Jayme Closs: 13-year-old girl missing for months after parents' murder is found alive

A teenager who went missing in October after her parents were murdered in their home has been found alive, officials say.

Jayme Closs, 13, had not been seen for nearly three months and her disappearance sparked massive searches, involving 1,500 volunteers scouring woods and fields in suburban Minneapolis, and the offer of a $25,000 (£20,000) reward for her safe return.

But on Thursday evening she was found near the small village of Gordon, Wisconsin, by a dog-walker, just a one-hour drive from her family’s home in Barron, northwest Wisconsin, where her father and mother, James and Denise Closs, were found murdered in October.

The 13-year-old seemed malnourished and dirty and was wearing shoes that were too big for her, but otherwise seemed in good health.

One of the locals who found the teen and called 911, Peter Kasinkas, said he was astonished.

“I honestly still think I’m dreaming right now. It was like I was seeing a ghost. My jaw just went to the floor,” he told Minneapolis newspaper the Star Tribune.

Jayme refused offers of food and water and seemed quiet and emotionally “flat”, he said, adding that she did not know where she was.

The local police chief, Barron county sheriff Chris Fitzgerald, said in a statement a suspect in the case had been taken into custody but released no other information ahead of a press briefing later on Friday.

“We do not any other details at this time as this is a very fluid and active investigation,” Mr Fitzgerald said.

“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 fulfil that promise.”

Unconfirmed local reports have suggested Jayme was found after managing to escape from a home near Gordon where she is believed to have been held.

The village is in a remote rural part of northern Wisconsin and only has a few hundred residents.

Mr Fitzgerald told reporters at the time of the teenager’s disappearance he was convinced she was still alive and she was added to the FBI’s top missing persons list.

The girl’s disappearance has remained big news in the region, and the very last post on the Barron county sheriff’s department Facebook page, just three hours before they announced Jayme had been found, was a debunking of rumours she had been spotted in another part of Wisconsin, some 300 miles away.

The girl’s aunt, Sue Allard, told the Star Tribune she was overjoyed at the news.

“Praise the Lord,” she said. “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.”

The mayor of Barron, Ron 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.

“I hope that she’s in good shape. 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.”