A year ago Tuesday, Jayme Closs' parents were killed and the young teen was abducted from her Wisconsin home. Today, nine months after she escaped from her captor, the 14-year-old is doing well. "Jayme continues to work very hard on her emotional well-being," a family statement reveals, per ABC News. "She is moving forward and courageously reclaiming her life." The girl has been hanging out with friends, attending family birthdays and weddings, going on local day hikes, and just being "a typical teenager," with her "incredible spirit and strength [continuing] to inspire everyone around her," continues the statement put out by aunt Jennifer Smith and the family attorney. "She is truly #JaymeStrong."
Jayme herself has issued a statement, thanking the public for the "kindness and concern" that's come from all across the US. "I am very happy to be home and getting back to the activities that I enjoy," she says. "I love hanging out with all of my friends, and I feel stronger every day!" As for Jayme's hometown of Barron, it's also trying to reclaim some sense of normalcy. "I think there's a new normal," Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald tells CBS Minnesota. "What the definition of a new normal is: We are more cautious as a community." He adds: "I still haven't wrapped my head around how big of a case this was." Per KSTP, Monday in Barron will be spent honoring the investigators who worked on the case. Jayme's abductor, Jake Patterson, pleaded guilty to homicide and kidnapping and was sentenced in May to life in prison without parole. (More Jayme Closs stories.)
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