Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Missing Jayme Closs -- Wisconsin girl disappears as both parents are shot dead at home
Episode Date: October 17, 2018A 13-year-old Wisconsin girl missing since her parents were found shot to death in their home early Monday remains the subject of a nationwide search. Jayme Closs is not a suspect in her parents' mur...ders, police say. Nancy Grace digs into the case of the missing girl with forensics expert Joseph Scott Morgan, juvenile judge & lawyer Ashley Willcott, lawyer & psychologist Dr. Brian Russell -- host of Investigation Discovery's "Fatal Vows" series, and reporter John Lemley. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Crime Stories with Nancy Grace.
In this small town of 3400, the news traveled fast.
From the WTMJ Breaking News Center, an Amber Alert issued for a 13-year-old from Barron.
Jamie Closs has been missing for nearly 24 hours now.
Every scenario starts racing through your mind.
You know, where is she? Is she okay?
Is she scared? Christine Fink has taught Jamie dance for the past seven years. She's one of the
kids here and I, we just have to find her. Jamie went missing overnight from this home off Highway
8, according to the Sheriff's Department. That's where she lived with her parents. Just after 1am,
the Sheriff's Department responded to a 911 call here and found James and Denise Kloss dead.
Tip line, tip line, 855-744-3879. Repeat, 855-744-3879. Police now tracing a 9-1-1 call after a Wisconsin girl, a little Wisconsin girl, goes missing and her parents found dead.
The search is on right now for Jamie Closs. I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. Thank you for being with us. You were just hearing our friend at KARE TV's Danny Spiewak reporting
along with Christine Fink, who runs a dance studio where Jamie was a student. Where is this girl?
Straight out to John Limley, CrimeOnline.com investigative reporter, where you can find the
whole story as it's progressing. John Limley, first, Who, what, where, when, why?
Hit me.
Nancy, this case is just about as heartbreaking and as baffling as they come.
One of the Kloss family's relatives, Ed Downing, says that this is a family that was happy-go-lucky.
Those are his words.
Ed says that Denise and Jamie especially got along exceptionally well.
Jamie, a bright, intelligent girl, always with a big smile on her face, just like her mother.
And as for the whole family, they always seemed like everything was going great for them.
Both Denise and her husband, James Kloss, worked at Jenny O, a turkey plant in Barron.
This is a town of about 3,300 people.
You don't need to tell me about Jenny O
because that's what we use for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
You can't mess it up.
I remember you telling me about that.
Yeah, you got to get one.
One time I got one all the way in California
and put it in the cargo bay so I could get it back.
Okay, forget about Jenny.
I want to get back to this
because I'm telling you what's really disturbing me, John Limley. You're kind of burying the lead, Limley,
because this little girl, Jamie Kloss, right now, cops deploying canines and releasing brand new
photos of Jamie, the little girl who's missing, parents found dead in the family Wisconsin home,
because we are learning now from relatives, those sources,
that the front door of the house was shot in and the parents were shot dead. The little girl
is gone. Limley, is that correct? That is correct. This is the wee hours of Monday morning.
The Barron County Sheriff's Department receives a strange 911 call.
It's almost like a misplaced call, like when you accidentally place a call. There's lots of
shuffling, a lot of noise in the background. According to some sources, the word help is heard
in the background. And as with such cases, cases of course officers are dispatched when they arrive
they find the two adults dead inside in as you've said a violent scene involving gunshots i want you
to take a listen uh to more reporting what we are learning right now about jamie's disappearance
boom and then boom just seconds after.
This neighbor heard two gunshots. Other than that Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald says
the home seemed in order with cars still in the driveway. We believe everything's
accounted for. We just don't know where this 13 year old girl is. And Jamie Kloss is
her name. By 3 30 p.m. an amber alert had been issued meaning law enforcement has reason to
believe an abduction occurred and that Jamie could be in immediate danger. The FBI and National Center
for Missing and Exploited Children are working on this case but they have not said anything about
how Jamie disappeared or who may have taken her. With me in addition to John Limley CrimeOnline.com
reporter Ashley Wilcott juvenile judge lawyer founder of, founder of Child Crime Watch dot com.
Dr. Brian Russell, lawyer, psychologist, host of the hit show Fatal Vows on Investigation Discovery
and forensics expert, professor of forensics, Jacksonville State University and author of Blood
Beneath My Feet, Joseph Scott Morgan Ashley. The door is shot in.
Both parents dead.
You just heard a neighbor along with Danny Spiewak describing hearing two gunshot wounds only.
