AMBER ALERT WI - Jayme Closs, 13, Barron, missing after parents found shot, 15 Oct 2018 *endangered* #11

[the seeker]

Thanks for the break down! Great insight.
Denise being the target would make sense, unless it was Jayme. Why would they pursue Jayme if Denise was the intended target and was killed? I wonder if Jayme hid and was sought out, or did she have the strength to exit the room to see what was going on and perhaps fight back and that is when she was captured, or were they initially looking for her the whole time? MOO

I see Mark's point. I have been going back and forth between Denise being the target or Jayme (I tend to lean toward Jayme). IF Jayme was the target why kill Denise? Was the stuff about baracading herself in the bathroom true or speculation? If true, why would they go through the trouble of hunting her down and killing her? Was it because Denise knew the suspects and could identify them? Same goes for if Denise was the target why take Jayme? Why not just kill her (and I do not subscribe to the "they didnt want to kill a child" thinking. These people don't care-they WANTED Jayme alive for a purpose,at least at first)? Because Jayme could also identify them? I dont know...I still think Jayme was the target, Denise could identify them, and dad was in the way (he may have known them too).

 

[mtnlites]

I'm in the MN suburbs, just outside of Minneapolis, and I along w/ a lot of my neighbors don't lock our doors. Nor do I have a key to ANY of my doors. If I came home, saw an odd vehicle in my driveway, 1st door available to me is the front door. If they had locked it, sure as heck I would kick it in. ** locking my doors tonight.

Same here. I live on a farm and we generally only lock our doors at night when we sleep-and that's when we remember. During the day, our house remains unlocked, as do many of the others in my neck of the woods. In fact, we joke about it being "rude" to lock your door because what if someone needs something? ;-) I could also see kicking the door in if I came home and encountered this, since it would be an anomaly. I don't actually think that's what happened here, but I could feasibly entertain the scenario.

 

[natsound]

Will LE be able to tell us if there were items missing from Jayme's bedroom? Like was her suitcase missing? Was it ransacked or in order?

We don't know any of this.

 

[HayLouise]

Michelle Alfini‏ @MichelleAlf

'As the search continues for Jayme Closs, two Middleton firefighters did their part, volunteering to help Barron authorities find the missing teen.'

Middleton Fire helps out in search for Jayme Closs

Michelle Alfini on Twitter

 

[natsound]

Although not publicly, it was reported the the sheriff stated they could only make out the word "help ", and other than that just heard background noise that indicated a disturbance. It was reported about the second day in WAEU 13.

HOLD ON! I found it.

Sheriff Fitzgerald says a 911 call came in around 1A.M. The call came from a cell phone inside the residence but it’s not known who made the call. “We could hear yelling in the background on this 911 call, not much information," said Fitzgerald.

He says the call lasted less than a minute and the only word that can be understood is “help”.

(However, in a later story, it's reported that there's no clear communication on the 911 call.)

UPDATE: Sheriff: Missing girl was in home at the time of the murders

 

[Mollyandme]

I’m not following you- may I ask why you say that? Many thanks

JMO but if Denise had more it could mean she was the target, as the perp had more anger towards her, thus more gunshots.

 

[human]

A helpful map source that I haven't seen any reference to here are online county Geographic Information System (GIS) maps.

Several earlier question on the Closs's property boundaries could have been researched here.

Barron County's GIS site is easier that many to use on a phone, but a computer and mouse work better. This one has a "hybrid" map setting which shows the yellow boundary lines against a satellite background (lower right icon, 3 dots and 3 lines.) You can tap properties to learn the owner information, or use the search icon (lower left) to search for owner names, etc.

WGX Mobile

Or do a Google search for "Barron County Wisconsin GIS map"

The neighbor on the other side who is much closer heard nothing?

 

[MsBetsy]

The mother being in the bathroom is speculation.



Yes, and it still haunts me.

Right, it has not been confirmed that she was in the bathroom. All we have been told by LE and information from the dispatcher report is that she was found in the house. She may have been found in the living room or the bedroom or anywhere. Since the shots were only seconds apart, my guess is she was not too far behind James when she was shot. According to the facts, it seems unlikely that she was hiding in the bathroom. Jmo

 

[Bugurl747]

Yes

Jayme Closs disappearance: Search for possible evidence along a highway comes up empty. - CNN

ETA: oops, doesn't say "at the scene" but I believe that has been confirmed

Thanks for the link! BBM
"On HLN's "Crime & Justice" Wednesday night, Fitzgerald told host Ashleigh Banfield that deputies had recovered the cell phone from which the 911 call was made.
Fitzgerald said additional agencies, including the FBI, are involved. "They are the experts in breaking down 911 tapes, looking at our phones, and taking care of all evidence in that manner," he said.
Authorities said they have determined whose cell phone the call came from, but declined to identify the owner. "

 

[MsBetsy]

The neighbor on the other side who is much closer heard nothing?

