How to hide Bootstrap modal with javascript?

I’ve read the posts here, the Bootstrap site, and Googled like mad – but can’t find what I’m sure is an easy answer…

I have a Bootstrap modal that I open from a link_to helper like this:

<%= link_to "New Contact", new_contact_path, {remote: true, 'data-toggle' => 'modal', 'data-target' => "#myModal",  class: "btn btn-primary"} %>

In my ContactsController.create action, I have code that creates Contact then passes off to create.js.erb. In create.js.erb, I have some error handling code (a mix of ruby and javascript). If everything goes well, I want to close the modal.

This is where I’m having trouble. I can’t seem to dismiss the modal when all goes well.

I’ve tried $('#myModal').modal('hide'); and this has no effect. I’ve also tried $('#myModal').hide(); which causes the modal to dismiss but leaves the backdrop.

Any guidance on how to close the modal and/or dismiss the backdrop from within create.js.erb?

Edit

Here’s the markup for myModal:

<div class="modal hide" id="myModal" >
  <div class="modal-header">
    <a class="close" data-dismiss="modal">×</a>
    <h3>Add Contact</h3>
    <div id="errors_notification">
    </div>
  </div>
  <div class="modal-body">
    <%= form_for :contact, url: contacts_path, remote: true do |f| %>  
      <%= f.text_field :first_name, placeholder: "first name" %>
      <%= f.text_field :last_name, placeholder: "last name" %>
      <br>
      <%= f.submit "Save", name: 'save', class: "btn btn-primary" %>
      <a class="close btn" data-dismiss="modal">Cancel</a>
    <% end %>
  </div>
  <div class="modal-footer">
  </div>
</div>