FILE - In this Oct. 17, 2018, file photo, Barron County Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald speaks during a news conference about 13-year-old Jayme Closs who has been missing since her parents were found dead in their home in Barron, Wis. The northwest Wisconsin girl who went missing in October after her parents were killed has been found alive, authorities said Thursday, Jan. 10, 2019. (Jerry Holt/Star Tribune via AP, File)
The Associated Press
The grandfather of a 13-year-old northwestern Wisconsin girl who authorities say escaped a man who killed her parents and held her captive for three months said Sunday she's in "exceptionally good spirits."
Jayme Closs on Thursday fled the cabin near the small town of Gordon where she said she had been imprisoned. She approached a woman walking a dog and asked for her help.
Police officers arrested 21-year-old Jake Thomas Patterson minutes later based on Jayme's description of his vehicle. Authorities are holding Patterson on suspicion of kidnapping and homicide.
Little has been revealed about Jayme's ordeal since her abduction in mid-October, although more details could come Monday when Patterson is expected to be charged and make his first appearance in court.
Jayme's grandfather, Robert Naiberg, said Sunday that, considering the circumstances, the teen is holding up .
"She's doing exceptionally well for what she went through," Naiberg told The Associated Press by phone. "She's in exceptionally good spirits."
On Sunday, area churchgoers said their prayers were answered by Jayme's safe return.
"We are overjoyed and we couldn't be happier. It's a miracle and it's wonderful," Mary Haas told the Minneapolis Star Tribune while taking down Christmas decorations after Mass at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Barron. "We prayed and prayed and prayed."
Jayme has been staying with an aunt in Barron since she escaped.
"It's a great day up in our area," said Larry Leff at St. Peter's Catholic Church in nearby Cameron. "God answered all our prayers."
An intruder blasted open the door of James and Denise Closs' home near Barron with a shotgun Oct. 15, gunned the couple down and made off with Jayme.
While investigators have said Patterson's goal was to kidnap Jayme, he has no apparent prior connection to the family. Naiberg told the AP on Saturday that Jayme told FBI agents she did not know Patterson.
Patterson attorneys Charles Glynn and Richard Jones said in a statement that they consider the situation "very tragic" and that they are relying on the court system to treat their client fairly.
Barron County Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald told reporters on Friday that Patterson took measures to avoid leaving evidence at the Closs family's home, including shaving his head before breaking in. A shotgun was recovered from the cabin, which Patterson's father owned.
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For more stories on Jayme's abduction and her parents' deaths: https://apnews.com/JaymeCloss
This aerial photo shows the cabin where 13-year-old Jayme Closs was held by Jake Thomas Patterson, is surrounded by law enforcement vehicles, Saturday, Jan. 12, 2019 in the town Gordon, Wis. Jayme had been missing for nearly three months Thursday, Jan. 10, when she approached a stranger near the small, isolated north woods town of Gordon and pleaded for help . Officers arrested 21-year-old Jake Thomas Patterson minutes later based on Jayme's description of his vehicle. He was jailed on suspicion of kidnapping and homicide. (Aaron Lavinsky/Star Tribune via AP)/Star Tribune via AP)
The Associated Press
At the St. Joseph Parish in Barron, Minn., parishioners hold their hands together in an offering of peace during service Sunday, Jan. 13, 2018. Three prayers were dedicated to Jayme Closs, friends, family, and all those who helped search for her. Churchgoers say their prayers were answered by the safe return ofJayme Closs, a 13-year-old girl nearly three months after authorities say she was abducted during a home invasion that left her parents dead. (Richard Tsong-Taatarii/Star Tribune via AP)
The Associated Press
Barron County Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald speaks during a news conference, Friday, Jan. 11, 2018, in Barron, Wis., regarding the arrest of Jake Thomas Patterson, who allegedly kidnapped Jayme Closs, Closs, a 13-year-old northwestern Wisconsin girl who went missing in October after her parents were killed, was found alive in the rural town of Gordon, Wis., about about 60 miles north of her home in Barron. Investigators believe Patterson, who was taken into custody shortly after Closs was found, killed her parents because he wanted to abduct her. (Aaron Lavinsky/Star Tribune via AP)
The Associated Press
Kristin Kasinskas, left, husband, Peter, and Jeanne Nutter and her dog Henry head back to their homes after speaking with the media Friday, Jan. 11, 2019, in Gordon, Wis. Kristin Kasinskas called 911 on Thursday, to report that Jayme Closs, 13, had been found after Nutter, who was out walking her dog, encountered her and brought her to Kasinskas' house. Closs went missing in October after her parents were killed. (Richard Tsong-Taatarii/Star Tribune via AP)
The Associated Press
The sign outside Barron, Wis., City Hall, Friday, Jan. 11, 2019, welcomes Jayme Closs, a 13-year-old northwestern Wisconsin girl who went missing in October after her parents were killed. Closs was found alive in the rural town of Gordon, Wis., about about 60 miles north of her home in Barron, authorities said Thursday, Jan. 10. (Aaron Lavinsky/Star Tribune via AP)
The Associated Press
FILE - In this Oct. 23, 2018, file photo, a Barron County, Wis., sheriff's vehicle is parked outside the home where James Closs and Denise Closs were found fatally shot on Oct. 15. The Barron County Sheriff's Department said on its Facebook page that the missing teenager Jayme Closs has been found alive Thursday, Jan. 10, 2019, and that a suspect was taken into custody. (AP Photo/Jeff Baenen, File)
The Associated Press
FILE - In this Oct. 23, 2018, file photo, volunteers cross a creek and barbed wire near Barron, Wis., on their way to a ground search for 13-year-old Jayme Closs who was discovered missing Oct. 15 after her parents were found fatally shot at their home. The Barron County Sheriff's Department said on its Facebook page that that the teenager Closs has been located Thursday, Jan. 10, 2019, and that a suspect was taken into custody. (AP Photo/Jeff Baenen, File)
The Associated Press