Kyle Jaenke Annis Accused of Jayme Closs Home Burglary

Kyle Jaenke Annis

Sheriff Photos Kyle Jaenke Annis

Kyle Jaenke Annis, a Cameron, Wisconsin man, is accused of burglarizing the home of missing Barron teen Jayme Closs, the 13-year-old girl who vanished October 15, 2018, seemingly without a trace.

Jaenke Annis, 32, was criminally charged with the burglary offense and another bail jumping charge. Authorities say that he allegedly broke into the Closs family home and stole items, including the missing girl’s underwear. The house along Highway 8 on the outskirts of Barron has been a closely guarded crime scene since Jayme’s parents – Jim and Denise Closs – were murdered in the residence. Jayme was in the home at the time of the slayings and disappeared before authorities arrived, the Barron County Sheriff has said in news conferences. An Amber Alert was issued, and the FBI joined the search, but there has been no sign of the middle school student since.

Kyle Jaenke Annis has been cleared of involvement in Jayme’s disappearance, the Barron County Sheriff’s Department said. HIs name is also given as Kyle Jaenke and Kyle Jaenke-Annis.

Here’s what you need to know:


Motion Detecting Cameras Captured Kyle Jaenke Entering the Closs Home, Court Records Allege

jayme closs

Jessica McBrideThe Closs home

You can read the criminal complaint in the case here.

The complaint alleges that, on October 27, 2018, at 2:22 a.m., the Barron County Sheriff’s Department was notified that state Department of Criminal Investigation agents observed a male entering the east patio door of the Closs residence in Barron County, Wisconsin.

The criminal complaint alleges that Jaenke-Annis “was seen on motion activated cameras that were set up outside on the property,” the complaint says. The camera footage showed the man “who was wearing a large puffy dark coat and a stocking hat, entering the east patio door of the residence,” the complaint alleges.

A sergeant responded to the home, arriving in four minutes. DCI agents also responded. The sergeant blacked out his squad (no lights or siren) and walked up to the property on foot. While in the front yard, the sergeant saw movement inside the home “as there were several lights on, and the blinds/shades were open,” the complaint says.

The complaint further alleges:

Officers established a perimeter around the residence and obtained a K9 dog. The DCI agents ordered the man to put his hands up and walk out of the house. He exited the patio door. He was a Caucasian male wearing a puffy coat, glasses, and holding a flashlight.

He was named as Kyle T. Jaenke-Annis.

The sergeant and K9 searched the residence and determined no one else was inside. The DCI agents questioned the defendant, who allegedly “admitted to entering the property without permission and stealing multiple items that did not belong to him from inside of the residence.”

The following items were allegedly located in his coat pocket: A pink tank top six XS 4; orange and green girl’s size 12 underwear; red and white girl’s tank top (Under Armour brand); and an orange and white girl’s dress. He also had a black and green flashlight, a set of black gloves, and black face mask with a skull on front, Swiss Tech brand, the criminal complaint alleges.

Kyle Jaenke allegedly admitted he took items that didn’t belong to him from inside the home. He said he took “three or four items, including some underwear that he believed belonged to Jayme,” the complaint alleges.

 

jayme closs

FacebookJayme Closs, a 13-year-old girl from Barron, Wisconsin, is missing.

He said he didn’t know the Closs family, the complaint says. He said he brought the flashlight “in case he wouldn’t be able to see without artificial lighting,” according to the complaint.

Jaenke allegedly said the items were items “that people wouldn’t miss. Additionally, the defendant stated he was curious about what size Jayme was.”

You can read the court record here for the two felony charges against Jaenke-Annis. Cash bond was set on October 29, and the court ordered, “Defendant shall be fingerprinted at the Barron County Sheriff’s Dept., if not already done. If represented by the Public Defender and does not have a phone, must contact the Public Defender weekly … Must have no contact with the Closs residence at 1268 US Highway 8 in Barron.”


Jaenke Works at the Same Turkey Company That Employed the Closs Parents, Reports Say

denise closs

FacebookJayme Closs (l) and her mother Denise Closs (r)

According to Fox 9, Jaenke works for the Jennie-O turkey company in town. Denise and Jim Closs both worked at that turkey plant, which is the town’s major employer. Jaenke is from nearby Cameron, a small town a few minutes down the road from Barron.

