48 Hours - Jayme Closs Comes Home

Episode Date: January 13, 2019

"48 Hours" goes inside the Closs case, the extraordinary stories of other children found, and the heartache of families with children still missing.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wondery Plus subscribers can listen to this podcast ad-free right now. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app today. Even if you love the thrill of true crime stories as much as I do, there are times when you want to mix it up. And that's where Audible comes in, with all the genres you love and new ones to discover. Explore thousands of audiobooks, podcasts, and originals, with more added all the time. thousands of audiobooks, podcasts, and originals, with more added all the time. Listening to Audible can lead to positive change in your mood, your habits,

and even your overall well-being. And you can enjoy Audible anytime, while doing household chores, exercising, commuting, you name it. There's more to imagine when you listen. Sign up for a free 30-day Audible trial and your first audiobook is free. Visit audible.ca. In 2014, Laura Heavlin was in her home in Tennessee when she received a call from California. Her daughter, Erin Corwin, was missing. The young wife of a Marine had moved to the California desert

to a remote base near Joshua Tree National Park. They have to alert the military. And when they do, the NCIS gets involved. From CBS Studios and CBS News, this is 48 Hours NCIS. Listen to 48 Hours NCIS ad-free starting October 29th on Amazon Music. Wow, thank you. For 88 days, I have stood before you and said we would work tirelessly to bring Jamie Closs home. Today, I can report we have done just that. 13 year old Jamie Claus was found alive 88 days after a stranger kidnapped her from her Wisconsin home. I was crying and

talking and he's like what is wrong? I go Jamie's found. It's unbelievable it is miraculous. Jamie is the hero in this case. There's no question about it. She's the one that helped us break the case. It's amazing the will of that 13-year-old girl to survive and escape. I was finishing my walk right at the end of my driveway and Jamie was coming towards me. She just said, I'm lost. I don't know where I am. I knew she needed help. So I knew I needed to get her out of the cold. I knew I needed to get her to a safe place. The sheriff and the detective showed up and they gave us that news and we cried in happy tears and cried. He targeted Jamie.

Jake Patterson is a 21-year- old male with no criminal history. Nothing. Nothing. What questions do you want answered? Why? Why did Mr. Patterson pick Jamie? This is truly a community, a country coming together for one purpose. Solving this is the will of a 13 year old girl.

Solving this case and coming home and saying enough is enough. Think of the positive impact this child has already made on our world. The talk of hope, the talk of love, the talk of faith, the talk of family. Jamie has already made such an impression on this world. My kids got an extra hug last night when I got home. already made such an impression on this world. My kids got an extra hug last night when I got home. Her Christmas presents are all waiting for her from me. And her stocking, it's all waiting downstairs.

This guy tried to do his best to beat us, and he just didn't. I jumped up and started jumping up and down. There were glasses clinking and bottles clinking and hugs and kisses. What a brave kid. Janie's found. She's safe. Oh my gosh, I can't believe it. She's a survivor, yes. She's our little survivor. She's been through a lot.

It's been nearly 48 hours since Jamie Closs stunned the world by escaping the horrors of her captivity here in northern Wisconsin. Real questions remain, but today the answers began trickling in. We're still in the active stages of the investigation. We're still serving the search warrant. Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald led the nearly three-month investigation into the disappearance of Jamie Kloss from her home in Barron County, Wisconsin.

Under arrest is 21-year-old Jake Thomas Patterson, who allegedly murdered Jamie's parents Denise and James Kloss and abducted Jamie, a teenager whose life revolved around ice skating, volleyball, and her dog Molly. The will of a 13-year-old girl is what broke this case. It was late Thursday afternoon that Jamie escaped from a rural, isolated home in the town of Gordon, 77 miles north of Jamie's home. Authorities believe Jake Patterson had imprisoned her there, and today, Patterson had imprisoned her there and today Patterson is in a cell at the Barron County Justice Center. His public defenders call it a tragic situation. The report I got is he was sitting in his

cell looking at the wall all by himself. Patterson is expected to be charged Monday with two counts of homicide and one count of kidnapping. Last night we were actually able to bring her home to Barron County. That's been the goal of mine for 88 days and we got to bring her home. Jamie's ordeal began last October 15th when a strange 911 call alerted authorities that something was amiss at the Kloss home on Highway 8 in Barron. The 911 call is very inaudible. You can't hear words. You hear yelling or maybe a scream. Do you hear a gunshot on the 911 tape?

