Deputies search for girl whose parents are dead

Published 8:48 pm Monday, October 15, 2018

BARRON, Wis. — Authorities searched Monday for a 13-year-old girl they believe is in danger after her parents were found dead in their western Wisconsin home.

Deputies went to the home in Barron after dispatchers received a 911 call from an unknown person at around 1 a.m. Monday, Barron County Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald said. He said they found the bodies of Jayme Closs’ parents, who were later identified by the sheriff’s department as 56-year-old James Closs and his 46-year-old wife, Denise Closs. Fitzgerald also said there had been gunshots, but he stopped short of saying that’s how the couple died.

“At the end of the day, I want a 13-year-old here safe and sound. That’s our goal. That’s our only goal right now,” Fitzgerald said at a news briefing.

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Investigators don’t have any leads or suspects, but they have enlisted the help of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the FBI, which has agents who specialize in missing children cases, the sheriff said. He said Jayme is not considered a suspect in her parents’ deaths.