AMBER ALERT WI - Jayme Closs, 13, Barron, missing after parents found shot, 15 Oct 2018 *endangered* #14

[SuziQ]

About the initial impression of suicide...it is a fact it was not. Not sure why the continued questions about it?

 

[Get off my Lawn!]

Funerals

Community mourns parents of missing Barron teenager as search continues

 

[BB71]

IMO people are confused about “answering the door”. LE didn’t say James answered the door when they arrived. They were just speculating he must have answered the door and was shot by whoever was at the door. As I said before, I think a lot of our discussion and theories on this case are being repeated as facts.

It is ambiguous in the log. Could be read either way. Will post below. I agree they mean that he was positioned and injured such that he was initially thought to have been answering the door. Sheriff later said something in regard to initial impressions can change.

 

[BB71]

About the initial impression of suicide...it is a fact it was not. Not sure why the continued questions about it?

I think this has gained international interest and they have not been listening to updated information. They are reading tabloids with sketchy “facts”. I caught Nancy Grace reporting that family was asleep and door was shot in 4 days ago. Call log clearly states kicked. She has no way to know if they were sleeping. She doesn’t know what shifts they work!

 

[PommyMommy]

I find it of interest that she qualified for an amber alert. Because I don't think she did. So why did they put an amber alert out?

I'm not sure of all the details but I think they contacted the FBI twice before they got the ok. There must be someone who knows more about it because I read about it many threads ago. I just don't remember all the details. I know that since there was no car description that was a factor, and they may have had to provide more details in order to get the ok. Jmo

BBM

He said an Amber Alert was not initially issued for Jayme because they didn’t have a vehicle description. “We tried to have one issued twice and were turned down, and then the FBI stepped in,” he said. An Amber Alert was issued for Jayme on Monday afternoon.
Autopsy results of dead couple coming soon; search for missing teen continues

 

[rainynights]

Barron County Sheriff's Department



October 27, 2018 Update

We have received over 1900 tips and have closed over 1700 of them and continue to work on this case. Please continue to call in your tips 1-855-744-3879 or jaymetips@co.barron.wi.us and we will bring Jayme home.

There is a tip out there that will break this case, keep them coming in. Thank you again for the community support behind the law enforcement effort on this case.

Sheriff Fitzgerald

 

[Jethro4WS]

Right. It was stated in one of the first articles, in WAEU 13 news, that Fitzgerald said they could here alot of background noise, like a disturbance or a commotion, and the only word they could make out was "help." I doubt LE told the neighbors that, they could have easily just read it in the local paper.

Most importantly, the interview that the neighbor relayed allegedly being told what was in the 911 call took place several days after the Sheriff said it in the first press conference (the one with only him wearing a baseball hat and hoodie) and it was already reported by the media not only via the press conference but in subsequent stories.

I too am doubtful that law enforcement would share anything that could contaminate the testimony of a potential witness.

 

[Steelslady]

You could be right too. Would they move it before processing it?

I doubt sincerely that they would have moved it or even touched it (without gloves especially) to get it out of the way, where there is a crime that just took place.

 

[bizzle2]

Ok now wait....first officers on scene reported possible suicide attempt right? First officers on scene also reported the door kicked in and that he answered the door. That dont add up to me.

They reported that it looked like he had answered the door because his body was found in the entry way. He didn't answer the door for LE. They saw his feet first and then found his body.
Here is the transcript from an interview with the sheriff on Ashleigh Banfield's show:

BANFIELD: Well, sheriff, it sounds like such a confounding story. And just over the weekend, we were reading through the logs of the 911 call and the response to the Closs home and it`s quite harrowing. And I think the transcripts really sort of tell a narrative of what happened in that home prior to Jayme being taken. Can you walk me through, now that it`s public knowledge, what those first responding officers saw at the front door and beyond?

FITZGERALD: Well, in some degree, I can. And again, the logs that we released aren`t always the evidence that`s collected at the scene. They're the first initial appearance that an officer goes through. But yeah, our -- the initial appearance with an officer were obviously some kind of commotion, as you stated, last week in the show. Our officers responded, pulled into the driveway, and saw an open door and then saw what they believed to be feet. And then responded up there and found the bodies of James Closs and then went in the house and found Denise Closs.

BANFIELD: How far -- how far -- yeah, how far in the house was Denise Closs? If James Closs was found at the door, and as you just mentioned, I think that`s the first I`ve heard of this, sir, that when you`re officers responded, they could see his feet from the driveway sticking out of the open door of the home. Is that correct?

FITZGERALD: I don`t know exactly where they -- when they picked him up on site. I don`t know if they pulled in the driveway or when they exactly saw them, but the door was ajar. And I can`t comment on where Denise was found in the house. But I think going to any scene like that, that`s what we train our officers to do is their first initial observations and that`s why that`s collected in that call log.

CNN.com - Transcripts

 

[kkdj]

If true, why wasn’t she reported missing until 2 1/2 hrs later?
[time stamp of 911 call log below]

I think at first they didn't know what all was on that, couldn't decipher, etc. They probably decided what was her voice and realized she was taken against her will. jmo

 

[mtnlites]

It doesn’t happen here every night, but it does happen. My area must be odd, compared to most places, then. MOO

Mine too. We hear shots every night.