No, you do not. You hear a lot of movement. You don't hear a lot of words. How long is the 911 tape? No, you do not. You hear a lot of movement. You don't hear a lot of words. How long is the 911 tape and how does it end? 48 seconds and it ends by getting hung up. The time from the 911 call until our deputies arrived is less than four minutes. Sheriff Fitzgerald's investigators now believe it was Jake Patterson who used a shotgun to blow through the front door here at the Kloss household before turning the weapon on Jamie's parents. We think this was well planned out. He targeted Jamie. He prepared himself to try to beat the forensics of law enforcement. Sheriff Fitzgerald says Patterson left no fingerprints behind

and no obvious clues. And Fitzgerald says Patterson hit his trail so well that originally investigators were convinced the true targets were Jamie's parents. We really keyed on the parents because Jamie was an innocent 13-year-old girl. Denise and James Kloss were supervisors at a local turkey processing plant, and detectives suspected a disgruntled worker may have killed them. We actually thought that Denise or James had to be the target. This had to be a revenge or something like that. A rage killing. Yeah. It turned out that Jake Patterson did have a connection to the turkey plant, but a tenuous one.

He worked there exactly one day, three years ago. Investigators don't believe it has any relevance. So for now, there remains a giant hole at the heart of this investigation, the link between Jamie and her alleged abductor. Why the heck did this happen? Yeah, the million dollar question. I'd love to know the answer to that. Sheriff Fitzgerald's investigators had already done a forensic sweep of all the Kloss family's cell phones and computers and found no connection to Jake Patterson. Authorities are now searching through Patterson's phones and computers and this car he was driving in when arrested.

She gave details, we understand understand of the vehicle that Jake Patterson used which resulted in the car being pulled over is that true? Yes. Justin Tolomeo is a special agent for the FBI and Brian O'Keefe runs Wisconsin's Division of Criminal Investigation. This is the nightmare case that we all as parents, family, friends, members, dread. That there's a potential of somebody out there who commits acts of violence and takes your children. I don't know that we can ever put reason to evil. Jake Patterson is something of a cipher.

He was voted the quietest person in his high school class in his hometown of Gordon. Reportedly, Patterson's parents separated years ago. Authorities say Jake was living in the house alone. And that's where they say they found a shotgun believed to be the murder weapon. Have you been given any details? Was she kept in a locked room? Was she bound? Was she properly fed?

Did she ever get outdoors? Do you have any details? I don't think we can get into that right now. Are you talking to neighbors? Would he go to the grocery store? What were his habits? What do you know about this guy? Well, there's not much up in Gordon.

store? What were his habits? What do you know about this guy? Well, there's not much up in Gordon. A couple gas stations and a couple bars in Gordon, if that. So it's a very, very small town. At J&K's Halfway House Bar and Grill, there was a lot of talk about Jake Patterson. Everybody's been talking exclusively about this and nobody knew Jake or his family, which is extremely rare because everybody knows everybody here. Patterson had no job anyone knows of, was never in trouble with the law, and most perplexing for authorities, Patterson has no obvious link to Jamie Kloss. This is a true mystery. We believe the first time they met was the night of the incident. As a kid growing up in Chicago, there was one horror movie I was too scared to watch.

It was called Candyman. It was about this supernatural killer who would attack his victims if they said his name five times into a bathroom mirror. But did you know that the movie Candyman was partly inspired by an actual murder? I was struck by both how spooky it was, but also how outrageous it was. Listen to Candyman, the true story behind the bathroom mirror murder, wherever you get your podcasts. Listen to Candyman, the true story behind the bathroom mirror murder, wherever you get your podcasts. Have you ever wondered who created that bottle of sriracha that's living in your fridge? Or why nearly every house in America has at least one game of Monopoly?

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So follow The Best Idea Yet on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to The Best Idea Yet early and ad-free right now by joining Wondery+. It's just The best idea yet. This past Wednesday, January 9th, Jamie Kloss' aunt Jennifer Smith marked the 87th day since her niece went missing on social media. Just like she had done almost daily since that terrible day in October. My heart was shattered.

