Jayme Closs found alive, police say; Wis. teen missing since parents' double murder

BARRON COUNTY, Wis. (WLS) -- Police in Barron County, Wisconsin, announced Thursday night that 13-year-old Jayme Closs, who has been missing since her parents were found fatally shot in their home in October, has been found alive.

The Barron County Sheriff's Department said that the Douglas County, Wisconsin, Sheriff's Office notified them they had found the girl and that shortly after a suspect was taken into custody.

The Douglas County Sheriff's Office said Closs was found in the town of Gordon in Douglas County at 4:43 p.m. The suspect was taken into custody a little over 10 minutes later, also in Gordon. A citizen phoned in the information that led deputies to her, the sheriff's office said.

No further details were immediately available about the suspect, where Closs was found or what condition she was found in.

KSTP-TV, an ABC affiliate in Minneapolis, reported that a source told them a teenage girl walked up to a woman walking her dog in Douglas County screaming that a man had murdered her parents. Investigators have not confirmed that account.

Closs was reunited with family members Thursday night.

"She is doing good, she's talking," said Jennifer Smith, Closs' aunt.

"We are just happy everyone kept praying and didn't give up hope like we didn't," Smith added. "We thank everyone all around for their help... A lot of happy tears in this house tonight."

The Barron County Sheriff's Office called the investigation "very fluid and active." A press briefing is planned for 10 a.m. Friday morning.

Closs has been missing since October 15. Sheriff's deputies went to Closs' home in Barron after dispatchers received a 911 call from an unknown person at around 1 a.m., Barron County Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald said.

When they arrived at the home authorities found the bodies of Jayme Closs' parents, who were later identified by the sheriff's department as 56-year-old James Closs and his 46-year-old wife, Denise Closs.

January 15 would have marked 90 days since Closs went missing. Detectives pursued thousands of tips, watched dozens of surveillance videos and spent countless hours searching for her.

"We want to thank the Douglas Co Sheriff's Department and agencies assisting them tonight," the Barron County Sheriff's Department wrote in a post on their Facebook page. "We also want to thank all the Law Enforcement agencies across the state and county that have assisted us in this case. We also could not have endured this case without the support of the public and I want to thank them for all the support and help. Finally we want to especially thank the family for their support and patience while this case was ongoing. We promised to bring Jayme home and tonight we get to fulfill that promise. From the bottom of my heart THANK YOU!"

At the time of her disappearance investigators said they did not believe she was a runaway and believed her to be in great danger.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.