A week after a 13-year-old girl vanished, a local sheriff is seeking a cadre of volunteers that’s equivalent to two-thirds of the population of the small Wisconsin city near the teenager’s home.
Barron County Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald on Monday asked for 2,000 volunteers to help authorities in an expanded routine search of the area on Tuesday for possible evidence in the investigation into Jayme Closs’ disappearance. The teenager vanished early October 15 and her parents were found fatally shot in their home near the city of Barron in northwestern Wisconsin. Barron, a city of less 3 square miles, has a population of about 3,300, according to US Census figures.
A mysterious 911 call led deputies to discover Jayme’s parents — James Closs, 56, and Denise Closs, 46 — had been shot dead at the family’s home, authorities said. No gun was found at the scene, according to Fitzgerald.
An Amber Alert was issued for Jayme on the day she disappeared, and the FBI has added her to its online list of kidnapped or missing people.
On the 911 call, no one on the line talked to the dispatcher, but a disturbance was heard, authorities said. The dispatcher “could hear a lot of yelling” during the 911 call, which was “pinged” to the Closs home, according to a dispatch log the Barron County Sheriff’s Office released Friday. When the dispatcher called the number back, a voice mail greeting indicated the phone belonged to Denise Closs.
A responding officer arrived to find “the door has been kicked in,” according to the log. The family’s dog was there at the home when deputies arrived.
The log does not indicate who made the 911 call or who was yelling or what was said.
More than 1,200 tips have come since Jayme’s disappearance. Meanwhile, a community tries to cope.
On Monday, the Barron Area School District will hold “A Gathering of Hope,” to help the community heal. Counseling resources will also be provided.
Jayme was a dancer and cross-country runner at Riverview Middle School in the district.
