CAMERON, WI - Hundreds gathered at St. Peter Catholic Church on Saturday for James and Denise Closs' funeral.
In their obituaries, James is remembered as being an avid Green Bay Packers and Wisconsin Badgers fan. Denise is remembered as a woman who never hesitated to lend a hand.
Missy Ruffin, a manager at Jennie-O Turkey Store says she worked with both the Closses for nearly 20 years at Jennie-O. Ruffin smiled as she described how James used to take vacation days to enjoy the Packer games.
She said the service was somber and wished the Closses were at peace.
"My thing of it is, why? Why. They're normal people," Ruffin said. "They don't bother nobody, they go to work, they go home. They go to their family. So why? That's all my question is-- and today for the funeral, I pray that they are at peace with themselves and resting in heaven at peace."
Jennie-O Turkey Store also released a statement after contributing $25,000 to the reward money for Jayme's safe return.
"Our thoughts continue to be with the Closs family and the entire Barron community. Jim and Denise were long time members of the Jennie-O Turkey Store family. We can confirm that we offered $25,000 to the FBI and are providing further support by helping the family with funeral expenses for Jim and Denise. This continues to be an extremely difficult time for our entire team as we mourn their loss.
We remain hopeful for the safe return of their daughter, Jayme, and will continue to provide support to the family, community and law enforcement during the ongoing investigation and search." - Steve Lykken, president at Jennie-O Turkey Store and Chad Nisbit, Jennie-O Turkey Store Barron plant manager
Barron County Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald also attended the funeral. He said the investigation to find Jayme is still ongoing and that they have received over 1,900 tips.
"We have about 170 yet to work on and we have about 35 investigators," Fitzgerald said. "Outside agencies came in today to assist us to close out some of those tips-- some of those are car, several are just other people who have called with information."
He requested in person and on Facebook that the tip that could crack the case of Jayme's disappearance is still out there and encouraged people to call in with information to the 24/7 tipline.