Teenager Jayme Closs who was kidnapped for 88 days describes her ordeal
So brave
By Practical Parenting team
January 15 2019
Thirteen-year-old Jayme Closs made headlines around the world when news broke of her escape from Jake Patterson, who killed her parents before kidnapping her.
Patterson first saw Jayme while he was on his way to work one day as she was boarding her school bus. According to the complaint he told authorities he had no idea who she was, but said that "he knew that was the girl he was going to take."
On the night of the crime, Jayme said she woke to the sound of her dog barking on October 15, and heard a car coming up the driveway.
Patterson allegedly shot her father when he went to the door to investigate, while Jayme and her mother, Denise, hid in the bathroom.
While Denise called emergency services, Patterson broke in and shot Denise, then tied Jayme’s hands and ankles together and dragged her out to his vehicle.
He drove her to his home in a remote area around 70 miles away, and forced her to hide under a bed for long periods of time, particularly if he had friends over.
He also placed heavy items around the bed so that he would know if she had attempted to move or escape. She remained in captivity for months until last Thursday, when she managed to push the weights and bins away from the bed and crawl out, after Patterson had told her he’d be gone for several hours.
The brave teen put on a pair of his shoes and went outside where she ran into a neighbour who happened to be out walking her dog.
Patterson’s neighbour, Jeanne Nutter, said the girl told her: “I'm Jayme Closs.” “I don't know where I am.” “He killed my parents.”
“Please help -- I want to go home.”
Patterson has confessed to killing Jayme's parents, James and Denise Closs, in their home outside the city of Barron, and to kidnapping Jayme.
He faces charges of intentional homicide, kidnapping and armed burglary and a judge has set his bail at $5 million.
Jayme’s aunt, Sue Allard, said she had to pinch herself to believe that Jayme was safe and home at last.
“I woke up this morning and finally, I didn't have that pit in the bottom of my stomach any more,” she told Gayle King on CBS This Morning.
“She feels safe. She's doing pretty well. We had her smiling, laughing. Going through things in her room.”
“The thing I wanted to express to her immediately, and we all do, is the pride we have in her for doing this. For getting out. For making it. For the power that she has,” added her aunt Lyn Closs.
“You know, I mean, that she took the power away from this man. That she did this. I mean it's just incredible.”