Jayme Closs was 13 when she was abducted from her family home, in the event both of her parents were fatally shot and killed by the perpetrator. Closs was then taken away to Gordon, Wisconsin. She has held for 88 days before she returned home.

The leading suspect was known as Jake Thomas Patterson. Patterson then immediately admitted to kidnapping Closs and killing her parents. Patterson was then charged with double homicide and the kidnapping the 13 year-old Closs.

The night of Oct. 15 was when the horror took place. At midnight a call was made to 911 from the family phone and the caller did not speak however there was a disturbance in the background and yelling was heard on the other line. When police arrived, Closs was gone.

The search was on and the news of the 13-year-old missing girl captivated the country. A search party followed the disappearance as well as a $25,000 award, which was later doubled. Still, Nothing came to light.

Three months went by with no sign of Closs. Then the unexpected happened. On Jan. 10 Closs made her escape from captivity she came across a local woman by the name of Jeanne Nutter who immediately recognized Closs and contacted police.

Shortly after Closs’s perpetrator was identified and arrested. According to the Bureau’s National Crime Information Center (NCIC),

Missing Persons File contained more than 32,000 cases of children under the age of 18 at the end of 2017. Only 24 percent of cases reported the kidnapping to be done by a stranger to the victim.

On Jan. 21 in Closs’s hometown of Barron County celebrated her bravery of escaping and returning to her home. Friends and family gathered for prayer to honor Closs who had freed herself from captivity and returned home after three months. Now, the money that was to be donated to the one who found Closs has been donated to her for her bravery and determination as the hero in her own story.