And she's gone.
The cars are in the driveway.
That tells me there was no carjack.
They said the house was in order.
That means no robbery.
What does that mean? No sex attack. There was no carjack. They said the house was in order. That means no robbery.
What does that mean?
No sex attack.
They went in to get the girl, Ashley.
Right.
And so she's a victim, whether she walked out literally on her own two feet or was abducted, carried out.
Either way, she was abducted.
She's the victim.
It reminds me of Amy Smart. It really does because she's was abducted. She's the victim. It reminds me of Amy Smart.
It really does because she's been abducted.
I think she's still alive.
Hopes and prayers she's still alive. But who knows what purposes they've taken her for and she's now a victim and has been kidnapped.
I want you to take a listen to Jamie Closs' dance instructor.
Scared that nobody knows anything.
Fink says she had just been texting with Denise Kloss over the weekend about Jamie's dance schedule.
Today coming into work, I was going to try to find another class for her, and instead we're doing this.
Fink described the feeling in town as a panic.
There's nothing. There's no information, and somebody needs to come forward with some
information. We have to find her. To Dr. Brian Russell, host of ID's hit series, Fatal Vows,
think about it, Dr. Brian. Think. She is on a dance team. She is also a runner in the cross-country
team. This little girl who has just turned 13, she's just a little over 12
years old, is in a lot of positions where predators can see her. Not only that, but she's also
involved enough and connected enough to things. One of the things that we look at when we're
trying to figure out if somebody is a runaway
or somebody is taken against their will is were they enjoying things they were involved in? Did
they have plans to see people and do things in the near future? And it sounds like this girl
really did. And also, obviously, the shooting in of the front door suggests that she was not
involved in letting the people into the house who were involved in doing the shooting or anything like that.
But it all comes together to sort of further the idea that this is not what I think maybe a lot of people might have assumed when they first heard,
okay, these two parents are killed and the girl is missing that maybe, you know, she and a boyfriend
did it or something and took off. Yeah, we're not hearing that. And you know what, Dr. Bryan,
I don't think that happened and I never even suspected it, but there are those bizarre cases
where the child is involved. Joseph Scott Morgan, the sheriff is saying she is not a suspect. The
little girl, she's a victim, right? Yeah, yeah, that's what I'm hearing, Nancy.
And back to the scene, I'm thinking, you know, why fire through the door if that is, in fact, what happened?
We're hearing the neighbor saying that they heard gunshots, and it has at least been alluded to that the parents have been shot as well.
And this is another big concern i
have nancy there's no guarantee that this little girl has not been harmed and all of this including
trying to do her in the house you can imagine how terrified she was if she was present when her
parents were murdered take a listen to the baron county sheriff chris fitzgerald middle school
where she attends school we We have officers there today
working with anybody that may have any bit of information. Well I won't say the public's
there's no immediate danger that we know of but we don't we have a lot of unknowns in this case
and that's the frustrating part in the law enforcement world is the unknowns that we were
hitting with this case. So to say the public's not in danger, I can't say that, but I want the public
to be aware we know of no immediate danger. Tip line 855-744-3879. Repeat 855-744-3879.
In this small town of 3400, the news traveled fast. From the WTMJ Breaking News Center, an Amber Alert issued for
a 13-year-old from Barron. Jamie Closs has been missing for nearly 24 hours now. Every scenario
starts racing through your mind, you know, where is she? Is she okay? Is she scared? Christine Fink
has taught Jamie dance for the past seven years. She's one of the kids here, and I, we just have to find her.
Jamie went missing overnight from this home off Highway 8,
according to the Sheriff's Department.
That's where she lived with her parents.
Just after 1 a.m., the Sheriff's Department responded to a 911 call here
and found James and Denise Kloss dead.
We are taking your calls, everyone.
This little girl who has just turned 13 years old, Jamie Closs, is missing from her family's home in Wisconsin.
The mother and the father have been found dead.
The front door, according to family sources, they're telling us the front door was shot in to open it.
Clearly, whoever it was didn't have a key, did not have access, and the doors
were locked with the parents and the little girl inside, just like we are every night. You go to
sleep with your children, tucked in bed. That's what the Claus family did. They never woke up.
A neighbor reports hearing two distinct gunshots. There are two gunshot victims.
Clearly, they were shot, and that's their mode of death, although police are not releasing it.
Jamie, the little girl, is missing.
We are taking your calls.
909-49-CRIME, 909-492-7463.
