AMBER ALERT WI - Jayme Closs, 13, Barron, missing after parents found shot, 15 Oct 2018 *endangered* #19

[buggiegirl]

Maybe it’s just me, but I’ve never understood why on earth someone would want to ingest a drug that basically rots your teeth out and annihilates your organs and ages the eff out of you and then kills you, often then dirt poor. For some minutes of feelin’ high? Destroy the only body you have and are stuck in. Okay. But whatever.

Things like poverty making them feel like they have no future anyway so why not go with the immediate high of drugs. Or they try it once out of curiosity and then just slide into addiction because it's relatively easy to say "one more time" and "this is the last time I'll do it!" and just keep falling when no one helps you and there aren't resources to help you anyway.

 

[MsBetsy]

I thought that too, so then why did they have some 2000 people searching the fields and area around the house looking for any signs of anything of evidentiary value?

To be as thorough as possible, I would imagine. They need to cover all bases. Imo

 

[Sillybilly]

Heads up folks.

Websleuths is pro law enforcement unless there is reason not to be. As there are no facts that would support a suggestion of LE/military/political involvement, those theories are off limits.

 

[Herb.Wis]

In every case I can remember when a young girl has been taken, if LE has an idea of who has her, they have issued the perp/suspect's name and photo, i.e Hannah, Brittany from VA, the schoolgirl with the teacher more recently etc...they do not keep silent and “hope” the perp makes a mistake. Imo there is zero chance that LE knows or suspects a specific person and isn’t putting out an APB.

In a recent interview the sheriff admitted to a reporter's question that LE does NOT have a suspect. Sad but seemingly true.

 

[MassGuy]

In a recent interview the sheriff admitted to a reporter's question that LE does NOT have a suspect. Sad but seemingly true.

Yes. I absolutely believe that they don’t have a suspect at this time. If they had a suspect, they would have moved on him by now.

This isn’t simply a double murder, but a kidnapping victim as well. A child’s life is on the line, and they would take no chances by waiting.

 

[JRW]

Saw a younger girl at a truck stop today buying a Starbucks frappuccino....now I understand why they may have made the comment in the family plea about the ice coffee.... its was a younger girl with her hair pulled in a hat...and a backpack on...not saying it was Jayme, but glancing the frappuccino made me take a second look at her.....still have faith that she is out there!!!!

 

[CuriousMaine]

G-Snap, great post. I also think that what you described above is a very plausible scenario.
IMO, it's very possible that the parents were aware of the killer, who almost certainly is an adult male, having an unhealthy interest in and/or an inappropriate relationship with, JC. There may have been something that either came to light or occurred that Sunday that brought the situation to a critical head. Analyzing JC's digital footprints along w/ those of Denise and James may provide LE with a lot of helpful information.

Re: Denise appearing to have barricaded herself in the bathroom, a question for the parents here: can any of you think of a scenario where you would lock yourself into a bathroom with a gunman loose in the house without first making sure you had your daughter there with you so you could shield/protect her? If Denise barricaded herself in the bathroom and JC was outside, that is IMO a troubling aspect to this case...because again IMO, if the perp was a total stranger unknown to the family, there is no way Denise would have done that.

I don't see this as having been a random crime at all. JMO.
I think Denise and James were the targeted and intended victims. JMO.
I think Jayme was the motive. JMO.

BBM: Yes. I can. Especially if I knew or witnessed husband shot. If bathroom is closest room with a lock, and gunman is between me and my kid's room/location. It's likely we would all have a similar reaction, IMO.

In extreme stress/panic/life-death situations, the body/mind's biological instincts are: flight, fight and/or freeze. There's no time to process, not even a fraction of a second to think/plan/reason/decide. Self-preservation is instinctive.

 

[Herb.Wis]

I'll also add this statement in about a recent growth spurt. A pedophile seems more likely than not.

"On a normal Wednesday, 13-year-old Jayme Closs would have strode into the dance studio in Rice Lake under the glow of an autumn sunset to practice her jazz moves and get measured for a recital costume after a summer growth spurt."
Jayme Closs disappearance: Search for possible evidence along a highway comes up empty. - CNN

The fact that Jayme was taking dance lessons in Rice Lake raises the possibility that the perp became interested in her there or at a dance performance. All he would have needed after that was to find out her name and where she lived. The rest -- the home invasion, double murder, and the abduction -- would have been relatively straight forward after that. If he knew the back roads and had an escape route not using Highway 8 to get out of there, evading the cops would have been easy. His biggest risk was getting in and out of the Closs home with Jayme before the cops arrived after the 911 call was made. That he did it in 7 minutes suggests a cool head, possibly with military or other such training.

