FBI announces reward, family of Jayme Closs speaks in Wednesday press conference

BARRON, Wisconsin (KMSP) - The FBI announced a $25,000 reward for information that leads to the location of Jayme Closs in a news conference Wednesday.

In addition to the announcement of the reward, the public heard from Closs’s family for the first time.

Closs’s aunt Jennifer Smith said she thanks the community for its “show of love and support of our family,” before directly addressing Jamie.

“Jamie, not a moment goes by when we aren’t thinking of you and praying for you,” she said, talking about Closs’s “sparking eyes,” “little giggles” and her dog Molly.

“We need you here to fill that hole in our hearts,” she went on. “We will never stop looking for you.”

MORE INFORMATION NEEDED

In addition to hearing Closs’s family, Barron County Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald also asked for some information from drivers on Hwy. 8 early on the morning of the incident.

He asked that anyone traveling on Hwy. 8 in either direction the morning of Oct. 15 between 12:30 a.m. and 1:30 a.m. call the tip line with any information they have.

The Sheriff also explained the FBI and Barron County Sheriff’s Office have worked through 1,250 tips of the 1,550 collected by the community.

Fitzgerald also thanked the more than 2,000 people who helped with a search Tuesday that did not yield any items of evidentiary value. He said no further searches are scheduled at this time.

“We believe Jayme’s out there,” Fitzgerald said. “Jayme’s endangered and we need to bring the 13-year-old girl home.”