Left a hole in our heart. And we just wanted to find her and we I just had hope that she was alive out there somewhere and we get her home I knew she was close and I never gave up that hope waiting at home for Jamie when she did come home would be her beloved dog Molly and unopened Christmas presents I said these presents are gonna sit right here and wait for Jamie to come home and her stocking, and I have them all laid out downstairs. This is your office? Yeah, this is the hub.

Diane Tremblay, the Barron School District Superintendent, says it's that unrelenting hope that kept her, Jamie's classmates, and the rest of the community going in the face of tragedy. Was there ever a moment you gave up hope? Never. Honestly, hope was always on our side. Barron County Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald. I said I would never give up hope, but it crossed my mind.

But then things like the Christmas tree and Facebook posts. And kids at that middle school where she went, singing songs and having hope. And making signs and thanking us for their work. So you can't give up when a sixth grader says don't give up. You just can't give up. On Thursday, the 88th day of Jamie's disappearance, a woman walking her dog here in Gordon, Wisconsin, had unwittingly proved that all that optimism had not been unfounded. It was just amazing that I was there at the time she needed somebody. Around 4.30 p.m., as Jeannie Nutter and her dog Henry reached the end of her driveway,

a young girl, described as thin and disheveled, approached her and told her she was Jamie Kloss. All I could say to myself is be calm, keep her calm. She just said, I'm lost, I don't know where I am. She said, I don't know where I am a couple of times. I explained, you're in Gordon, Wisconsin. I said, Jamie, you're really only an hour and a half or so from home, if that gives you some perspective,

because she had no idea where she was. There were indications she had been held captive in a nearby cabin and had somehow managed to escape. Jeannie's old instincts as a former social worker kicked into high gear. I knew she needed help, and I knew I needed to get her to a safe place, and that's just what I did. Peter and Kristen Kaczynski were home with their children when someone came to the door. Then I heard the neighbor knocking on her door, and she opened the door, and the dog came in. And then right after the dog came in, she came in with Jamie and said, This is Jamie Kloss. Call 911.

I mean, it just blew my mind. Peter and Kristen say they knew immediately that it was really her. Immediately, it was no doubt in my mind it was 100% her. We've been seeing her for so long, billboards, commercials, all this stuff, and it was like I was seeing a ghost in front of me. So it was a huge shock. I knew it was real, so I just went to the phone, grabbed the phone, and I was pleading with the person on that line saying,

this is not fake, this is real, this is real, she is here. While they waited for the police to arrive, Jamie shared some details of her ordeal. She told us that she was very well hidden. She said that other people would come to the house, but she would have to be hidden. I don't know how he kept her so under wraps for so long. It just kills me that she was four doors down and we didn't know. Not that we would have ever known or could have ever known, but it just kills me that she was that close.

But now that she was safe in their home, the couple tried to offer Jamie whatever comfort they could. We offered her water and something to eat. She said no. And then she was sitting on her couch and she looked frozen. And I said, are you cold? She said no. I said, well, I'm going to put this blanket on you. If you don't want it, you can take it off. But she stayed there underneath that until the police arrived. Jamie's aunt, Jennifer Smith, got a call from a reporter that she had heard Jamie had been found

she said Jen I think it's true Jennifer was hesitant to believe it because a similar rumor had circulated online that had not been true and I said oh I just had a false 20 minutes ago I can't do another one please and then 20 minutes later the sheriff and the detective showed up at my house, and they were both smiling, so I knew it had to have been something good. That was a pretty great hug when you got to tell the aunt she's coming home. Diane Tremblay says it was the news they had all been praying for. What a glorious day. This will certainly never be forgotten.

It has been 88 days of hope for her safe return, 88 days of prayers for Jamie. It's unbelievable. It is miraculous. Tremblay especially marvels at the bravery of this young girl who had often been described as shy and timid. It's hard to speak to because unless you've actually been in her place. Is courageous even a big enough word? Extraordinary, courageous, brave. We want to thank Jamie for being so courageous and for achieving an opportunity to find her way back to us. What an extraordinary young lady. After waiting hours to reunite with

her niece. Oh, it's driving me crazy. I mean, I just, I just got to see her. I just got to give her that hug. Jennifer Smith was at long last reunited with Jamie yesterday afternoon. Jennifer was finally able to post happy news on Facebook. Everybody's just so happy and excited that she's been found. The whole community has come together. She's loved by everybody and by complete strangers. Jamie Closs has come home to Barron, but it will be a different life. Jamie's parents are gone, and Jennifer will now have to help raise her sister's child.