 

[Nerissa]

Is it fact that Denise barricaded herself in the bathroom?
For all we know Jayme was in there, hiding with her....

Having said that - overall, this is a compelling theory, one I think I've posted a bit about previously too....

Talking with some friends who have had crazy encounters with meth heads, though....as irrational & insensible as it seems - those qualities of meth heads are precisely what makes a deluded drug crazed attack a reasonable theory too

It is also interesting the similarities to the Short murders....also interesting that it was in the press again a couple weeks prior to the Closs murders.....

 

[retiredrickyinCO]

The outside CCTV cameras. They spotted both those looked for cars twice, in the right time frame for the crime, going past that casino ?

Just guessing here but I don't think those cars were caught on video at the casino. The casino has excellent cameras and the front part of the casino is very close to Hwy 8. If a car went by there I am sure they could be a little more exact on the description just to to the high quality of the casino cameras coupled with there is lighting around there. I suspect both cars were caught on a security camera most likely from a private residence. I'm guessing they have video that isn't that clear and can't differentiate the difference between the Edge and the MDX as it filmed the side profile and it isn't that clear and those 2 models look quite similar when viewing from the side. Remember most houses are not that close to the road and most security cameras will struggle to get a clear image after about 100' at night and that is if you have very good cameras. They only use IR to light up the area being filmed and it just doesn't reach that far. I have to believe there would be easier evidence to process but I think finding the cars will be beneficial as it would appear after all this time any innocent person driving one of these 3 vehicles would have came forward to claim their innocence. So if they haven't come forward yet with a valid reason as to why they were there it is possibly for a good reason. This would seem to be a monumental task as they have 7 years of MDXs, 5 years of Edges, and 7 years of read/orange challengers. Looking up all those vehicles say in WI/MN/MI is one thing but nationwide that would seem to be a lot of vehicles to screen. But again, just due to the fact they are still looking for them tells me whoever was driving those vehicles at that time/date have not come forward with an alibi so that in itself might say something. MOO

 

[Ommmm]

O/T but... I happened to catch a show on Oxygen last night about a young woman, Phoenix Colton, who vanished from St. Louis in 2011. Her family believes that her disappearance never got much public attention because she doesn’t look like Mollie Tibbetts, or Jayme for that matter. I hate hearing that, and want to believe it’s not true. I immediately searched her name and was shocked to see how thin her thread was. Has anyone else followed her story? MO - MO - Phoenix Coldon, 23, St. Louis County, 18 Dec 2011

In case you’re interested, part one & two will air again tonight.

 

[GordianKnot]

BBM: Yes. I can. Especially if I knew or witnessed husband shot. If bathroom is closest room with a lock, and gunman is between me and my kid's room/location. It's likely we would all have a similar reaction, IMO.

In extreme stress/panic/life-death situations, the body/mind's biological instincts are: flight, fight and/or freeze. There's no time to process, not even a fraction of a second to think/plan/reason/decide. Self-preservation is instinctive.

CM, true. Good point. However, this crime happened late at night, and if the reporting that Denise is the one who can be heard on the 911 call is accurate, apparently she had the time and presence of mind to grab a cell phone before she barricaded herself in the bathroom and dial 911...so she had at least some brief amount of time for decision-making.

I do think that a parent's instinct to protect their child can be just as strong as their instinct for self-preservation. JMO. I think if Denise locked herself in the bathroom and Jayme wasn't in there with her, it points to it not being a total stranger. One possibility may be that Denise knew the perp was targeting her husband and herself, but not Jayme.

 

[Mandrew]

O/T but... I happened to catch a show on Oxygen last night about a young woman, Phoenix Colton, who vanished from St. Louis in 2011. Her family believes that her disappearance never got much public attention because she doesn’t look like Mollie Tibbetts, or Jayme for that matter. I hate hearing that, and want to believe it’s not true. I immediately searched her name and was shocked to see how thin her thread was. Has anyone else followed her story? MO - MO - Phoenix Coldon, 23, St. Louis County, 18 Dec 2011

In case you’re interested, part one & two will air again tonight.