Straight out to Stacey in Alabama. Hi Stacy what's your question dear?
Hi Nancy I have been consumed by this since I started reading about it and my question is you
guys have kind of already answered there's no question that you guys are saying that there
was an involvement by the child is that correct?? Well, in the last hours, police in Wisconsin,
they have said she, the little girl, Jamie Closs, is not a suspect. And you know, there's bizarre
cases that I have reported on many times. And dating back to my days at Court TV, I'll never
forget the very first one that I covered, a young girl shot her mother
and she wore her, let's see, house robe on backwards to cover her chest and like a shower
cap so blood spatter would not get on her body. She shot her mother because the mother would not
let her date a much older boyfriend, like a 19-year-old boyfriend, and she was 13 or 14.
So she shot the mother dead. There's been a lot of cases, well, not a lot, but there have been
several cases where the child is involved, typically because the parents intervene in a
love triangle. There is no indication at all that that has happened here. In fact, police are coming
out and saying she's not a suspect, she's a victim. Is that your question, Ms. Stacey?
Actually, yes. And also, I'm curious to see what computer forensics will find out.
Has she been talking to someone online? What are the male figures in her life. Because, you know, this sounds like a male crime shooting through the door.
I would just be curious to see what kind of comes uncovered as far as, you know, her online contact.
You know what? You just stay with me, Stacey, in Alabama. To Dr. Brian Russell, lawyer,
psychologist, and host of ID's hit Fatal Vow series. Stacey just said something very important,
and that is it's a male crime.
And I'll follow up with you, Joe Scott, because statistically, she's right on. Women typically,
and I'm not judging or commenting in any way, just statistically, do not shoot a door in Dr. Brian.
So I'm pretty sure we're looking for a male. Yeah, I think absolutely. And when you
think about this, that the shooting through the door and then, which is an awfully messy way
to enter a home, it's a messy way even to forcibly enter a home. And then you get inside and what we're hearing from the neighbors apparently is one
gunshot per parent, which is a fairly clean way to basically execute two people. And it just
doesn't make a whole lot of sense. It's like you're going to come in with guns blazing to
get into the house and then you're going to come in and you're going to show restraint
and do a very efficient job once you get in there, nothing is really adding up to what we normally would see.
Usually if somebody is enraged for some reason and they're going in with guns blazing,
then they get inside and the guns keep blazing and the parents would each have, you know, five, ten shots.
You know, I'm just thinking about what you're saying, Dr. Brian Russell, and you're right,
because the neighbor says he, she, her two shots. You'd assume that's one shot per parent. But what
about shooting the door open? What about those shots? And your theory that if you're so angry
and your guns are blazing, as you say, and you shoot open the door, then why would you just
very cleanly, concisely use one bullet per parent?
The only explanation I would have is the neighbor didn't wake up during the first series of shots
and only heard two shots.
That's the only thing I can come up with.
But hold on just a moment.
We're getting a little bit more information.
John Limley, CrimeOnline.com reporter.
I'm just learning now that on the call,
as you said, you can hear a call for help, little information, but we do know that the weapon
was not found nearby. They have searched carefully for the weapon. That tells me that the perp or
perps were in a car and took the weapon with them.
That means they came with a weapon.
They left with a weapon.
This was their intent to kill.
What about it, John Lindley?
What do you know about the weapon?
Just as striking as what was in the home, the bodies of the parents, is what was not found there, who was not found there, both the weapon and, of course, 13-year-old Jamie.
She was actually seen by a family member just the night before at a family gathering that she attended.
Authorities believe that she was, though, in the home when her parents were killed.
Officials say gunshots were involved, but they didn't describe the situation any further. Little Jamie could not be located after the Barron County Sheriff's Office got that 911 call around 1 a.m. Central Time, that's 2 a.m. Eastern,
from an address there in the town of Barron,
which is about 45 miles northwest of Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
Now, the sheriff, as Gerald said, he could hear some kind of yelling, muffled yelling
on the call, including a cry for help. But they gave very little information beyond that. Take a
listen to Sheriff Fitzgerald. 911 call was given that night from the residence on a cell phone,
but no contact was made with somebody that was on the other line and that's what's unusual about
that 911 call there was no one communicating with our dispatcher the word help did you hear that
the dispatcher hear that i don't know that if i don't know if the word help was said i can't
comment on that i don't know if that was said um but there was some kind of disturbance going on
and that's why law enforcement was sent to the house. To Joseph Scott Morgan, forensics expert, joining us.
Everybody, we are bringing you this story live.