I will be a stronger person, and I will help Jamie, guide her, and get her through everything. I will do this also for my sister, because she will build a rest in peace, and I know that's what she will want. There are challenges ahead but the one thing that almost seems certain is that Jamie Klaus will have all the support and love she needs. My hope for Jamie is that she will recover and we'll get through this together and we will grieve together for her mom and dad. We will get her through this. She's a survivor. Yes, she's our little survivor. In the Pacific Ocean, halfway between Peru and New Zealand, lies a tiny volcanic island.

It's a little-known British territory called Pitcairn and it harboured a deep, dark scandal. There wouldn't be a girl on Pitcairn once they reach the age of 10 that would still have urged it. It just happens to all of us. I'm journalist Luke Jones and for almost two years I've been investigating a shocking story that has left deep scars on generations of women and girls from Pitcairn. When there's nobody watching, nobody going to report it, people will get away with what they can get away with. In the Pitcairn Trials, I'll be uncovering a story of abuse and the fight for justice that has brought a unique, lonely Pacific island

to the brink of extinction. Listen to the Pitcairn Trials exclusively on Wondery+. Join Wondery in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Hotshot Australian attorney Nicola Gaba was born into legal royalty. Her specialty? Representing some of the city's most infamous gangland criminals. However, while Nicola held the underworld's darkest secrets, the most dangerous secret was her own. She's going to all the major groups within Melbourne's underworld,

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Listen to Informants Lawyer X exclusively on Wondery Plus. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, and listen to more Exhibit C true crime shows early and ad-free right now. Barron, Wisconsin is on a high. The town can finally exhale after 88 agonizing days of mounting pressure, sleepless nights, and dashed hopes, starting on that terrible October night. I've been doing this for over 20 years and it's a crime scene like you rarely see. It's going to take a toll on our people.

No one could grasp the cruelty of a double murder and kidnapping of an innocent 13-year-old girl. Even seasoned investigators were baffled, says Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald. We don't know why, how, you know, we don't know who made the 911 call. Scary. And you don't know what to expect anymore, no matter where you're at. Law enforcement launched a massive search for the 5-foot, 100-pound Jamie Closs. We searched the school, we met with her friends, working with anybody that may have any bit of information.

That afternoon, authorities issued a statewide Amber Alert. We have a 13-year-old girl who's vanished, and we need to get a hold of her to make sure she's okay. We all have the same goal in mind, and that is to bring Jamie home. The entire community joined in prayer and hope. We will overcome. I'm hoping and praying with God's help and the community that we all rally around each other and help find this girl and bring her home. But it was not looking very hopeful. We don't have any leads at this time. At day's end, Sheriff Fitzgerald sent out an urgent plea for help to the people of Barron.

The public should share the photo. They should share our Facebook page. They should share this newscast. Whatever it is, anybody that can get information about where she might be. Slowly, the world began to learn a little bit about the eighth grader who disappeared without a trace, her aunt and godmother, Jennifer Smith. If Jamie is the sweetest little girl, she wouldn't hurt a soul. A sentiment echoed by the school superintendent, Diane Tremblay.

Jamie wrote on one of her assignments, in response to the question, what would you do if you were given a million dollars? She said, feed the hungry and give the rest to the poor. Sheriff Fitzgerald knew Jamie Closs was in danger. He also knew time was of the essence. Every second counts in this case. Sheriff, have you questioned any people of interest? We follow up on every tip.

The Sheriff's Department joined forces with law enforcement agencies across the country. More than 100 officers combed through neighborhoods and searched for clues. The Barron County Sheriff says they're using infrared technology and drones to help in their search. FBI Special Agent in Charge Justin Tolomeo offered the Bureau's full support. The FBI, along with our law enforcement partners, is committed to finding Jamie quickly and ask for the public's help in making that happen. Over 200 tips came flooding in. Jamie's Amber Alert webpage got 30,000 hits. And friends, like Melissa Salmonson organized a prayer

vigil. Everyone's feeling very helpless right now. Day four and still no leads. The sheriff asked for a hundred volunteers to search the area. Three hundred people showed up and dozens had to be turned away. I got granddaughters and a daughter, so I don't want this stuff to happen anymore. The days wore on with no sign of the missing teenager, no sign of her abductor. I'm terrified. I want to stay in my home where I know that I'm safe, that I can keep my baby safe. Despite their fears, the people of this close-knit community kept hope alive. Tips kept coming in.