The complaint alleges that Jaenke allegedly said he left work at the Jennie-O turkey store that evening and rode his bicycle to a laundromat in Barron. He then walked from the laundromat to the Closs residence. He stated “he was at the residence for about 10 minutes,” the complaint says.

He said he noticed the patio door was unlocked and walked in and “immediately located a room off to the right that he believed belonged to Jayme Closs. The defendant stated that, while he was in Jayme’s room, he located a closet that was full of clothes,” the complaint alleges.

Barron is a town of about 3,300 people located in a small community dominated by the turkey plant where both of the Closs parents worked. The family lived in a home nestled in a wooded area a short ways outside of the Barron city limits. Barron is located in northwestern Wisconsin, and the family lived along Highway 8, a fairly busy thoroughfare in the country community.


Jaenke Has a Criminal History in Wisconsin

jayme closs

Jessica McBrideVolunteers searched the ditches along Highway 8 for clues about Jayme Closs

According to Wisconsin Circuit Court online records, Jaenke, who goes by the name Kyle Jaenke-Annis in court records, was also charged with burglary in August 2018. That case is still open; he was bound over for trial in a preliminary hearing on October 22, 2018.

In 2011, he was convicted of misdemeanor theft in Wisconsin. He received probation and community service. The victim was a local farm, according to court records. His other cases in Wisconsin are traffic. The earlier burglary count appears to have generated the bail jumping charge because he was ordered not to commit more crimes as a condition of bail, online court records show.

The Closs disappearance is baffling in several respects, starting with the local sheriff’s somewhat unusual admittance early on that authorities had basically no leads. “Our deputies …they’re frustrated,” said Barron County Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald in an early news conference. “…It’s just a different scene for us. We don’t have a suspect. We don’t have any leads right now. We’re working very diligently right now to get those leads. We’re working with other agencies.” Authorities have since released photos of vehicles of interest in the case, which you can see pictures of below.

Since that time, only a few pieces of fact-based information have dribbled out. The FBI is in town.

jayme closs

FacebookJayme Closs

A leaked 911 dispatch record showed the front door to the family’s house was kicked in.

Sheriff Fitzgerald was asked early on whether Jayme Closs was a suspect, and he said that she was not. Authorities are considering her an endangered missing person at this time, he said.

The sheriff said of Jayme: “Right now, she’s missing and endangered. She’s not listed as a suspect. And as of now, we are just focused on finding a 13-year-old scared girl.”

A dispatch record published by CNN indicated the door was kicked in and the father was found in the doorway. Authorities have said both parents were shot. 911 dispatch records, per CNN, say, “REQUESTED ERT BE PAGED OUT. ADVISED THE DOOR HAS BEEN KICKED IN. ADVISED THAT THE MALE WHO IS DOWN HAD ANSWERED THE DOOR.”

Authorities on October 22, 2018 revealed that they have vehicles of interest in the case. The vehicles were spotted on surveillance video from businesses and homes around the time frame in question, in the area in question. There are three vehicles because authorities think the model of one of them could be either a Ford Edge or Acura MDX.

The vehicles are:

A 2006-2010 black Ford Edge

ford edge

A 2006 to 2010 Ford Edge.

A 2004-2010 black Acura MDX

acura mdx

A 2004 to 2010 Acura MDX.

A 2008-2014 red or orange Dodge Challenger

jayme closs vehicles

A 2008 to 2014 red or orange Dodge Challenger.

“These are three images of the two vehicles of interest that we determined were in the area of the Closs home at the time of the incident regarding the disappearance of missing and endangered 13 year old Jayme Closs. Again, these are ONLY vehicles of interest,” the Barron County Sheriff’s Department said on Facebook. “If anyone sees or has seen either of these vehicles in or around Barron County over the past two weeks they are asked to call our tip line 1-855-744-3879 with the time they observed it, location observed and plate number. Again we are only taking tips based on the below information, no other makes or models will be followed up on.”

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