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Missing Wisconsin girl's school will hold 'Gathering of Hope'

Missing Wisconsin girl's school will hold 'Gathering of Hope'
Posted at 4:18 AM, Oct 22, 2018
and last updated 2018-10-22 07:18:11-04

It's been one week since 13-year-old Jayme Closs went missing from her home in Wisconsin, and now her school will hold an event aimed at helping the community cope with her disappearance.

The Barron Area School District will hold "A Gathering of Hope" Monday evening at Riverview Middle School, where CNN affiliate WCCO-TV says Jayme was a dancer and cross-country runner. The event will include a lighting ceremony and provide counseling resources for students and other community members impacted by Jayme's disappearance.

"A range of emotions or reactions to this crisis are completely normal and should be expected. Barron County ... Mental Health staff will on hand to offer crisis support," organizers of the event said in a Facebook post.

 

Authorities have been searching for Jayme since early last Monday, when a mysterious 911 call led deputies to discover that her parents -- James Closs, 56, and Denise Closs, 46 -- had been shot dead at the family's home in northwestern Wisconsin's Barron County. Barron County Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald said Wednesday that no gun was found at the scene.

Investigators say Jayme apparently vanished just after the shootings and is in danger. An Amber Alert was issued for her last Monday, and the FBI has added her to its online list of kidnapped or missing people.

Authorities said during the 911 call, no one on the line talked to the dispatcher but a disturbance was heard. A dispatch log that the Barron County Sheriff's Department released Friday offers a few new details from that night:

  • The dispatcher "could hear a lot of yelling" during the 911 call.
  • The call was "pinged" to the Closs home. When the dispatcher called the number back, a voicemail greeting indicated that the phone belonged to Denise Closs.
  • A responding officer found "the door has been kicked in."
  • The family dog was there when deputies arrived, and was eventually taken to a relative's home.

The log does not indicate who made the 911 call, who was yelling or what was being yelled.

Fitzgerald said Sunday that this office has received over 1,200 tips from the public regarding Jayme's disappearance.

Despite more than 1,000 tips having been investigated, "Jayme remains missing and endangered and has been added to the top of the FBI's Missing Persons list, and is currently on digital billboards nationwide," Fitzgerald said.