Authorities on Friday identified the suspect in the kidnapping of 13-year-old Jayme Closs as Jake Thomas Patterson. Patterson is also suspected of killing Jayme’s parents in their Wisconsin home in October.
Here’s what we know about him:
• Patterson is a 21-year-old from Gordon, Wisconsin, about 70 miles north of Barron, not far from where Jayme lived with her parents.
• Patterson was taken into custody Thursday after the girl gave investigators a description of his vehicle, according to Douglas County Sheriff Tom Dalbec. A short time later, a patrol officer found a vehicle that matched the description and pulled it over. Patterson was arrested.
• He’s being held in the Barron County Jail. He faces two counts of first-degree intentional homicide in the killings of Jayme’s parents, James and Denise Closs, and one count of kidnapping, Barron County Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald told reporters.
• Patterson “planned his actions and took many proactive steps to hide his identity from law enforcement and the general public,” Fitzgerald said.
• Fitzgerald said investigators believe Jayme was Patterson’s target and that the suspect had no earlier contact with her family.
• Patterson had “zero” criminal history locally or in Wisconsin, Fitzgerald said. Authorities are not looking for any additional suspects.
• He’s unemployed.
