A girl who went missing three months ago after her parents were shot to death in their Wisconsin home was found safe Thursday, police said.
Jayme Closs, 13, turned up in the town of Gordon, about 70 miles from where she was last seen, police officials said on Facebook.
The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported that she escaped from a home and approached a neighbor, identifying herself and asking the neighbor to call 911.
“I mean I’m shocked,” Jayme’s aunt Kelly Engelhardt told a local NBC affiliate.
“It’s what we’ve prayed for every single day.”
Jayme had not been seen since October, authorities said.
Police had ruled her out as a suspect in her parents’ deaths shortly after the bodies were found, and believed she was abducted after the slayings.
A person of interest was taken into custody by police Thursday, authorities said, but it was not immediately clear if that person was wanted in the murders, the kidnapping or both.
“We do not have any other details at this time, as this is a very fluid and active investigation . . . We will not be answering any questions or taking calls on this tonight,” the Barron County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
Jayme was reported missing on Oct. 15 after police responded to a 911 call at her Barron County home and discovered her parents bodies.
Since her disappearance, investigators pursued thousands of tips and reviewed dozens of surveillance videos.
But until Thursday, investigators did not publicly say they had any pertinent leads in the case.
In late October, the only lead investigators discussed publicly was the description of two cars that may have been in the area when Jayme vanished — a red or orange Dodge Challenger and a black Ford Edge or Acura MDX.
At the time, police described them as vehicles of interest but did not elaborate.
The FBI also offered a $25,000 reward for information leading to Jayme. At the press conference announcing the reward, another aunt, Jennifer Smith, spoke directly to her missing niece.
“Jayme, not a moment goes by that we’re not thinking of you and praying for you,” Smith said. “We need you here to fill that hole in our hearts. We will never stop looking for you.”
With Wires