Wisconsin Kidnapping, Killing Suspect Lived Under the Radar

This photo provided by the Barron County Sheriff's Department in Barron, Wis., shows Jake Thomas Patterson, of the Town of Gordon, Wis., who has been jailed on kidnapping and homicide charges in the October killing of a Wisconsin couple and abduction of their teen daughter, Jayme Closs. Closs was found alive in the Town of Gordon, on Jan. 10, 2019. Barron County Sheriff's Department via AP

MADISON, Wis.—The man suspected of kidnapping a Wisconsin teenager and killing her parents more than two months ago appears to have led an unremarkable existence until then.

Investigators believe 21-year-old Jake Thomas Patterson gunned down James and Denise Closs in their home near Barron in October and abducted their 13-year-old daughter, Jayme.

Jayme escaped from a cabin in Gordon, Wisconsin, on Jan. 10, where she said he had imprisoned her. Police arrested Patterson minutes later.

He graduated from high school in Minong, about 10 miles south of Gordon, in 2015 and participated in the quiz bowl team. He has no apparent online presence.

Patterson’s older brother was convicted of sexual assault in 2013, but only a handful of people in Gordon have heard of his family.