We are taking your calls at 909-49-CRIME, 909-492-7463.
The tip line to bring Jamie home, 855-744-3879.
855-744-3879 855-744-3879 especially you listening right now on your mobile devices or on
Sirius XM keep your eyes open all you truckers join together help us find Jamie she was taken
alive for a reason she was taken she appears to be the target. Joseph Scott Morgan, weigh in.
You know, one of the other things I'm thinking about, Nancy, is what population centers are
nearby within easy driving distance. You had mentioned one town, but I've got to tell you,
I think that the Twin Cities are only about an hour and a half, hour and 45 minutes to almost the
due, well, not due, but southwest of this location.
We've got Chicago that's not too far away.
So could these individuals be headed there?
Another thing that I'd like to think about is what kind of connection would this little
family have in this little bitty town?
You know, it's not necessarily out in the middle of nowhere, but it's kind of isolated.
What kind of connection would they have with two individuals that would come in,
potentially two individuals, and kidnap this little girl after slaughtering her parents?
For the second day in a row, investigators searched this home off Highway 8,
looking for any clue that may point them toward Jamie Closs. So far, no breakthrough. I think a lot of people are just in shock still. It's pretty surreal. Patty Gerber is the parish director at
the local Catholic church. She's known Jamie since preschool and taught her first communion classes.
It's just hard to believe that it actually happened, and we don't know all the details, but I think a lot of people are hurting.
That's KARE-TV's Dani Spiewak reporting on the search for Jamie Closs.
Her parents found shot dead.
The front door shot in to gain entry,
and I'm going to go to Brian Russell and Joe Scott Morgan on what that means,
that the door was shot open. But also, in the last hours, a tip emerges that Jamie Closs was spotted at a Miami gas station
all the way from Wisconsin with two, quote, well-dressed Middle Eastern men.
Okay, to you, John Limley, CrimeOnline.com, explain to me what exactly was the tip?
Well, there was even surveillance video to go with this tip. There is a young woman,
maybe a girl, seen with these two well-dressed men at a gas station in Miami. And there was a
lot of excitement there for a while because they thought, you know, even though this is 25 hours,
and that's nonstop driving from Barron, Wisconsin, they thought, well, here's something. Maybe this
is our lead. But then by four o'clock, we heard that the Wisconsin sheriff was telling the press
that the Miami report not considered credible and was released without consultation.
Yeah, the content of that tip was that Jamie, just turned 13, was spotted at a Miami gas station,
that's all the way across the country, with, quote, two well-dressed Middle Eastern men.
And Limley's correct.
There is video surveillance, I've watched it over and over and over,
of these guys pulling up in a shiny black SUV.
A person reporting that a girl resembling Jamie was seen at a Sunflex gas station in the Black Ford Explorer on Monday with two guys that appeared to be in their 30s.
You can see the video on CrimeOnline.com and look for yourself.
Is that Jamie?
Police now believe that was not Jamie, but look for yourself.
The men were described at 5'7 and 5'9, each weighing 200 to 250 pounds,
both having beards and well-dressed.
I mean, if you look at the guy in one of them, it looks like he's got on a suit and a tie,
the one that's driving.
Is it a fake?
Is somebody just simply mistaken?
They were driving a Blackboard Explorer Wisconsin license plate tag, I60WER.
I60WER.
And the fact that it had a Wisconsin tag plate really got the interest of everything.
Now, isn't it correct to Joe Scott Morgan, Miami's about 2,000 miles away from Wisconsin,
and it's about a 25-hour drive, which would have fit in with the time of her disappearance, Joe Scott?
Yeah, it would, but as John points out, 25 hours,
you're talking that drive time is pushing straight through.
I guess you could do it in shifts with two guys
if you're stopping along the way to get gas, go to the bathroom,
that sort of thing, but they run the risk of having an image of her
captured at some point in time, maybe her crying out.
I'm still thinking, instead of this kind of exotic kind of thing like this, I'm thinking
locally at this point in time, who's going to know about this little girl within the confines
of her little world that she lives in there in Barron, Wisconsin? You know, I agree with you.
I think that somebody saw the Wisconsin tag, They saw a girl in the backseat.
They saw the two guys. And they put two and two together and got five.
But, you know, the bottom line is, thank God.
Thank heaven.
People are looking.
The tip line is 855-744-3879.
Jamie Closs, just turned 13, has been taken from her family home in Wisconsin. Both parents shot dead after somebody enters by using a gun on the door.
Listen.