We've received over 1,300 tips in our community and from across the nation. We have closed 1,100 of those. The FBI offered a $25,000 reward, an amount later doubled by Jenny O. Turkey, the Kloss's employer. The sheriff called upon more citizens to join in the investigation. We are asking for about 2,000 volunteers to walk specific areas in or around the crime scene to help with our investigation. They came in droves. They swarmed the area in line formation through the woods, across the streams, and into the cornfields.

I believe she's still alive. I believe she's still out there. And the hope is what we're riding on and that's what we're gonna go with. But in the middle of all this hope came a solemn reminder of what was lost. Two people who were deeply loved, James and Denise Kloss, Jamie's mom and dad. Why? Why? They're normal people. Why would you? They don't bother nobody. They don't. They go to work. They go home. They're about their families.

As time passed, the leaves dried up and the cold reality set in. 18 days into this investigation, still no suspect and no sign of Jamie Claus. Investigators who had set up shop in the command center started leaving town. We were averaging sometimes between 100 to 250 a day. Now we're down to that 25-ish range. So we need to scale back the operation itself from our 24-7 operation. The story slowly slipped from the headlines, and life for the most part went back to normal. But the people of Barron never forgot Jamie Claus.

Lord, Jamie's family has been searching for 77 days in great anguish for their loved ones. On day 77 people of all ages and walks of life called upon the spirit of Christmas to bring Jamie home. Jamie's uncle Mike Kloss was alive and safe... 88 days of holding on to the faith that our authorities would never give up, and they certainly did not. Almost immediately, thoughts turned to another celebrated case. Almost immediately, thoughts turn to another celebrated case. When we hear that a Jamie has been found, how wonderful, what another miracle. Ed Smart knows the anguish of waiting for a child to come home. You know, night after night, you just want to wake up, and this is a bad dream, and it's going away. and this is a bad dream and it's going away.

It was 2002 when Ed's 14-year-old daughter, Elizabeth Smart, was snatched from her Utah bedroom. It was one of the most publicized and memorable child abductions. We have not given up on you, Elizabeth. We're going to find you. It took nine months of searching and sorrow before the Smart family could celebrate Elizabeth's safe return. They took me to this room and when they opened the door and she was there, I just, I couldn't believe it. I just couldn't believe it. Elizabeth had been abducted by this man,

Brian David Mitchell, whom the Smarts briefly hired to do work in their home. Mitchell and his wife held Elizabeth captive, hiding and disguised. These stories are indelible and, while rare, still too frequent for those involved. There was the case of John Paul Getty III, the grandson of oil tycoon J. Paul Getty, who was kidnapped in 1973 at the age of 16. The story was told in the movie All the Money in the World. If I start paying ransoms, I'll have 14 kidnapped grandchildren. Held by the mafia in Italy, his ear was chopped off. Eventually, a ransom was paid, his ear was chopped off. Eventually,

a ransom was paid, and he was released five months later. Getty has since died. Mom, Dad, I'm okay. I just hope that you'll do what they say, Dad, and just do it quickly. In 1974, 19-year-old newspaper heir Patty Hearst was kidnapped by the California radical terrorist group the Symbionese Liberation Army. I have chosen to stay and fight. A year and a half later, after being involved in a bank robbery, she was found during an FBI raid. Hearst served a two-year prison sentence as questions swirled about whether she had willingly committed violent acts I'm a soldier in the People's Army.

or was brainwashed. I think about, you know, what it was that I had to do in order to survive. It's amazing what people can do to you. Today, she is a wife, mother, and grandmother. Another missing child made news in 1991. 11-year-old Jacey Dugard was abducted on her way to school in California. She was hidden for nearly two decades by a couple, Philip and Nancy Garrido.

Philip Garrido was a registered sex offender. Jacey lived behind a series of fences and tents, even giving birth to two children fathered by her abductor in this ramshackle backyard compound. Dugard was found when she was 29, after a parole officer noticed Garrido acting strangely. She now heads a foundation for families in trauma.

