AMBER ALERT WI - Jayme Closs, 13, Barron, missing after parents found shot, 15 Oct 2018 *endangered* #13

[bizzle2]

I know, it's so hard to determine what happened without much information. But LE seem to think the suspect was there by 12:30 or later. They are asking for information from anyone driving on that highway from 12:30 to 1:30. Do they think he arrived at the house after 12:30, maybe closer to one? Why wouldn't they say 12:00- 1:30 since someone may have seen something while he was on the way to the home? Jmo

This is just another reason that I'm not convinced LE thinks the time of the gunshots given by the neighbors (12:31am) is accurate.

 

[CJnashy]

Why did Jayme take off from the school bus daily, if she had an auntie caring for her?

I am a full time nanny for 3. I picked the older ones up from school when they were younger but starting about 5th grade they wanted to ride the bus with their friends.

 

[gitana1]

I wish we knew for certain the Closs family movements from the time Jayme and Denise left the family gathering, and what James was doing that evening, (working, home, out elsewhere) until the time the gunshots were heard at approximately 12:30.

Points to ponder:

-We do know the neighbors were out earlier that evening. What if the gunshots they heard at 12:30 were not the first gunshots?

-What if Jayme and Denise walked in on a burglary? If they came in through the garage, the front door might still have been locked when James got home. Was it he who actually kicked in the door?

-What door did the family typically use to enter the house when they parked in the driveway?

-If there were two perps, maybe one was stationed as a lookout.

-If he/they had the two females inside perhaps he/they tied one to a chair while sexually assaulting the other not knowing a man, James, would be coming home. If this is a possible scenario, perhaps Denise broke loose from the chair when Jayme was being assualted and this was how the ties/restraints were broken on the chair or cushion. This may have been when she was shot.

-Perhaps James was home first and was shot when the perp(s) tried to enter the home. If Denise and Jayme came in through the basement, they may not even have noticed the front door kicked in upstairs especially if it was dark.


I am not sure the original point of this whole horrific incident was to kidnap Jayme. As other posters have noted, why not take her at a time when she was alone rather than risk the confrontation with her parents?

Why was Dad’s truck parked so far away from the house?

Unfortunately, I still think the decision to take Jayme may have been made when the 911 call was made. The perp might have thought she was some type of insurance or bargaining point with authorities. Perhaps even he is surprised that he has not been caught yet. But what to do with Jayme?

We've seen that some perps just enjoy the mayhem and terror of killing. It's part of the "fun". That's why they may have stormed in and killed the parents even though they could've taken Jayme more easily at another time.

Although this looks like a pretty sheltered, protected child who is busy with activities and likely always with a parent or other adult such as teacher, dance instructor, etc. So I'm not sure there were many times when she was alone.

 

[NervousNellie]

Oh my gosh, I've just posted about this! Sorry, I didn't see your post first!

No apology necessary, IMHO. If there was nothing being repeated here, this thread would come to a grinding halt.

 

[Gumbeaux]

Why did Jayme take off from the school bus daily, if she had an auntie caring for her?

Perhaps the parents worked odd shifts at the factory, and needed a guardian for Jayme during work hours?

 

[Cartie]

Yes! Don't know exactly how long they were neighbors, but someone noted that the Closs family lived in that house since 2001. So it appears Jayme lived there her entire life. I realize this is a bit more of a rural setup so homes aren't right next to each other, but still -- no idea that your neighbors had a child for 13 years? That's extremely odd.

 

[NervousNellie]

Not wanting to create suspicion on the neighnours unfairly or where it is not warranted: Unfortunately they have gone out of their way to comment to media. Another interview here where they seem very comfortable using the name Jayme even though they have said they barely know her and rarely saw her. Hubby can be heard mumbling in the background. The Jayme Closs story: What neighbors heard
Did the neighbour join the search?

I don't find it strange that the neighbor feels comfortable calling her Jayme; all of us here do. I think the entire community of Barron would call her Jayme at this point.

 

[Lillymac]

I actually do live in a remote property in the middle of the woods (far more remote than the Closs house, which is located on a state highway), and it would never occur to me to call the police for a gunshot, especially in the fall. People in rural areas are pretty used to hearing gunshots, as a general rule, not only because of hunting but also because of varmints. If I had been those neighbors, I would have probably just assumed someone was shooting a varmint and ignored it.

I too live in the woods, and I agree. But, I will say, you do begin to recognize the gun fire, and where it is coming from and anything unusual, I would probably call. Plus, the dogs will continue to bark until things settle down. They know the night...
The unusual gun shots around me are hand guns. And this would alarm me.

 

[cluciano63]

I hope I am wrong but I have the same feeling as in Mollie’s case that LE did NOT know more than people thought...and they did not. I am not sure they even know the motive or target and without those, very difficult to get an idea of a suspect or what he might do next.

Also...not sure why anyone would want to hear the 911 call...I don’t. Sounds like it consists of a last desperate attempt to get help...witthout anything that the public could help with. If they had a snippet of a voice they believed to be the perp’s, imo they would isolate that bit and release it...

 

[oviedo]

Barron County Sheriff's Department

I can't seem to find how the reward would work - if she is located alive? They don't have alot of information there.