36 hours into the search, the Barron Police Department decided to release new photos of Jamie to the public.
The sheriff says his department has received more than 200 tips so far, coming mostly from this region.
We're following up on phones. We're following up on social media.
That's where the expertise of both the Department of Criminal Investigation and the FBI experts
come into play. As police frantically search for Jamie, the community is also mourning the
loss of her parents. Mourning the loss of her parents. Does she even know her parents are dead?
To Ashley Wilcott, juvenile judge, lawyer, and founder of ChildCrimeWatch.com.
Ashley, weigh in.
Here's the thing I want to say, Nancy.
We also need to keep in mind, I'm sure law enforcement is doing this, what about Jamie's friends?
What do they know about her that parents don't know, that adults don't know?
Because all kids have their stuff with their friends.
And are any of her friends somewhere they're not supposed to be or know who she's talking to?
If anyone again, she's a victim no matter what.
Even if she chose to run away, she'd be a victim.
I don't think that's the case here.
But all of the people that have touched her life, I'm sure, will be interviewed and could hold crucial clues.
And I agree with Joe Scott Morgan.
We also have to look at what were these parents
involved in because something's not adding up, right? I don't know that this is a complete
random crime. I think they targeted this child and they came in guns blazing and took her.
I don't think that it's random. I think you're absolutely right about that, Ashley.
With me, juvenile judge and lawyer found of childcrimewatch.com, Ashley Wilcott.
It's not random.
They clearly went in there with the aim of getting Jamie.
Again, police have said she is not suspected in any way of being part of this.
In fact, her grandfather, Robert Nyberg, has said she was quiet, as always, at his grandson's birthday party just on Sunday,
that she was a very quiet girl, very thoughtful.
She even brought little gifts to every single person at the party.
The dad was working at the time of the party on Sunday.
She is, repeat, not considered a suspect,
and she is in danger, according to the chief of police.
Now, also, he, the chief, declined to elaborate or explain why investigators insist Jamie is not a runaway.
He says that disclosing more information in that vein would harm the investigation.
Now, what does that mean to Dr. Brian Russell?
What does that mean?
If we tell you any more about Jamie,
it could harm the investigation. Well, so if we go back to this idea that going into a house,
shooting your way into a house, murdering the parents is a very messy way to go about abducting a 13-year-old girl. If what your goal was as the abductor, murderer,
was to get this girl and get as far away as quickly as possible and go as long as you could
indefinitely would be your hope, I imagine, with the girl undetected, then going in and making lots of noise and killing people.
It's just a very messy way to go about it. So it makes me think that this was an emotionally
driven person who had some desperation. And I agree with Ashley or you or whoever said,
looking at this girl's social media to see who may have sucked her in that way.
I think you absolutely are right about that,
Dr. Bryan. The answer may be in who was trying to get to her in social media. And coming up next
is a woman now grown that was actually lured by an online predator, Alicia Koskakovich.
Right now, tip line 855-744-3879.
Jamie Closs is missing.
Please help us.
Surveillance video caught the moment that 11-year-old Carly Bruscia was grabbed by a stranger.
And after a massive manhunt, it was discovered that she had been raped and murdered.
Carly Bruscia, a beautiful little girl walking home from a spend-the-night party at her little friend's home,
only had about a block and a half to walk caught on video her being abducted as she cut across behind a car
wash in her own neighborhood her body found later in a wooded densely wooded area near a local church
she had been assaulted and murdered what if anything have we learned? With me, a very special guest, Alicia Kovacevic,
a survivor, a victim's advocate, who was abducted, tortured, and just before her murder,
she was saved. Also with me, former federal prosecutor, Francie Hakes. And it all begs
the question. We read about these
stories. We hear about these stories. We may send up a prayer or follow the story as it progresses.
But what if, God forbid, this happened to us, to you, to me? Every year, over 450,000 children are reported missing. 450,000 children.
And that is why Alicia and Francie have joined together with me and experts and survivors
to bring you Crime Stops Here, Justice Nation.
Straight out to Francie Hakes, former federal prosecutor.
The Carly Bruscia case, the abduction, the rape, the murder of this little girl was a real call to arms.
What can we do, Francie?
Well, Nancy, I think unfortunately there's not a lot that people can do with respect to their children.
You can't put them in a bubble.
But what I think that we can do that we're not doing is understanding offender behavior.
That murderer, the man who took precious little Carly Bruce's life, had to have been exhibiting some signs and symptoms.
He was clearly sexually interested in children.
He was clearly violent.
