'I feel stronger every day': Kidnapping victim Jayme Closs, 14, says she is enjoying hiking and hanging out with friends just a year after Jake Patterson murdered her parents and held her hostage for three months
- Jayme said she has been hanging out with family and friends since kidnapping
- The now 14-year-old has celebrated a birthday and says she enjoys hiking
- Jayme was 13 years old when she was abducted by Jake Patterson last October
- She was kidnapped after Patterson killed her parents, James and Denise Closs
- In January, after three months, Jayme was found alive in Gordon, Wisconsin
- In May, Patterson was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole
Jayme Closs said she is feeling 'stronger every day' and enjoys spending time with her family and friends just a year after she was kidnapped by Jake Patterson.
She told ABC News that she wanted to 'thank everyone for all the kindness and concern that people all over the country have shown me'.
'I am very happy to be home and getting back to the activities that I enjoy. I love hanging out with all of my friends, and I feel stronger every day!'
The now 14-year-old, who was abducted by Patterson last October, has been enjoying hiking with friends and her aunts.
Her aunt, Jen Smith, told the news outlet that Jayme 'continues to work very hard on her emotional well-being' and 'courageously reclaiming her life'.
In May, Patterson was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
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Jayme Closs (center, with her family) said she is feeling 'stronger every day' and enjoys spending time with her family and friends just a year after she was kidnapped by Jake Patterson
'I am very happy to be home and getting back to the activities that I enjoy. I love hanging out with all of my friends, and I feel stronger every day!' Jayme (left, front) said
Patterson (left, in court in March and right in his arrest picture in January) killed Jayme's parents, James and Denise Closs, before abducting the teen in Barron, Wisconsin, last October. He held her hostage for three months before she managed to escape
Patterson, 22, killed Jayme's parents, James and Denise Closs, before abducting the teen in Barron, Wisconsin.
On October 24, the FBI offered a $25,000 reward for information leading to Jayme's location.
Before her escape, the amount to find Jayme was doubled to $50,000 by the Jennie-O Turkey Store, which is were her parents worked.
Barron County Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald said in an interview with WQOW on Monday: 'You never give up hope and I think that's the message we showed the world how a community can come together to support law enforcement, the family and victims.
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'We need to keep supporting each other. It's our jobs as adults to make sure kids know that we support them.'
In January, after three months of being held captive, Jayme was found alive in Gordon, Wisconsin, and Patterson was taken into custody.
Patterson had tied Jayme up with tape and put her in the trunk of his car before driving to a remote cabin in Douglas County, Wisconsin, about 90 days after killing her parents.
He kept Jayme under a bed for weeks and left her without food or water before she was able to break free while he was out of the house.
Barron County Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald said in an interview on Monday: 'You never give up hope and I think that's the message we showed the world how a community can come together... it's our jobs as adults to make sure kids know that we support them'
In January, after three months of being held captive, Jayme was found alive and Patterson was taken into custody. Jayme was kept under a bed for weeks and left without food or water before she was able to break free while Patterson was out of the house
Patterson admitted to abducting Jayme (left) and killing her parents, James and Denise Closs (both pictured right), at their family home in Barron, Wisconsin
Jayme's aunt, Jen Smith, said the teen 'continues to work very hard on her emotional well-being' and 'courageously reclaiming her life'
He pleaded guilty in March to two counts of intentional homicide and one count of kidnapping.
Patterson admitted to concocting the plan to kidnap Jayme, who he had never met, after seeing her get off a school bus near her home.
'Jake Patterson took a lot of things that I love away from me. It makes me the most sad that he took away my mom and my dad,' Jayme said, through her attorney, in her first public statement after she escaped.
Jayme, who did not appear in court during Patterson's trial, described the night her parents were killed as a 'horrifying memory'.
'There are some things that Jake Patterson can never take from me. He can't take my freedom. He thought he could own me and he was wrong. I'm smarter. I watched his routine and I took back my freedom. I will always have my freedom and he will not,' she said.
Patterson said he had no intention to appeal his two life sentences for the murders of James Closs, 56, and his wife Denise, 46 and the abduction of Jayme.
Patterson took Jayme to this woodland home in Gordon, Wisconsin, where he held her prisoner for 88 days before she was able to escape
Jayme was held captive in this space under Patterson's bed at his woodland home in Gordon, Wisconsin. He barricaded her in with tote bags weighted down by barbell weights and free weights
TIMELINE OF JAYME CLOSS' DISAPPEARANCE
Jayme Closs was missing for three months
Oct. 15, 2018 - Jayme's parents, James and Denise Closs, found dead at their home in Barron and the teen is reported missing
Oct. 16, 2018 - Investigators say they don't consider Jayme a suspect in her parents' deaths
Oct. 17, 2018 - Authorities announce that investigators believe Jayme was in her family's home when he parents were fatally shot
Oct. 18, 2018 - About 100 people join a ground search for Jayme after Barron County Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald requests the help of volunteers
Oct. 23, 2018 - About 2,000 volunteers from as far as Minneapolis help with another ground search . Several items are found and taken for assessment
Oct. 24, 2018 - The FBI offers a $25,000 reward for information leading to Jayme's location. The amount is later doubled to $50,000 by the Jennie-O Turkey Store, where James and Denise Closs worked
Oct. 27, 2018 - Funeral held for James and Denise Closs
Oct. 29, 2018 - Prosecutors announce they have charged a man with burglarizing the Closs home but say he's not a suspect in the case.
Dec. 12, 2018 - Tree of Hope lit as community prays for her safe return
Jan. 10, 2019 - After three months Jayme is found alive in Gordon, Wisconsin. A suspect is taken into custody.
Jan. 11, 2019 - Police named the man accused of kidnapping her as Jake Thomas Patterson, 21
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