BARRON, WISCONSIN — The kidnapping of Jayme Closs became one of the most closely watched missing-child cases in the United States after a 13-year-old girl vanished from her Wisconsin home and her parents were found dead.

What made the case especially disturbing was that Jayme and her eventual captor, Jake Thomas Patterson, did not have a known relationship. According to investigators, Patterson decided to take her after seeing her boarding a school bus — and he later told police he immediately knew she was the girl he wanted.

Jayme survived 88 days in captivity before making a daring escape and finding help.

Today, Patterson is serving two consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole, plus a maximum 40-year sentence for kidnapping. A&E’s report, updated July 16, 2026, says he remains imprisoned in New Mexico.

A Random Encounter Put Jayme in Patterson’s Sights
The case began with an encounter that appeared completely ordinary.

Patterson told investigators that he was driving to work when he stopped behind a school bus and saw Jayme getting on.

He said that, at that moment, he decided she was the girl he was going to abduct.

Investigators said the two had not previously known one another, and officials found no evidence that Patterson had an established relationship with Jayme or her family before the crime.

The decision was not acted upon immediately.

According to investigators, Patterson made unsuccessful attempts to approach the Closs residence before eventually carrying out the attack on October 15, 2018.

The Night the Closs Family Was Attacked
Shortly before the attack, Patterson prepared extensively.

According to investigative documents later described by A&E, he took his father’s shotgun, altered aspects of his vehicle and attempted to reduce the chances that evidence would connect him to the crime scene.

He also changed his appearance.

Patterson eventually went to the Closs home in rural Barron County during the early morning hours.

James Closs answered the door after noticing someone outside.

Patterson shot him and forced his way inside.

Jayme and her mother, Denise, had hidden in a bathroom. Patterson found them there and demanded that Denise tape Jayme’s mouth.

He then killed Denise and took Jayme from the house.

Denise had managed to call 911 before Patterson entered the bathroom, creating an emergency response that investigators hoped would lead to the family being located quickly.

But Patterson escaped before deputies arrived.

Jayme Was Hidden Under a Bed
Patterson drove Jayme roughly 70 miles north to a property in Gordon, Wisconsin.

He concealed her in a small space underneath a bed.

According to the criminal complaint, Patterson used heavy objects and storage containers around the bed when he left so Jayme could not easily get out.

He also threatened her and warned her against attempting to escape.

The arrangement meant that Jayme could spend hours trapped beneath the bed while Patterson was away.

When he was home, she was allowed out at times, but her movements remained tightly controlled.

Investigators have said there were also occasions when Patterson forced Jayme to stay hidden while other people came to the property.

Her family, meanwhile, had no idea where she was.

An 88-Day Search Captured National Attention
Jayme’s disappearance generated a huge law-enforcement response.

The Barron County Sheriff’s Department said investigators pursued more than 4,000 tips with the assistance of hundreds of officers.

Her photograph appeared nationwide as authorities urged the public to provide information.

The case quickly became one of the largest missing-child searches in the region.

For Jayme’s family, however, there was no way of knowing whether she was alive.

That uncertainty lasted nearly three months.

Jayme Made Her Escape
On January 10, 2019, the case changed dramatically.

Patterson left the property for several hours.

Before leaving, he again placed Jayme under the bed and surrounded it with items intended to keep her trapped.

But this time she managed to move them.

She got out, put on a pair of Patterson’s shoes and walked outside into freezing Wisconsin weather.

She had no coat.

Eventually, she encountered Jeanne Nutter, a woman who was walking her dog.

Jayme told her who she was and said she needed help.

Nutter immediately brought her to a nearby home, where neighbors called 911.

The rescue ended an 88-day ordeal that had begun with the deaths of her parents.

Police Found Patterson Minutes Later
Once Jayme was safe, she gave investigators the information they needed to identify her captor.

She told authorities that Jake Patterson had killed her parents and was responsible for taking her.

Police soon located Patterson in the area and arrested him.

He quickly admitted that he had kidnapped Jayme and killed James and Denise Closs.

The arrest effectively brought an end to the massive search for the missing teenager.

But investigators still had to understand why he had done it.

So Why Did Jake Patterson Choose Jayme?
This remains one of the most disturbing aspects of the case.

Patterson told investigators there was no personal relationship or specific previous conflict that caused him to target Jayme.

Instead, he described seeing her getting on the school bus and deciding almost instantly that he wanted to abduct her.