Just today, she issued a message to Jamie Kloss, writing, The road ahead will have many ups and downs. Allow yourself to grieve and move forward. October 6, 2002 was a Sunday. It was about 1 o'clock in the afternoon. Sean was bored and asked if he could go out to play. He wanted to ride his bike to his friend's house, something that we had let him do, you know,

hundreds, maybe thousands of times before. To me, he was just my sweet little boy. The parents of Sean Hornbeck also know the pain of waiting after a child goes missing. Sean was 11 when he vanished in Missouri in 2002. It would take four and a half years before Sean's parents learned what happened. I didn't really know it was behind me.

You know, I was in the ditch. That's when he picked me up, tied my hands behind my back and put me in the truck. He had the gun. He had the power. A random stranger, a child predator named Mike Devlin, abducted Sean. The thing that sticks out the most is he said he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Sean's nightmare came to an end when Devlin kidnapped another boy, this time from a school bus stop. A witness helped law enforcement track down the vehicle Devlin drove, which led them to find both boys at Devlin's apartment. And then the parents who didn't know if they'd ever see their son again laid eyes on Sean. And that was just the most wonderful feeling that you could have. And then it was like the waterworks were just on. There was no off button on it. It was like a water main broke. It was like the waterworks were just on. There was no off button on it.

It was like a water main broke. Since then, Sean has mostly stayed out of the spotlight. He was last reported to be working in a factory with hopes of obtaining a college degree in criminal law. Of course, it's too soon to know how Jamie Kloss will now move on. Unlike these other cases, her parents will not be there to welcome her home. I think it's going to be hard not having her parents there, but making the connections she can and finding the love and support from the community.

Ed Smart's daughter Elizabeth has rebuilt her life. She's now married with children. Speaking with Gayle King this past September, Elizabeth Smart said part of her recovery involved letting go. I don't feel that I could have moved forward in my life had I still been holding on to hate and anger inside me because that would still be taking up a percentage of my soul.

And just hours after Jamie was found, Elizabeth had this advice for her. There is no going back to who she was before she was kidnapped. It's not possible. It took me years to realize that I would never go back to being who I was before I was kidnapped, I'd say, you know, start looking for your new normal because you can't go back to the old normal. That's gone. I couldn't believe it. I remember I was sitting on the couch with my boyfriend, and I just gasped. And he was like, what? And I was like, Jamie Closs was found alive.

Kimber Biggs felt joy when she heard Jamie Closs had come home and a deep aching pain. When something like this happens, does that give you renewed hope? Um, somewhat. She has always hoped to see her own sister, Mikkel, walk back in the door. How would you describe Mikkel? She was perfect. She was funny and smart. Mikkel was a sixth grade honor student in Mesa, Arizona who played clarinet and wanted to be a Disney animator when she grew up. She was

amazing to be around. It was the evening of January 2nd, 1999. Kimber, then 9, Mikkel, 11, were outside playing. Mikkel had Kimber's bike as both waited for an ice cream truck. Mikkel was riding my bike and she was doing big circles. When I said, well, I'm cold, I'm going inside. You know, I crossed the street and I remember I looked, I saw her riding, still doing big circles in the street, and that was the last time I saw her. When Kimber went back outside, her bike was there, but Mikkel was gone. It took only 90 seconds.

The thing that sticks out most in my mind about that day is the bike and the road. You know, it was on its side, the tire was still spinning. What followed was a blur of yellow ribbons in trees, cameras, and investigators questioning the 9-year-old. I mean, it took 30 minutes for 1,000 people to be looking for her. And there was every news station and multiple police cars and people organizing search parties abductions like mikhail's are rare less than one percent of missing children are reported as having been abducted by a stranger this one immediately was different from the get-go it was different mesa police detective steve berry a patrol officer back then,

joined the massive manhunt. No one had seen anything. She just simply seemed to be gone without a trace. Police will flood an area when a child is missing because they know the clock is ticking and it's ticking loudly. Local print reporter Jim Walsh covered the story from the beginning and says investigators had very few leads and no physical evidence. No one heard her cry? Call out? No, I never heard of anybody actually seeing anything or hearing anything. There's a reason they say Mikkel Biggs vanished into thin air, because it looks like she did. Police questioned everyone in the neighborhood, starting with Mikkel's own father, Darian. To my knowledge, they never named anybody a suspect, but they looked pretty hard at him.

