'We want to bring Jayme home:' Investigators release new pictures of missing 13-year-old girl
BARRON, Wis. -- The Barron County Sheriff's Department released on Tuesday morning, Oct. 16 new pictures of Jayme Closs, the girl who is the subject of an Amber Alert.
Jayme Closs
Jayme Closs, 13, went missing after her parents, James and Denise Closs, were found dead in a home in Barron County on Monday morning. Officials said Jayme Closs is not a runaway and they believe she is in danger.
A 911 call came in early Monday from a cellphone inside the home, but the caller didn't communicate with the dispatcher, Barron County Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald said during a Tuesday news conference. He said gunshots had been fired at the home, but he declined to say whether the couple had been shot and said his office won't disclose how they died until after the autopsies are completed.
Fitzgerald said investigators don't consider Jayme a suspect in her parents' deaths, and he dismissed a tip placing Jayme's whereabouts in Miami as "not credible." He declined to elaborate as to why investigators believe she didn't run away from home, saying that disclosing more information would compromise their investigation.
"I'm telling you, Jayme is missing and endangered," Fitzgerald said.
Jayme Closs
Jayme Closs
Jayme was last seen at a family gathering Sunday afternoon, Fitzgerald said.
Her grandfather, Robert Naiberg, told The Associated Press on Tuesday that nothing seemed amiss at the gathering, which was to celebrate the birthday of a grandson who is cousins with Jayme.
"She was quiet as always. She was a quiet girl," he said.
Naiberg, 72, said his daughter, Denise Closs, and Jayme attended the party, and that his son-in-law, James Closs, was working and couldn't make it. He described his daughter as "thoughtful person" who brought "a little gift for everybody" at the party.
A girl resembling Jayme was spotted at a gas station in south Florida on Monday afternoon, according to a tip Miami police say they received. Fitzgerald said authorities looked into the tip, but by Tuesday afternoon, they concluded the information was not credible. He said Miami police did not check with Wisconsin authorities before tweeting information about the tip and reminded the public that updates would come from the sheriff's department.
"If we think it's key to the case where we need the public's help, we will disseminate that information," he said. "There has been tips and misinformation that's being released that does not come from this podium. That is not credible information. I cannot stress that enough. We continue to follow up on, like I said, 200 tips."
Jayme Closs
Jayme is described as 5-feet (1.5 meters) tall and 100 pounds (45 kilograms), with strawberry-blond hair and green eyes.
The FBI and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children are helping in the search. An Amber Alert was issued without a description of a suspect or vehicle. Meanwhile, deputies searched the area around the family's home with drones and infrared equipment and talked to Jayme's friends and middle school classmates, hoping to develop some leads.
"We're providing a number of resources -- investigative, technical, tactical intelligence as well as agents from our 'Child Abduction Rapid Deployment Team,'" said Justin Tolomeo, FBI special agent in charge.
Fitzgerald urged the public to come forward with tips.
"Often, someone in the community will have knowledge of a crime and may not realize it," he said. "Individuals who commit acts of violence may display changes in their behavior and individuals around that person may observe those changes."
Fitzgerald urged the public to come forward with tips.
"Often, someone in the community will have knowledge of a crime and may not realize it," he said. "Individuals who commit acts of violence may display changes in their behavior and individuals around that person may observe those changes."
Anyone with information that could help investigators in this case is urged to call 1-855-744-3879.