A&E reported that Patterson later said he had imagined eventually establishing a life with Jayme and even considered getting an apartment with her.

In other words, the available evidence points not to a longstanding personal dispute, but to a fixation that developed after he saw a girl he did not know.

That explanation has never made the crime easier to understand.

Patterson Wrote That His Reason Was “Complicated”
After his arrest, Patterson also wrote a letter to KARE 11 reporter Lou Raguse in which he said the reason for his actions was “complicated.” A&E cites that letter as part of the record surrounding the case.

The full explanation offered by Patterson has never provided a simple motive that would make the events understandable.

His own statements instead describe an unhealthy fixation, isolation and a desire to control Jayme’s life.

He Pleaded Guilty Instead of Going to Trial
Patterson ultimately admitted responsibility rather than forcing Jayme and other victims to endure a full criminal trial.

In March 2019, he pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree intentional homicide and one count of kidnapping.

The plea meant there was no prolonged trial in which Jayme would necessarily have had to relive her captivity and the deaths of her parents in open court.

Two months later, the court imposed the maximum punishment available on the homicide charges.

Two Life Sentences Without Parole
On May 24, 2019, Patterson was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole for killing James and Denise Closs.

He also received the maximum 40-year sentence for kidnapping.

That sentence ensures that Patterson will remain imprisoned for the rest of his life.

His lawyers had acknowledged that he would spend his life behind bars, while the court ultimately imposed the harshest available punishment for the murders.

Jayme Had Her Own Message for Her Captor
During the sentencing proceedings, a statement from Jayme was read in court.

Her message emphasized that Patterson had not destroyed her courage or taken control of her future.

She described his actions as cowardly and made clear that surviving the ordeal had given her a strength he could not take away.

That moment became one of the defining images of the case.

The teenager who had disappeared from her family home had survived and was speaking for herself again.

Patterson Was Moved to an Out-of-State Prison
Because of the extraordinary publicity surrounding the case, Wisconsin corrections officials transferred Patterson out of state.

He was moved to a prison in New Mexico in 2019 because of concerns about his safety in Wisconsin.

The transfer did not end disciplinary problems.

Records later showed that Patterson was involved in a fight with another inmate in New Mexico.

A&E’s updated 2026 article states that he remains imprisoned in New Mexico.

What Happened to Jayme After Her Rescue?
After her rescue, Jayme received medical attention and support for the physical and psychological effects of her ordeal.

She later lived with relatives, including her aunt and godmother, as she began rebuilding her life. A&E reports that she received treatment related to trauma following the kidnapping.

Her story has since moved beyond the original crime.

Jayme has become associated with efforts to raise awareness about missing and exploited children and the importance of never abandoning a search for a missing child.

Her survival is also a reminder that missing-child cases can remain unresolved for months before a breakthrough suddenly changes everything.

The Case Still Raises One Chilling Question
The criminal case itself is no longer in doubt.

Patterson confessed, pleaded guilty and received life without parole.

But one question continues to haunt the story:

Why did he decide that a girl he barely knew should become the center of his life?

The evidence presented by investigators suggests that Patterson developed an immediate fixation after seeing Jayme on the school bus.

From that moment, he planned, prepared and eventually carried out an attack that killed her parents and took Jayme away from her family for nearly three months.

There was no reported long-running feud between Patterson and the Closs family.

There was no established friendship.

The available record instead points to an obsession that formed around a stranger.

That may be the most unsettling part of the entire case.

Where the Case Stands in 2026
As of September 14, 2026, Jake Patterson remains imprisoned in New Mexico, serving two consecutive life sentences without parole plus 40 years for the kidnapping.

There is no prospect of ordinary release from his life sentences.

Jayme Closs survived the kidnapping and continues to live her life away from the man who abducted her.

James and Denise Closs, however, never had the chance to see their daughter come home.

Their deaths remain permanently linked to a crime that began with Patterson spotting a teenager getting onto a school bus.

The Legacy of Jayme Closs
The case became famous because of its horrifying details, but its most enduring image is not the crime scene.

It is Jayme walking away from her captor and toward someone who could help.

After 88 days in captivity, a frightened teenager found the courage to leave, approach a stranger and say that she needed help.

That decision brought her home.

And it ultimately brought Jake Patterson into police custody.

Jayme survived. Her parents were never given that chance.

Sources:
CBS News/AP: Patterson’s 2019 sentencing and consecutive life sentences without parole.