Statistically speaking, if kidnap victims are not found within the first 72 hours, the likelihood of finding them is almost zero. Jayme Closs defied these odds.
In October 2018, an intruder broke into her home. She and her mother hid in the bathtub. Within four minutes, both of her parents were dead and she was put into the boot of her abductor’s car. For the next 87 days she was trapped in his house, going hours and hours without access to food, water or a bathroom.
After her abduction a reward of $50,000 was offered for any information that led to her safe return. The investigation received thousands of tips and the media kept her story alive.
On January 10 her abductor left the house and Jayme saw her opportunity. She left the house wearing pajamas and shoes on the wrong feet. She met a woman walking her dog who recognized her from the news. Together they went to a nearby house and waited for the police to arrive.
While this story is undeniably an incredibly uplifting one, it has also highlighted the different ways in which crimes are reported. Every year in the United States of America hundreds of young girls go missing, yet in the majority of cases their stories are not told on a national scale. 35% of missing children are African-American and 20% are Latino, yet these stories tend to receive minimal media coverage – and less police attention – than cases of missing white children.
In the past two years true crime has become a pop culture staple. There are countless podcasts, books and documentaries on the subject, and the majority of them tend to overlook crimes committed against minority groups. My Favorite Murder is one of the most popular true crime podcasts to emerge in the past couple of years and even they have been criticized for the lack of diversity in the stories they tell.
However, there does seem to be a small shift in this content: if you are interested in learning more about crimes committed against African-American children and young people, I would recommend the Atlanta Monster podcast and the recent R. Kelly documentary, Surviving R. Kelly, where women tell of the abuse they suffered at the hands of the R&B singer.
-Michelle O’Brien
Contributing Writer
Girl Museum Inc.
This title is deeply misleading because Jayme Closs is not a criminal. I hope you will change it.
Hi Spring-Serenity,
As a column, “Criminal Girls” looks not only at girls who have committed crimes, but also girls (like Jayme) who have been the victims of crimes. On a broader level, it also looks at the nature of criminality and how it relates to girls. In relation to the title, all our columns are titled by putting the name of the column followed by the topic. As Editor, I made the final call on the column title, as well as suggesting Jayme as a topic.
Thank you for reading,
Katie Weidmann
Editor-in-Chief
Thank you for your response. I understand that it is a series title, but that doesn’t diminish the fact that on it’s own, this post is misleading. Her case and the topic are worthy of discussion, certainly. However, as a stand alone post it identifies her as a criminal and that is deeply unfair. I stand by my concern and hope you will reconsider.
Dear Spring-Serenity,
We have reviewed this situation and have decided to remove Jayme’s story from this series.
The post will remain up, with an amended title, as it is important to remember her and her case.
We will also remove the Facebook promo post as to not cause further harm.
Thank you again for bringing this to our attention.
We are always learning how to do things better.
Best,
Ashley E. Remer
Head Girl
Ashley,
I am so grateful for this outcome, which I agree more accurately tells Jayme’s important story. The work your organization does is so important and I appreciate the willingness to discuss my concerns.
~S