13-Year-Old Kidnapping Victim Jayme Closs Is Getting a $25,000 Reward for Saving Herself
Months after 13-year-old Jayme Closs went missing, she was found walking down the road in rural Wisconsin, about 70 miles from her hometown. Closs had been abducted by Jake Thomas Patterson, the same man who shot and killed her parents the night she was kidnapped, but was able to flee the home where she was being kept.
Shortly after she escaped, the Barron County Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald told CNN she was doing well. He said, "Jayme was the hero in the case. Jayme was the champion that finally said enough is enough."
And he's clearly not the only one who thinks so. CNN reports that Minnesota-based company Hormel Foods, which donated $25,000 as a reward for whoever found Closs, is saying it will now give the money to her.
Hormel Foods is the parent company of the Jennie-O Turkey Store, where Closs' parents worked. The company has also helped with search and rescue efforts.
Steve Lykken, the president of Jennie-O Turkey Store, told CNN, "While we are still mourning the loss of longtime family members Jim and Denise, we are so thankful for Jayme's brave escape and that she is back in Barron. Our hope is that a trust fund can be used for Jayme's needs today and in the future."
As of early January, Closs was staying with her aunt in Barron, Wisconsin, and Patterson has been charged with two counts of first-degree intentional homicide, armed burglary, and kidnapping.
('You Might Also Like',)
