BARRON, Wis. (AP) — The Latest on the search for a missing Wisconsin teenager who disappeared after her parents were found dead in their home (all times local):
11:40 a.m.
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.
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.
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7:10 a.m.
Police say a girl resembling a missing, endangered Wisconsin teen has been spotted at a gas station in Florida.
Authorities have been searching for 13-year-old Jayme Closs since early Monday when her parents were found dead in their home in Barron, in far western Wisconsin.
Miami police say a witness reported seeing a girl fitting Jayme's description in a black Ford Explorer with two well-dressed, bearded men at a gas station Monday afternoon. Miami is about 1,700 miles (2,735 kilometers) south of Barron.
Barron County sheriff's officials haven't commented on the report.
Deputies responding to a 911 call found the bodies of 56-year-old James Closs and 46-year-old Denise Closs around 1 a.m. Monday. Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald says gunshots were involved, but he stopped short of saying that's how they died.
A girl resembling a missing teenager whose parents were found dead in their western Wisconsin home has been spotted at a gas station in south Florida, police said.
Authorities have been searching for 13-year-old Jayme Closs since around 1 a.m. Monday, when sheriff's deputies responding to a 911 call for help at a home in Barron, Wisconsin, discovered the bodies of 56-year-old James Closs and his 46-year-old Denise Closs.
Barron County Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald said there were gunshots at the Closs home, but didn't specifically say Jayme's parents had been shot to death. He said Jayme is not considered a suspect in her parents' deaths.
The FBI and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children are helping in the search for Jayme, but at a news briefing Monday evening, Fitzgerald said they had no suspects or leads.
"At 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.
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.
Late Monday, a witness reported to police in Miami, Florida, that a girl fitting Jayme's description had been seen Monday afternoon at a Miami gas station in a black Ford Explorer with two well-dressed, bearded men, according to the Miami Police Department .
Miami is about 1,700 miles (2,735 kilometers) south of Barron.
The Barron County Sheriff's Office didn't immediately respond to a call early Tuesday asking about the credibility of the report.
Jayme is described as 5-feet (1.5 meters) tall and 100 pounds (45 kilograms), with strawberry-blond hair and green eyes.
