Hope remains strong 2 months after Jayme Closs' disappearance

BARRON, Wis. (FOX 9) - It’s been two months since 13-year-old Jayme Closs went missing from her Barron, Wisconsin home.

Law enforcement responded to the house in the early hours of October 15th and found Jayme’s parents, James and Denise murdered, and Jayme gone.

On Saturday, the family marked the day with a balloon release and pleaded for anyone with information to come forward.

Those closest to Jayme and even complete strangers wrote messages to her on the balloons, marking two months since she disappeared.

Jennifer Halvorson lives in the area, but doesn’t know Jayme personally.

“We’re definitely hopeful she’ll come back and we want to support everything we can to get her back,” she said.

Halvorson said she is a mom, and her heart is heavy with what’s happened in this small town.

“When something happens to one person around here, it happens to everybody.”

Robert Naiberg, Jayme’s grandfather, addressed the community at the balloon release.

“I want nothing more than to get my granddaughter back to me and her family where she belongs,” he said.

Naiberg spoke in front of the tree of hope, lit earlier in the week. He said it’s been a terrible two months since the death of his daughter and son-in-law, and agonizing to not know what happened to his granddaughter.

“We need answers, but nobody seems to have any answers, so we don’t know any more than anyone else does that’s what’s hard,” he said.

There have not been any solid leads as to who is behind the murders of Jayme’s parents, or her disappearance, and Barron County Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald says there is nothing new to report on this day two months after the crimes.

But as the community lets their messages float into the blue December sky, one thing they won’t let go of is hope for Jayme’s safe return. 

“Jayme, Grandpa wants you to know we will never give up.”