‘Jayme’s alive! She’s been found, she’s okay!’ The emotional voicemail the missing 13-year-old’s grandfather left her aunt when she escaped captivity
- Jayme Closs, 13, was found alive on Thursday in Gordon, Wisconsin after being held captive for three months
- She managed to escape a man who authorities say killed her parents and then held her in a remote cabin
- Jayme’s aunt Sue Naiberg Allard shared the voicemail she received from her father Robert Naiberg on the day the teen was found
- Her grandfather was the first family member to see Jayme and recalled giving her a big hug
- Jake Thomas Patterson, 21, has been arrested and is due to face court on Monday
The family of kidnapped Wisconsin 13-year-old Jayme Closs have shared the emotional voicemail her grandfather left her aunt when he found out the girl had been found alive.
The teenager was found on Thursday after she managed to escape a man who authorities say killed her parents and then held her captive for three months.
In an interview with the Today Show on Monday, Jayme’s aunt Sue Naiberg Allard shared the voicemail she received from her father Robert Naiberg on the day the teen was found.
‘Jayme’s been found. She alive, she’s okay!’ Robert said on the phone with his voice shaking.
Jayme, pictured following her miraculous escape, was snatched from her home in Barron on October 15. Patterson is accused of shooting dead her parents before abducting her
Robert was the first family member to see Jayme and recalled giving her a big hug.
Jayme had fled the cabin in a rural, heavily wooded area near the small town of Gordon – 70 miles from her home – where she had been imprisoned and asked a woman who was walking her dog for help.
Police officers arrested 21-year-old Jake Thomas Patterson minutes later based on Jayme’s description of his vehicle.
Authorities are holding Patterson on suspicion of kidnapping and homicide ahead of his first court appearance on Monday.
Little has been revealed about Jayme’s ordeal since her abduction in mid-October, although more details could come Monday when Patterson is expected to be charged.
In an interview with the Today Show on Monday, Jayme’s aunt Sue Naiberg Allard shared the voicemail she received from her father Robert Naiberg on the day the teen was found
Robert was the first family member to see Jayme and recalled giving his granddaughter a big hug
Jayme’s grandfather said on Sunday that, considering the circumstances, the teen is holding up.
Jake Thomas Patterson was arrested last Thursday soon after 13-year-old Jayme managed to escape the remote woodland cabin in Gordon in rural Wisconsin where she had been held captive for 88 days
‘She’s doing exceptionally well for what she went through,’ Naiberg told The Associated Press by phone.
‘She’s in exceptionally good spirits.’
Investigators believe Patterson abducted Jayme after breaking into her family home in Barron and shooting dead her parents James and Denise Closs.
Authorities have said Patterson’s goal was to kidnap Jayme, but it’s unclear how he became aware of the girl, especially because he lived an hour away.
Investigators say there’s no evidence of any online interactions between him and Jayme.
Her family insists they don’t know the man and her grandfather said that Jayme told FBI agents she doesn’t know Patterson at all.
Charging documents in Wisconsin typically contain at least a partial narrative of what happened at a crime scene as prosecutors try to prove there’s probable cause to support the allegations.
The cabin in rural Wisconsin where Patterson allegedly held Jayme for nearly three months
The filthy basement where authorities believe the 13-year-old was kept prisoner
This aerial photo shows the woodland cabin where 13-year-old Jayme Closs was held by Jake Thomas Patterson, surrounded by law enforcement vehicles
Details of Jayme’s three-month captivity have not been released, and Barron County Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald has not said whether Jayme was sexually assaulted.
Police collected more than 3,500 tips following Jayme’s disappearance three months ago, but no hard leads emerged.
Then on Thursday, a woman walking her dog spotted Jayme along a road near Gordon, a town about an hour’s drive north of Barron.
The woman said the girl begged her for help, saying Patterson had been hiding her in a nearby cabin and that she had escaped when he left her alone.
Neighbors called 911, and officers arrested Peterson within minutes. He has no criminal history in Wisconsin.
Jayme was found at the Eau Claire Acres estate near the town of Gordon, which is about 70 miles away from her home in Barron where she was abducted