I don't know about that, that girl is stunningly beautiful. I admit I never heard of the case, will look into it. Thanks.

 

[Lillymac]

Another senseless tragedy less than an hour away from Barron.
‘Tragic & Senseless’: 3 Girl Scouts, 1 Volunteer Killed In Wis. Hit-&-Run

 

[sun16]

Whoever did this is still out there. If it was particular only to the Closses, I guess the deed is done (although Jayme’s whereabouts still unknown). If this is something else/random, I kind of wonder what these perps do next. It makes you look at every other incident and wonder, is it them (the perps who hit the Closs house)?

 

[Herb.Wis]

Just guessing here but I don't think those cars were caught on video at the casino. The casino has excellent cameras and the front part of the casino is very close to Hwy 8. If a car went by there I am sure they could be a little more exact on the description just to to the high quality of the casino cameras coupled with there is lighting around there. I suspect both cars were caught on a security camera most likely from a private residence. I'm guessing they have video that isn't that clear and can't differentiate the difference between the Edge and the MDX as it filmed the side profile and it isn't that clear and those 2 models look quite similar when viewing from the side. Remember most houses are not that close to the road and most security cameras will struggle to get a clear image after about 100' at night and that is if you have very good cameras. They only use IR to light up the area being filmed and it just doesn't reach that far. I have to believe there would be easier evidence to process but I think finding the cars will be beneficial as it would appear after all this time any innocent person driving one of these 3 vehicles would have came forward to claim their innocence. So if they haven't come forward yet with a valid reason as to why they were there it is possibly for a good reason. This would seem to be a monumental task as they have 7 years of MDXs, 5 years of Edges, and 7 years of read/orange challengers. Looking up all those vehicles say in WI/MN/MI is one thing but nationwide that would seem to be a lot of vehicles to screen. But again, just due to the fact they are still looking for them tells me whoever was driving those vehicles at that time/date have not come forward with an alibi so that in itself might say something. MOO

I doubt the perp even went past the Turtle Lake Casino. West of the Closs home there are side roads going north and south every mile or two. He was smart enough to get off the highway ASAP as he knew the cops were coming after the 911 call was made. He probably knew the area and had a planned escape route to avoid using the highway. That's why nobody saw him plus it was 1 am. A seemingly carefully planned and executed operation.

 

[Zelda1010]

I have never seen dash cams mentioned in regards to this case other than our speculations that LE would have had them and could have pulled footage from them. It seems like a pretty standard thing for police cars to have in this day and age. However, I'll do some searching and see if there are other cases in the media where something was caught on dash cam footage in Barron County (if anyone else knows of a case, please post).

On the topic of Barron county dash cam, I haven't found anything definitive. But thought I would share.

I found this document that lists implementing a new squad and body camera program as a 2016 goal.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...WMAF6BAgHEAE&usg=AOvVaw2Vl0DNI3j8PwqAXEzKdyf8

I also found a may 2016 article dealing with some unsavory audio recordings that the sheriff comments on. The article mentions video recording in passing, but it doesn't answer any questions about whether dash cam would be on in this case.

“It was our mistake, and it was not good, but I am in favor of body cameras and squad cameras because they help us more then they hurt us — sometimes they sting like this incident, but (I) stand behind our program and the advantages of it,” he said.

Barron County sheriff downplays officers’ comments on recording

 

[GordianKnot]

IMO, Meth-heads who are out of their minds and in such a frenzied state that they will bust into a house and shoot/kill 2 people will not then suddenly have the presence of mind to stop and say to themselves, "Hey, this one looks like a young teenager, I can't shoot her."

IMO, if this had been a random, drug-fueled home invasion, police would have found 3 dead bodies at the crime scene, not 2.

 

[Deleted member 102539]

4) IMO, that transfer of schools could be a vital piece of information to the case. Could be nothing, but it really needs to be (and I'm sure is being) investigated thoroughly by LE.

BUT - have you ever heard in case of a missing endangered child (parents murdered), the child had changed school for this and that purpose in the past? I wondered about the mention, which came almost with the first news and I thought: why would they tell that, what's the importance of it?

 

[kay74]

Someone knows something. Whoever does and is not talking is evil IMO. To come that late at night after James got off work, tells me it was someone at his workplace. He had sympathy for that little girl and took her rather than kill her.