It honestly doesn't matter what we think or how we would have reacted, though. It's up to what the neighbors in THAT particular area were used to. If they regularly heard shots at night, then no, the shots probably wouldn't have stood out.

 

[SandyQLS]

We are in the Msp/St Paul area. We cross into Canada at the Fort Francis / International Falls border. I think this crossing is the closest to Barron. WI. It takes us appx 6-7 hours. Plenty of time for an alert to have been issued I think. The Twin Cities are 90 or so miles SW of Barron. Another close crossing would be Thunder Bay, Ontario.

Could the Unsub take Jayme then drive north on 53 to Superior/Duluth, get on a boat? Go from there to various places including Canada. I know someone who has a Great Lakes boat. Every October he has to store it in the boathouse which has a crane to lift it out and above the water.

 

[Steelslady]

BBM
I'm not sure about this. jmo

I know- this has NEVER been verified, to my knowledge, yet we keep seeing this posted over and over again. The grandfather stated this in his interview- not LE. The sheriff has not confirmed or denied this statement. For all we know, James could have sat home watching football and enjoying a few beers and wings and his wife just said he was working to maybe avoid hurt feelings that he didn't come. Or maybe he did work that day, but this has never been verified, and to me, this could be important information. I know I join a couple of others here who feel shut down when they post something the majority don't agree with, but this is getting frustrating!

 

[bizzle2]

If true, why wasn’t she reported missing until 2 1/2 hrs later?
[time stamp of 911 call log below]

Probably just took time to confirm. Even if they heard something on the 911 call that made them think that they still have to verify that was in fact what happened before declaring her missing. Had to check with family/friends to make sure she wasn't just staying with one of them. Had to process the scene of the two murder victims. Initially they didn't have even close to the resources that they have right now. Took a few hours to mobilize resources.

 

[Jethro4WS]

The one thing that has bothered me from the beginning is why it took so long to determine a child was missing. Early press explained that away by stating that LE had no prior calls/ incidents with the house/ family. But... cops arrive, a man is shot, but alive, and a woman is dead also shot. There would have been abundant clues to a child’s presence: toys, stuffed animals, family photos, kid’s artwork on fridge, Jayme’s room. They should have discovered this all in the first 5 minutes while clearing the house. Why did it take hours to realize & report her missing? Precious getaway time...

Based the drone request that occurred a little after 1:30am it appears they were aware. Their first presumption would be that she may have escaped the house and could be somewhere in the immediate area. They did search the woods that night looking.

So, the NWAR sent out was only after law enforcement was sure she wasn't in the house or immediate area.

 

[BB71]

Ok now wait....first officers on scene reported possible suicide attempt right? First officers on scene also reported the door kicked in and that he answered the door. That dont add up to me.

You are the first person to notice this discrepancy. Why change call to possible suicide hours later when he was answering a door that was being kicked in??

call log excerpt below

The change from hangup to suicidal person was made at 1:13 am. Was changed to homicide at 3:04 am by dispatch. They were just getting their bearings at that point and adrenaline was running high.

But you’re right, a suicide wouldn’t have “multiple rounds” plus, there was no gun. So it was likely a reporting/data entry issue.

 

[PommyMommy]

Reward for missing 13-year-old Jayme Closs doubles amid funeral for slain parents
The reward for bringing home 13-year-old Jayme Closs, who has been missing for almost two weeks and is believed to be in danger, has doubled while a grief-stricken community says its final goodbyes to her slain parents.

"At this time, I want to thank Jennie-O and all of its employees for their cooperation during this tragic time for them with the loss of two of their employees and their willingness to help bring 13-year-old Jayme home," Barron County Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald said in a statement Friday.

A joint funeral service to commemorate the couple was planned for Saturday afternoon at St. Peter's Catholic Church in Cameron, Wisconsin. A private family burial will be held at a later date, according to an obituary posted by Rausch and Steel Funeral Home in Barron.

"An entire state has been racked with Jayme’s disappearance, and the death of her parents," Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel said in a statement Oct. 18.

 

[bizzle2]

Could the Unsub take Jayme then drive north on 53 to Superior/Duluth, get on a boat? Go from there to various places including Canada. I know someone who has a Great Lakes boat. Every October he has to store it in the boathouse which has a crane to lift it out and above the water.

It's possible, but the borders are heavily patrolled on the water too. They take it pretty seriously. I've seen fishermen get in trouble for crossing into Canadian waters accidentally. They have choppers running all the time to track all the boats. Would be really risky to try crossing an international border with a kidnapping victim.

 

[Blueberry2720]

Been lurking/following here, but first post. One thing I have found interesting is that there has never been any mention (correct me if I am wrong) about the victims' clothing. Were they dressed in "regular" clothes (pants, skirt, etc.) or bedtime ones (nightgown, PJs etc). To me, this would indicate, when the incident began, if they were awake and up in the house, watching TV or something, or if they were in bed asleep.

 

[SandyQLS]

It's possible, but the borders are heavily patrolled on the water too. They take it pretty seriously. I've seen fishermen get in trouble for crossing into Canadian waters accidentally. They have choppers running all the time to track all the boats. Would be really risky to try crossing an international border with a kidnapping victim.

Thanks! It really helps to hear from locals.