The Wisconsin couple who tookJayme Clossinto their Gordon home on Thursday moments after she was found on the street are speaking out about their encounter with the 13-year-old girl who went missing in October after her parents were killed.
Kristin and Peter Kasinskas opened their front door around 4 p.m. to the sound of frantic knocking from a female neighbor. “This is Jayme Closs!” the woman said, the pair recalled to theStar Tribune. “Call 911!”
Jayme had been missing for 87 days after vanishing on October 15 — the same night her parents were found dead in their home in Barron, Wisconsin, nearly 70 miles south of Gordon. She had been declared “missing and endangered,” an AMBER Alert was issued for her and thousands of people joining investigators in their search for her.
Now she was standing at the Kasinskas’ doorstep. “It was like I was seeing a ghost,” Peter told theStar Tribune. “I honestly still think I’m dreaming right now. … It was scary and awesome at the same time. My jaw just went to the floor.”
Speaking toTodayover the phone on Friday, Kristin said she and her husband also knew it was Jayme “immediately” when their neighbor knocked on their door because the girl’s picture hanging had been “everywhere” in the area, including on billboards.
It was a a relief to see Jayme’s face, Kristin toldTodayhostsSavannah Guthrieand Hoda Kotb, though she did look “thinner than her pictures.”
The Kasinskases offered Jayme a beverage and something to eat, though the girl refused. “She was comfortable, she just was cold, so we did give her a blanket,” Kristin said. “I guess I would describe her of looking kind of unkept.”
Courtesy Barron County Sheriff’s Department
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Sitting in their living room, Jayme played with the Kasinskas’ new puppy, they told theStar Tribune. “She seemed kind of in shock and kind of timid, but she did talk to us a little bit,” Kristin added toToday.“It wasn’t like she was scared of us. She wasn’t crying or upset. She was just very calm.”
Did she say how she was able escape? “Not really,” Kristin said onToday. “She kind of talked about being locked up or hidden when this person had to leave, but she did not go into any detail about how she got away.”
Suspected Kidnapper in Custody
Barron County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement on Thursday that Jayme’s suspected kidnapper had been taken into custody roughly 10 minutes after Jayme was found.
“We promised to bring Jayme home and tonight we get to fulfill that promise,” the statement said.
Barron County Sheriff’s Office plans on holding a press briefing Friday morning.
“There was rumors earlier today, and I prayed and prayed and they come to not be true,” Sue told the outlet. “And I just shut myself totally down. I thought today was going to be the day, and then I find out two hours later she’s found and I just cannot believe this.”
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has also spoken out. “Jayme is an example of why we never lose hope and never stop search,” NCMECtweeted.
Jayme Closs.Abducted - Find Jayme Closs/Facebook
The Day She Went Missing
Abducted - Find Jayme Closs/Facebook
The dispatch logs reveal that a responding officer found “the door [to the Closs home had] been kicked in.” Previously, Jayme’s relatives told CBS News the front door to the homewas shot in.
Barron Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald previously said at a news conference that Jayme is not a suspect.
source: people.com
