Kidnapping of Jayme Closs

On October 15, 2018, 21-year-old Jake Thomas Patterson drove to the home of James and Denise Closs outside Barron, Wisconsin, arriving shortly before 12:53 a.m. Patterson had seen the couple's 13-year-old daughter, Jayme Closs, waiting for her school bus the previous month and had made two earlier, aborted attempts to enter the home for fear of leaving witnesses. On his third visit he carried a shotgun. James Closs, 56, shone a light on him through the front door and, apparently mistaking him for a police officer, asked to see identification; when Patterson demanded he open the door, James Closs asked again who he was, and Patterson shot and killed him. Patterson forced his way inside and searched every room, saying he wanted no witnesses left. He found Denise Closs, 46, and Jayme in a locked bathroom; Denise had begun a 911 call that disconnected before she could speak, and a callback reached only her voicemail. Patterson bound Jayme's wrists and ankles with duct tape, fatally shot Denise Closs, and carried Jayme to his car. Deputies passed the property with lights and sirens on within minutes, but Patterson had already driven off, taking Jayme roughly 70 miles to a house he owned in rural Gordon, Wisconsin.

Patterson held Jayme captive at the Gordon property for 88 days. He told her that bad things would happen if she tried to escape, and for hours at a time — occasionally up to 12 hours, with no food, water, or bathroom access — he hid her under his bed behind storage bins, including whenever his father visited on Saturdays. Patterson struck her once with a curtain rod after she upset him and rarely allowed her outside, permitting only brief walks on the lawn after checking for bystanders. He believed she was too frightened to attempt an escape and did not install extra locks on the doors.

On the afternoon of January 10, 2019, Patterson told Jayme he would be gone for a couple of hours and, as usual, hid her under his bed surrounded by his belongings before leaving. After he departed, Jayme pushed the bins aside, left the house, and ran until she met a woman walking a dog nearby who recognized her from news coverage and brought her to a neighboring home. There, Jayme identified Patterson by name as the person who had killed her parents and held her captive. Deputies arrived around 4:45 p.m. and removed her from the area for her safety. Using Jayme's description of his car, a deputy located and stopped Patterson's vehicle minutes later; he got out and said, "I did it." He was arrested and taken to the Douglas County Sheriff's Office, where he confessed to killing James and Denise Closs and kidnapping Jayme.

Patterson was charged on January 14, 2019, with two counts of first-degree intentional homicide, one count of kidnapping, and one count of armed burglary; bail was set at $5 million. On March 27, 2019, he pleaded guilty to the homicide and kidnapping counts, and the armed burglary charge was dismissed but read into the record. At his May 24, 2019, sentencing, the court found the crimes had been planned in advance and read aloud pre-sentencing statements describing Patterson's fantasies of imprisoning and controlling a young girl before he chose Jayme as a target. He was sentenced to two consecutive life terms without parole, plus an additional 40 years, and was later registered as a sex offender. Jayme Closs was released from the hospital into the custody of extended family and has since spoken publicly as an advocate for missing and exploited children.