shapiro, Morgan Winsor and Katie Conway contributed to this report.
