



BARRON COUNTY -- Barron County Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald reported in a Facebook post on Thursday evening, Jan. 10 that Jayme Closs was located and is alive. The sheriff said she was expected to be reunited with her family Thursday night. Jayme Closs' grandfather, Robert Naiberg, told the Minneapolis Star Tribune that Jayme was being treated at a hospital.









The Douglas County Sheriff's Office confirmed Closs was located in the Town of Gordon in Douglas County around 4:45 p.m. Officials said a citizen phoned in information that led to Closs being found. They also said a suspect was taken into custody in regards to this case minutes later.



KMSP is reporting a dog walker may have led to Jayme's recovery:






















The Town of Gordon is roughly 65 miles due north of Barron -- it is about an hour drive.













Jayme Closs had been missing since her parents, James and Denise Closs, were found shot to death Oct. 15 in the family's home near Barron. Investigators said Jayme was quickly ruled out as a suspect.





James, Denise and Jayme Closs





Detectives pursued thousands of tips, watched dozens of surveillance videos and conducted numerous searches in the effort to find Jayme. Some tips led officials to recruit 2,000 volunteers for a massive ground search on Oct. 23 but it yielded no clues.



Fitzgerald said in November that he kept similar cases in the back of his mind as he worked to find Jayme, including the abduction of Elizabeth Smart, who was taken from her Salt Lake City home in 2002, when she was 14 years old. She was rescued nine months later with the help of two witnesses who recognized her abductors from an "America's Most Wanted" episode.





Closs home in Barron, Wisconsin





"I have a gut feeling she's (Jayme's) still alive. I've always been a glass half-full kind of guy," Fitzgerald said at the time.



Sue Allard, Jayme's aunt, told the Star Tribune that she could barely express her joy after learning the news Thursday night.



"Praise the Lord," Allard said between sobs. "It's the news we've been waiting on for three months. I can't wait to get my arms around her. I just can't wait."

















Jayme Closs





The text in the above Facebook post reads:



"On Thursday evening the Barron County Sheriff’s Department was notified by the Douglas CO WI Sheriff’s Department that they had located Jayme Closs alive.



Shortly after this a suspect was taken into custody in regards to this case. We do not any other details at this time as this is a very fluid and active investigation. We will not be answering any questions or taking calls on this tonight.







We are planning a press briefing approximately 10 am tomorrow at the Sheriff’s Department in Barron. We are receiving support from the FBI and WI DCI agents as this investigation continues.







We want to thank the Douglas Co Sheriff’s Department and agencies assisting them tonight. We also want to thank all the Law Enforcement agencies across the state and county that have assisted us in this case. We also could not have endured this case without the support of the public and I want to thank them for all the support and help.



Finally we want to especially thank the family for their support and patience while this case was ongoing. We promised to bring Jayme home and tonight we get to fulfill that promise. From the bottom of my heart THANK YOU!



This case has been very trying on the family so please respect their privacy and we reunite them later tonight."



Barron Mayor Ron Fladten said Thursday night he hadn't heard any details about Jayme's discovery yet but was overjoyed at learning she is alive.



"There was a lot of discouragement because this took quite a while to play out," Fladten said. "A lot of people have been praying daily, as I have. It's just a great result we got tonight. It's unbelievable. It's like taking a big black cloud in the sky and getting rid of it and the sun comes out again."



He acknowledged that Jayme may not be the same person she was before she disappeared.











Search for Jayme Closs in Barron County





"I hope that she's in good shape," the mayor said. "She's no doubt been through just a terrible ordeal. I think everybody wishes her a good recovery and a happy life going into the future."



As noted in the Facebook post, there will be a news conference about this case at 10 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 11 -- in Barron. FOX6 News plans to stream that event.



The notification that Jayme had been found came just four hours after Fitzgerald had taken to Twitter to debunk a report that she had been found alive near Walworth County. Douglas County, where Jayme was found, is hundreds of miles northwest of Walworth County.



A $50,000 reward had been offered for information on Jayme Closs’ whereabouts. Just this week, a tractor trailer began traveling roads across the country — and getting the message out about the missing teenager.



Thursday night, the nationwide Amber Alert was canceled for Closs.





Credit: Barron County Sheriff's Department