 

[natsound]

It's really hard to see on my phone, but it kind of looks like the chair struck something hard like a counter or table, as if someone picked it up and used it to strike something with it with alot of force. Jmo

Regarding the chair... I've been looking at the front right corner and how oddly the string is attached. It looks like a hole in the chair specifically for cushion ties? It looks like there's a hole in the front left side too. So now I believe there was a cushion on that chair that was cut off, rather than a rope to tie anyone down. But it was taken for evidence for a reason. Maybe it was tossed in the middle of a room during a scuffle, or something of that nature.

 

[Zella]

I too live in the woods, and I agree. But, I will say, you do begin to recognize the gun fire, and where it is coming from and anything unusual, I would probably call. Plus, the dogs will continue to bark until things settle down. They know the night...
The unusual gun shots around me are hand guns. And this would alarm me.

I agree! After some further thought, I did add a comment in response to someone else, noting that the type of gun might make me leery. If I heard a pistol, I would probably be a little more suspicious, especially at night. We do have a lot of folks who enjoy target shooting, so during the day, just about anything goes.

But on our road, our neighbors are fairly close-knit. We'd call each other before calling the law since it is faster. Since the neighbors don't seem to have known the family, I doubt that calling the Closs house would have been their first instinct.

 

[bizzle2]

I have EXTREME SERIOUS DOUBTS the neighbors, the Smrekars, are involved in any even remotest way. They come across as just simple folks, probably retired. There is just no way imaginable these folks could be responsible in any way at all. Granted they viewed their neighbors as "almost reclusive" but you have to remember both Denise and James worked jobs, were raising Jayme, and involved in a number of other things such as church activities. Many people live outside of town on a little spot of dirt as they just enjoy peace and privacy at the end of a work week. Some people like to live in town in a big place and entertain every day. Each to their own - their is no right/wrong. I live in the country and everyone has a minimum of 5 acres or more and most all of my neighbors just enjoy their privacy. Rarely do people have a party or such unless it is a high school graduation or such. But again I can't for the life of me see involvement on any part of the neighbor. MOO

Personally I'm not suggesting they are involved in any way. I'd be shocked if they were. I'm more just questioning the reliability of their account of that night. And I'm also not saying they are lying about it, or purposefully misleading anyone, just that they are remembering details incorrectly. I find the "we didn't even know they had kids" statement really odd, but again, not in a way that makes me suspect them of wrongdoing.

 

[MsBetsy]

That's true, but on YouYube Daily News dated 22 October (headed Jayme Closs neighbours heard two gunshots 20 minutes before 911 call) Mrs S clearly says that 'the lateness and sheer volume of these shots made her feel they were 'different'. They were so close it must have been right at their door'. If only they had called police around 12.30.....

I know, it's too bad they didn't. But I can understand why. I live where there are gunshots all the time and just last night I heard a really loud one that actually startled me. ( likely because I have been following this case) but I didn't call police. I did once, because at the time there was a sniper on the loose that had just shot two state police officers, killing one, but even then it was just hunters. If everyone called every time they heard gunshots, the police would be busy all day since about 100 people would be calling every few minutes. Jmo

 

[SausagePizza]

Maybe the cushion was cut/yanked off to muffle the sound of a screaming occupant/victim?

 

[BB71]

This is just another reason that I'm not convinced LE thinks the time of the gunshots given by the neighbors (12:31am) is accurate.

Re: Timing
Mrs S. is clear it was 12:38. LE found clock to be 7 min fast. If she had misread as 12:58 (which would mean 12:51 am) that would mean that dad was killed, and (likely) mom called 911 at 12:56 before being killed.
While that makes sense in some respects, the neighbors would know if LE showed up right away or 25 min later, wouldn’t they?

 

[gitana1]

Not wanting to create suspicion on the neighnours unfairly or where it is not warranted: Unfortunately they have gone out of their way to comment to media. Another interview here where they seem very comfortable using the name Jayme even though they have said they barely know her and rarely saw her. Hubby can be heard mumbling in the background. The Jayme Closs story: What neighbors heard
Did the neighbour join the search?

I see absolutely nothing odd about them or their interview. They sound devastated. We use the name Jayme here and are quite comfortable with it.

Why wouldn't neighbors in a small town be comfortable using her name?

Does anyone else have real trouble with the credibility of the neighbours statement and subsequent interviews? I don't mean they had anything to do with it, or are lying purposely, maybe more that they've got caught up in the attention? I must admit that right from the start, as soon as they said they didn't know a child was living in the house and then in the next breath said they saw Jayme get off the school bus outside the house every day, everything thereafter I've taken with a grain of salt.

These are older people who are going through something unusual and terrifying. They need to be given a break.

 

[proctorelites]

Yes! Don't know exactly how long they were neighbors, but someone noted that the Closs family lived in that house since 2001. So it appears Jayme lived there her entire life. I realize this is a bit more of a rural setup so homes aren't right next to each other, but still -- no idea that your neighbors had a child for 13 years? That's extremely odd.

I am confused earlier on I thought it was stated by LE or in an interview that the Closs family moved to Barron because jayme's caretaker moved to Barron? I may be confused about something.

 

[Get off my Lawn!]

I don't find it strange that the neighbor feels comfortable calling her Jayme; all of us here do. I think the entire community of Barron would call her Jayme at this point.

Very fair comment. Just felt a bit odd only 3 days fter the disappearance.

 

[thesnowflakesparkles]

I am confused earlier on I thought it was stated by LE or in an interview that the Closs family moved to Barron because jayme's caretaker moved to Barron? I may be confused about something.

Jayme moved school districts recently, tax records indicate the family has owned the property since 2001.