A 21-year-old man from rural Wisconsin was identified Friday as the suspect who killed the parents of 13-year-old Jayme Closs and abducted the teen from the family’s home near Barron, Wi., nearly three months ago, reports the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Closs was located in Douglas County, Wi., north of her home, late Thursday afternoon, and suspect Jake Patterson was pulled over in a car nearby and arrested without resistance, said Douglas County Sheriff Tom Dalbec.
Residents of Barron had been on edge since the teen vanished three months ago after her parents were fatally shot. Jayme Closs was found bedraggled and malnourished after seeking help from neighbors in a remote area about an hour’s drive north of the Closs home just outside of Barron. “We needed a break in this case,” said FBI agent Justin Tolomeo. “It was Jayme herself who gave us that break.” Barron County Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald said Patterson acted alone, targeted Jayme specifically and was in his jail Friday. A criminal complaint charging Patterson with two counts of homicide and one count of kidnapping was expected to be filed next week.