UPDATE: 100 volunteers searching for evidence in disappearance of girl following murder of parents

UPDATE: 100 volunteers searching for evidence in disappearance of girl following murder of parents
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Updated: 3:05 p.m. October 18, 2018

BARRON, Wis. (AP) — One hundred volunteers in a Wisconsin town where a teenage girl went missing are scouring the area for pieces of evidence that can provide clues to the girl's disappearance and her parents' death.

Barron County Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald requested the volunteers Thursday afternoon as the search for 13-year-old Jayme Closs continues. She has been missing since deputies responding to a 911 call early Monday found her parents dead in their home in Barron. They were identified as James and Denise Closs. Authorities say they were fatally shot.

Jayme Closs has been ruled out a suspect and investigators believe she's in danger.

Barron is about 80 miles (130 kilometers) northeast of Minneapolis.

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Updated: 4:43 p.m. October 17, 2018

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Authorities say a missing Wisconsin girl's parents were shot to death and that they believe she was in the home at the time.

Police have been searching for 13-year-old Jayme Closs since early Monday, when deputies responding to a 911 call from her home in Barron found her parents, James and Denise Closs, dead in the house.

Barron County Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald said at a news conference Wednesday that autopsies parents confirmed the couple was shot. He says there was no gun at the scene and that evidence from the scene and from the 911 call indicate that Jayme Closs was in the house.

Fitzgerald has said Jayme is not a suspect and he again pleaded with the public for any tips on her whereabouts. He says investigators have not received any tips of any credible sightings.

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Updated: 8:05 a.m. on October 17, 2018

BARRON, Wis. (CBSNews) -- Investigators ramped up the search for 13-year-old Jayme Closs Tuesday, deploying canines and releasing new photos of the teen, whose parents were found dead in the family's Wisconsin home. Relatives of Jayme told CBS News the front door to the house was shot in. Jayme has been missing since sheriff's deputies discovered her parents' bodies Monday morning.

Investigators pleaded with the public to come forward with tips.

"We're over 200 tips, which is a great source, but we need those tips to come in," Barron County Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald said.

Police received a mostly inaudible 911 call from the Closs family home around 1 a.m. Monday. When they arrived, they found parents James and Denise Closs dead inside and Jayme gone. The sheriff told CBS News correspondent Adriana Diaz that they've identified whose cell phone the 911 call came from. 

"I'm not able to comment on whose phone that is as part of the investigation," Fitzgerald said.

Family members said Jayme was last seen Sunday afternoon at a birthday party, and nothing seemed wrong.

Miami police said Monday they received a tip Jayme may have been spotted at a gas station riding in a black SUV, seen in a surveillance video. But Wisconsin investigators quickly dismissed that lead. 

"We have no credible information that that was a credible tip," Fitzgerald said.

Diane Tremblay is the superintendent of Jayme's school district.

"She is a runner on our cross country team and a wonderful addition to our Barron area school district family," Tremblay said. She described Jayme as a sweet, quiet girl who is a loyal friend. 

"A teacher just recently shared this with me about Jayme. Jayme wrote down on one of her assignments in response to the question, 'What would you do if you were given a million dollars?' She said, 'Feed the hungry and give the rest to the poor,'" Tremblay said.

"Everyone is feeling very helpless right now," family friend Melissa Salmonson said. People in the small, tight-knit community are rattled. They gathered Tuesday night at a vigil to pray for Jayme's safe return.

"It makes you hug your kids. It makes you nervous," community member Bethany Stevens said. "It's just unsettling."

Investigators said they do not believe Jayme is a suspect in her parents' deaths. A gun was involved in the killings, but the sheriff will not say how Jayme's parents died or if a gun has been found. Autopsies are expected to be conducted Wednesday.

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Updated: 5:00 p.m. on October 16, 2018

BARRON, Wis. (AP) — A Wisconsin teenager who has been missing since her parents were found dead in their home isn't a runaway and investigators believe she's in danger, a sheriff said Tuesday.

Authorities have been searching for 13-year-old Jayme Closs since deputies responding to a 911 call early Monday found her parents , James and Denise Closs, dead in their home in Barron, a rural western Wisconsin community about 80 miles (130 kilometers) northeast of Minneapolis.

The call came from a cellphone inside the home, but the caller didn't communicate with the dispatcher, Barron County Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald said during a Tuesday news conference. He said gunshots had been fired at the home, but he declined to say whether the couple had been shot and said his office won't disclose how they died until after the autopsies are completed.

Fitzgerald said investigators don't consider Jayme a suspect in her parents' deaths, and he dismissed a tip placing Jayme's whereabouts in Miami as "not credible." He declined to elaborate as to why investigators believe she didn't run away from home, saying that disclosing more information would compromise their investigation.

"I'm telling you, Jayme is missing and endangered," Fitzgerald said.

Jayme was last seen at a family gathering Sunday afternoon, Fitzgerald said.