I think part of it was his personality. Darian was more of an aloof person. personality. Darren was more of a aloof person. Didn't mean that he didn't feel it inside, you know, but he was just a less demonstrative person. But Darian Biggs was quickly cleared. I was very angry. My heart was broken that my dad had to go through that on top of not having his little girl. Investigators also questioned neighbors, including Dee Blaylock, who lived just two blocks away. They knocked on his door. They spoke to him. They spoke to his wife.

His wife gave an alibi to the effect that he was out in the garage watching the Cardinals game. In an interview with a local news station, Blaylock appeared to be a law and order guy. If you're my neighbor and I see that you're living next to me and I see something suspicious going on, I guarantee you I'll be calling 911. He was described as friendly and personable. The police moved on and they kept looking. And then on March 14, 2018, about 1,700 miles away, there was a glimmer of hope. I was sitting at my desk

one day when I got a phone call from a reporter in Wisconsin. A dollar bill was turned in to the Neenah, Wisconsin police by a man who said he found it in a stack of bills collected as payment for Girl Scout cookies. A child's scrawl on it caught his eye. It said, my name is Mikkel Biggs, kidnapped from Mesa, I'm alive. Did that give you hope? Did you think, is this possible? It kind of did for a moment.

It was hope, but then also I felt shattered, like, God, if she is alive, what is she going through? But I remember looking at it and the fact that her name was misspelled and the handwriting, it just didn't look like her handwriting. To me, it looked like someone trying to write like a child. Why would someone do that?

I'm not sure. You know, there's some horrible people out there, and I deal with quite a few of them on a regular basis. But what felt like a promising lead quickly turned into another frustrating dead end. In any case, Kimber feels she knows who took her sister nearly two years after Mikkel vanished. The neighbor who said he knew nothing, Dee Blaylock, was convicted of beating and raping a neighbor. He allegedly made some comments while incarcerated in prison tying back to this case. Needless to say, that stirred things up again.

Blalock has repeatedly denied any involvement. There is no physical evidence to tie him to the crime. That's what's one of the hardest things about this case. There's nothing to go on. And even though I do kind of feel that D. Billy Locke is responsible, you know, that's not good enough. I'm not gonna settle for, I think it's him. January 2nd, 2019,

marked 20 years since Mikkel Biggs was last seen. And Kimber is now the mother of a six year old-old son. I'm a helicopter mom. If we're at the park and he goes behind the play structure, I get up so I can see him. I do not let him out of my sight. In just 90 seconds, Kimber Biggs lost her sister and her childhood, and she still wants to know why. I hope that she is alive and well and that we get her back. But, you know, then reality kicks in. And then I think, well, then my hopes need to just be that I know who took her and we find her body and give her, you know, my legs started to shake man. It was, it was her, you know, my legs started to shake, man.

It was awesome. We cried in happy tears and cried. We needed this one. This is the suspect currently in the Barron County Jail. This is the suspect currently in the Barron County Jail. In these difficult days, so often laced with despair, we needed a miracle. And the 3,300 proud people of Barron, Wisconsin, never stopped believing, working, praying for one. We have faith.

There must be a way to change the world. The whole community has come together. She's loved by everybody. Searching the cold woods and the winding country roads. The question blanketing the town like winter's snow. Where was Jamie Kloss? You see anything of import? We're going to yell stop. I just knew. My heart kept telling me she was out there and close and she was coming home.

A matter of time. 88 days of frustration. 88 nights of fear. Days of frustration. 88 nights of fear. And then, out of the woods, came the child. Dirty and dazed. Hungry and frightened. But alive.

I am so proud of her. She's a survivor, yes. She's our little survivor. Jamie Closs liked jazz dance, volleyball, ice skating. But what she loved were her friends. What she loved most were her parents, Denise and James. Two people of faith who worked side by side on a factory floor for 27 years. All to give Jamie a better life. Two people whose final moments make no sense and are too awful to contemplate. The heartbreak and the joy hit hardest for the families of 32,000

children under 18 still listed as missing. For them, the vigil continues. For them, the return of Jamie Closs alive is a ray of hope. For the rest of us, it's a miracle. One we might not have known how badly we needed.