BARRON, Wis. (WKOW) — After a false alarm call earlier in the day, Jennifer Smith was moved to tears when she found out her niece Jayme Closs had been found safe.
“The sheriff came to my house, and he was smiling, and he had the best news ever,” Smith told KSTP-TV. “We cried and cried, so it’s been very emotional. A very happy night. Time to move forward, and we will get through this with Jayme.”
Smith said she hopes Closs, 13, will be home later in the day Friday. Closs has been receiving medical attention after being found in the Town of Gordon Thursday, about 60 miles north of her Barron home.
“They say she’s doing good. She’s talking and she’s resting right now. She’s exhausted,” Smith said.
“I’m just going to tell her how much I love her and missed her, and give her the biggest hug ever, and that we’re all here for her.”
Smith said she would like to thank law enforcement, the media, the Barron community and everyone else who showed their support and didn’t give up hope on her niece’s safe return.
“We said we’d never give up, and we didn’t. And now we got her,” Smith said.
KSTP reports, on Thursday Closs approached a woman who was walking her dog and screamed someone murdered her parents.
Closs’ parents, James and Denise, were killed just after midnight in their home in Barron on October 15.
Police have a suspect in custody, but have not said if he is a suspect in the murder or Jayme Closs’ disappearance.
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