Her grandfather, Robert Naiberg, told The Associated Press on Tuesday that nothing seemed amiss at the gathering, which was to celebrate the birthday of a grandson who is cousins with Jayme.

"She was quiet as always. She was a quiet girl," he said.

Naiberg, 72, said his daughter, Denise Closs, and Jayme attended the party, and that his son-in-law, James Closs, was working and couldn't make it. He described his daughter as "thoughtful person" who brought "a little gift for everybody" at the party.

A girl resembling Jayme was spotted at a gas station in south Florida on Monday afternoon, according to a tip Miami police say they received. Fitzgerald said authorities looked into the tip, but by Tuesday afternoon, they concluded the information was not credible. He said Miami police did not check with Wisconsin authorities before tweeting information about the tip and reminded the public that updates would come from the sheriff's department.

"If we think it's key to the case where we need the public's help, we will disseminate that information," he said.

Jayme is described as 5-feet (1.5 meters) tall and 100 pounds (45 kilograms), with strawberry-blond hair and green eyes.

The FBI and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children are helping in the search. An Amber Alert was issued without a description of a suspect or vehicle. Meanwhile, deputies searched the area around the family's home with drones and infrared equipment and talked to Jayme's friends and middle school classmates, hoping to develop some leads.

Fitzgerald urged the public to come forward with tips.

"Often, someone in the community will have knowledge of a crime and may not realize it," he said. "Individuals who commit acts of violence may display changes in their behavior and individuals around that person may observe those changes."

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Updated: 11:13 a.m. on October 16, 2018

BARRON COUNTY, Wis. (AP/CBS 58) –Authorities say a Wisconsin teenager who has been missing since her parents were found dead in their home isn't a runaway and that they think she's in danger. 

An amber alert is in effect for 13-year-old Jayme Closs.

Barron County Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald said during a media briefing Tuesday that he can't reveal why authorities believe 13-year-old Jayme Closs is in danger because it could compromise the investigation. But he repeated his plea for the public's help in finding her.

Deputies responding to a 911 call found the bodies of 56-year-old James Closs and 46-year-old Denise Closs at around 1 a.m. Monday in their home in the western Wisconsin town of Barron. No cause of death has been released but authorities said gunshots had been fired.
Fitzgerald says Jayme was last seen at a family gathering Sunday afternoon, but he provided no details. He didn't comment about the validity of a tip that she had been spotted at a Miami gas station Monday afternoon.

The Sheriff asked anyone with information to come forward and call the 24-hour tip line at 1-855-744-3879.

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Updated: 5:54 a.m. on October 16, 2018

MIAMI (CBS 58) -- The Miami Police Department says there may have been a possible sighting of Jayme Closs in Florida.

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Updated: 6:24 p.m. October 15, 2018

BARRON, Wis. (CBS 58) -- The deceased individuals have been identified as 56-year-old James Closs and 46-year-old Denise Closs.

They are the husband and wife and the mother of Jayme, the missing 13-year-old.

The Amber Alert is still in place. Anyone with information is asked to call the 24-hour tipline at 1-855-744-3879.

Stay with CBS 58 News for more information on this developing story. 

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Updated 3:30 p.m. on October 15, 2018

UPDATE: BARRON, Wis. (CBS 58) -- An Amber Alert has been issued for a 13-year-old Wisconsin girl after her parents were found dead in their western Wisconsin home.

Authorities have not yet released a vehicle or suspect description.

Anyone with information is asked to call 911 or the Barron County Sheriff's Office at 855-744-3879.

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BARRON, Wis. (AP) — Authorities searched Monday for a 13-year-old girl they believe is in danger after her parents were found dead in their western Wisconsin home.

Deputies went to the home in Barron after dispatchers received a 911 call from an unknown person at around 1 a.m. Monday, Barron County Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald said. He said they found the bodies of Jayme Closs' parents, though he didn't release their names. He also said there had been gunshots, but he stopped short of saying that's how the couple died.

Investigators don't have any leads or suspects, but they have enlisted the help of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the FBI, which has agents who specialize in missing children cases, the sheriff said. He said Jayme is not considered a suspect in her parents' deaths.

Deputies searched the area around the family's home with drones and infrared equipment, but they didn't find any clues as to her whereabouts. Fitzgerald said investigators are frustrated they haven't developed any leads and asked for the public's help with any information about what could have happened to the girl.

"At the end of the end of the day, I want a 13-year-old here safe and sound. That's our goal. That's our only goal right now," Fitzgerald said at a news briefing.

Officers also were at Jayme's middle school talking with her friends and acquaintances, hoping to develop some leads, officials said.

Fitzgerald told The Associated Press that an Amber Alert hadn't been issued because no suspect had been identified in her disappearance.

Jayme is described as 5-feet (1.5 meters) tall and 100 pounds (45 kilograms), with strawberry-blond hair and green eyes.

Barron is about 80 miles (130 kilometers) northeast of Minneapolis.


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