Oh wow, I didn't know there was a neighbor who is closer. Maybe they weren't home? Seems unlikely they would not have been interviewed.

 

[Whiskers16]

I sent you two links, both to Ashley Banfiled. The information from OP about the vehicles not being of interest anymore is false. They are both still vehicles of interest.

here is one link I received:

Stitcher link to podcast version: Crime & Justice with Ashleigh Banfield

the relevant part of the segment begins at approx. 18:44, for reference.

on my phone so will post the other separately

 

[Whiskers16]

I sent you two links, both to Ashley Banfiled. The information from OP about the vehicles not being of interest anymore is false. They are both still vehicles of interest.

Here is another with elektroangel's intetpretation:

He states that one of the vehicles that someone called in was not the vehicle they were looking for. Not that they are no longer looking for the vehicles.

Crime & Justice with Ashleigh Banfield by HLN on Apple Podcasts

 

[SeattleStew]

Fitzgerald is quoted in AB interview as saying they have the cell phone from which the 911 call was made, but declined to identify whose phone it was.

 

[BeeGirl]

I’m not following you- may I ask why you say that? Many thanks

May be a rage thing; sort of like when a stabbing victim has one wound v. 98 stab wounds.

 

[the seeker]

He doesnt know why but he firmly believes Denise was the intended target because if she wasnt and James was there would be no need for the killer to enter the home.

Imo that does make more sense to me. They wouldnt have to risk even entering the home since James was shot right at his door if the intended target was James all along.

Jmo

Ok, thats understandable....but what if the target was Jayme? They would still need to enter the home. James was not the target, clearly, but Mark's reasoning doesn't exclude Jayme being the target, at all.

 

[Inthedetails]

Mathematica is my thing.

What arithmetic real clock are you trying to figure out. The clock in the neighbors house was set several minutes fast, so they in fact heard the gunshots at 12:31AM according to police.

Why is that a problem, and why are you having difficulties with arithmetic?

@otto. I don't have a problem with arithmetic.

The neighbor said she set her clock ahead. So we have gunshots heard in the middle of the night, a witness who seems a bit unreliable, and a clock that doesn't tell the right time.

I don't have complete confidence in taking her word about the exact minutes she heard the shots.

jmo

 

[human]

Oh wow, I didn't know there was a neighbor who is closer. Maybe they weren't home? Seems unlikely they would not have been interviewed.

I looked at the GIS map that was posted above.

WGX Mobile

Maybe I am not reading it right?

 

[MsBetsy]

From 911 log: "voicemail indicates the phone lists to Denise at that address". It appears from another post above this one, that Fitzgerald has said they have the phone.

Yes, he did say they have the phone but will not reveal who it belonged to or whether or not Jayme had her phone with her or even that she had her own phone at all.

 

[JaneEyre]

Regarding the reliability of the Smrekars, I submit this article where the neighbor's husband states that the Closs family moved in seven years ago when they have owned the property since 2001. It could be a typo (seven instead of seventeen) and it is possible they were interviewed separately but it makes me think they aren't the most meticulous with details:

‘It is right next door’: Barron community in shock over couple’s slaying in early morning hours

Yup. One of my neighbors called me about something she saw on Facebook (a lost animal). She didn't know who she was talking to, and we had never met. She asked me at some point if we were the new people. I said, well, 5 years ago. She then said no, we couldn't be the people she was thinking of who moved in a year or two ago. I described the house (we are also the only "new people" out here) and she was shocked we had been here 5 years. Time flies. Many people have "impressions" rather than knowledge of their neighbors' situations.

 

[BeeGirl]

Regarding the reliability of the Smrekars, I submit this article where the neighbor's husband states that the Closs family moved in seven years ago when they have owned the property since 2001. It could be a typo (seven instead of seventeen) and it is possible they were interviewed separately but it makes me think they aren't the most meticulous with details:

‘It is right next door’: Barron community in shock over couple’s slaying in early morning hours

I agree. I've taken their words with a grain of salt since she said she saw a bus every day, yet somehow was unaware they had a child. That was nonsensical to me.

JS: That I can't tell you, I just know that the school bus dropped her off?
BANFIELD: And you would see her dropped off daily in front of the house by the school bus?
JS: Yes.
BANFIELD: But other than that, you didn't see collections of friends coming and going from that house?
JS: No. We didn`t even know they had any children. They just weren't out there doing things.​