Someone in his life would have seen those signs. And I wonder what would have happened if they had understood those signs,
understood what makes a predator tick, understand offender behavior so much that they would have
been able to report it. And that might have saved Carly's life. Joining me right now, Alicia.
Alicia, now a motivational speaker, a victim's advocate, a survivor. Alicia Kozakevich is joining us. Alicia,
I know that you just shudder when you hear about Carly Bruch's brutal kidnap, rape, and murder.
Her body found half clothed in a wooded area, just left behind like she was trash because,
Alicia, it brings back the memory of what happened to you as a little
girl. What happened? Carly's story definitely brings back memories for me. When I was 13 years
old, I was groomed and lured from my home by an internet predator who kidnapped me and took me
from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Virginia, where I was held
captive in his basement dungeon and suffered horrible atrocities. I was raped and beaten
and tortured, chained to the floor by a locking dog collar. He didn't feed me and my nose was
broken in one of the struggles. I am so lucky to be here. I am so incredibly lucky. And it's so sad to hear that that's not the outcome for so many children.
And in Carly's story, watching her in the surveillance video being led away, there weren't any.
It was so calm-seeming and how quickly and suddenly something like this can happen.
And I like that Francie said you can't put your children in a bubble
because you really can't.
Even if you want to, that's not a possible thing.
You have to educate your kids to be safe.
We have to give them tools to protect themselves,
and we have to sit down and talk to them about dangers.
You know, Alicia, I'm listening to you.
Everyone, you are hearing my friend and our colleague, Alicia Kozikevich.
Alicia lived to tell the tale and defying all statistics, all odds.
After she was abducted as a girl from her neighborhood by a person she met online she originally originally thought was another little
girl online and developed a friendship with the person and so as it developed thought nothing of
the person they had talked for so long they were friends so long was a child her own age
was a grown man a 38 year old man scott, who grabbed her, forced her into a car,
abducted her, put her into a dungeon hours away from home, shackled her to the floor with a
shock collar around her neck, and sexually assaulted her for days and days and days.
One afternoon, he said, you know what? I've really
started to like you too much now. She knew that evening she was going to be killed. As it turned
out, Scott Tyree shared photos of her being tortured with another child porn aficionado.
And he, even that guy, was so shocked he called police.
And that is how Alicia was saved.
And that is how Alicia is here with us today to help you learn how to save. I remember Alicia telling me she realized how dangerous everything was when they went through a toll.
Remember when you told me that, Alicia, that you got to a toll, I think it was, and the guy gave the toll person some money. And you were thinking, oh, they're going to see
me, they're going to save me. But then the car just kept going. And that moment, you just lost
hope. It's heartbreaking. And it's heartbreaking that while this is a rare circumstance, it does happen.
And it can be prevented.
And that's what we need to work towards.
You know, Alicia, you have devoted your life, your entire life, after what you endured,
which is, it's hard for me to even take in what you endured.
You've devoted your life to saving other people, to protect other children from what you went through. You've even had a law named after you in many U.S. states. Alicia, when we got together
in person for the first time to create Crime Stops Here, what was your mission? Why did you devote so
much time to Crime Stops here?
Because this is a great way to get the message out. The whole point is raising awareness. And
like I said, we need to sit down and we need to talk to our kids. And we need parents to have the
tools to be able to do that. And it seems sometimes that parents almost need permission to say that,
okay, I can say no, or I can monitor what my children
are doing online. I recently spoke at a preschool and they wanted to sit down and talk to their
kids, but they were terrified of how to do it without terrifying them. And the sad part is that
you do have to scare your kids a little bit. You don't want to debilitate them, but you do have to
scare them in the same way that you tell them to look across the street both ways before walking across, or don't touch the pot because it's hot, or to wear
their seatbelt. There are dangers out there, and we need to protect ourselves from it. To find out
all about Alicia's story, Francie's advice, the story of other crime survivors, experts, technicians
that help you with action information to protect what
you love the most, your children and your family. Go to crimestopshere.com or nancygrace.com.
If you know of a child or a child you want to help, call 1-800-THE-LOST, 1-800-843-5678.
Alicia and Francie, I can't thank you enough.
And Alicia and Francie, if you didn't know already,
proceeds are going to National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and Class Kids Foundation.
Everyone, for the sake of your children, your family, and what you love,
go to crimestopshere.com
or nancygrace.com.
Alicia, Francie, thank you.
Nancy Grace, Crime Story, signing off.
Goodbye, friend.
This is an iHeart Podcast.