Elizabeth Smart, an outspoken advocate on the horrors of kidnapping following her own capture in 2002, called the rescue of 13-year-old Jayme Closs “a miracle.”
In an Instagram post Friday, Smart wrote, “What a brave, strong, and powerful survivor!!!! No matter what may unfold in her story let’s all try to remember that this young woman has SURVIVED and whatever other details may surface the most important will still remain that she is alive.”
Smart’s post came one day after Closs was found alive in Gordon, Wisconsin, on Thursday afternoon. She had been missing since Oct. 15.
Closs, dirty and malnourished, was rescued after she made her identity known to a nearby dog walker, who ultimately helped her call local law enforcement authorities. The young teenager’s suspected captor was tracked down soon thereafter.
“Praise the Lord,” Closs’ aunt Sue Allard told the Star Tribune. “It’s the news we’ve been waiting on for three months. I can’t wait to get my arms around her. I just can’t wait.”
Kelly Engelhardt, another one of Closs’ aunts, said, “I mean, I’m shocked. It’s what we’ve prayed for every single day.”
Closs’ disappearance in October coincided with her parents’ double-murder, a case that drew national attention. The young girl was in the family’s home in Barron County when her mother and father were fatally shot. She vanished soon thereafter, spurring a nationwide investigation involving the FBI.
Ultimately, Closs was found about 45 minutes away from her home. Her captor has been identified as 21-year-old Jake Thomas Patterson. He was discovered in a nearby vehicle a few minutes after Closs was found by local residents.
Patterson, who has no prior criminal record, is being held in Barron County Jail on two counts of first-degree murder for the death of Closs’ parents and one count of kidnapping.