EP 220 - MINNESOTA: The Most Infamous Murder Case In Minnesota History: The Abduction And Murder of Jacob Wetterling

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Paid membership with connected payment account required. See Experian.com for details. Experian. Tami regularly hauls stuff to her kids at college. That's why she shops at BJ's Wholesale Club, saving up to 25% off grocery store prices. Beef jerky, microwave meals, laundry pods, even they can't screw up. Have you met my kids? And with BJ's gas, she gets there for less. They call me the road warrior. This is your home, road warrior mom. Home of the save. Join for just $20 at BJ's.com slash mesquite and save 10 cents per gallon for six months. Open soon. Limited time offer, new members only. BJ's. Home of the save. Warning. The following podcast is not suitable for all audiences. We go into great detail with every case that we cover and do our best to bring viewers even deeper into the stories by utilizing disturbing audio and sound effects. Trigger warnings from the stories we cover may include violence, rape, murder, and offenses against children. This podcast is not for everyone. You have been warned. 10-year-old Trevor Wetterling didn't know where he was going. His lungs burnt and his feet stung as he ran for his life. The man who had forced him, his brother, and his friend off their bikes had to still be watching him. He had pointed a gun in Trevor's face and told him to run for the trees. He told him that if he looked back, he would shoot him. The words clung to Trevor, fixing his gaze at the tree line ahead of him. But all he wanted to do was look back at his big brother, Jacob. He wanted to see him. He wanted to see him and know that things were going to be okay. He wanted his brother to comfort him, to guide him like he always did. But it wasn't until Trevor slipped into the forest that he dared to turn around. And when he did, there was no sight of his older brother. The field Trevor had just sprinted through was nothing but a sea of moonlight. His friend Aaron gasped for breath beside him. He too had been told to run. But just as he started to head for the trees, he had seen the man grab Jacob. And now, they were gone. 11-year-old Jacob Wetterling was nowhere to be seen. Neither of the boys knew it then, but they would be the last people to ever see him. In the blink of an eye, everything changed. What started as an innocent bike ride down to the corner store to rent a movie had transformed into one of the most devastating missing person cases. Of all time. A case that took 27 years to solve. And were it not for the persistence of a mother, a writer, and a victim, the man behind Jacob Wetterling's abduction would still be out there. So this is the story of the disappearance and murder of Jacob Wetterling. I'm Courtney Browen. And I'm Colin Browen. And you're listening to Murder in America. Murder in America. Murder in America. Murder in America. The trees, the creeks, the alleys, and the cul-de-sacs of your neighborhood are all so much more than landmarks around you. They're the boundaries of your adventures. The foundation of your budding imagination. And, in many cases, the milestones you reach as you grow more into yourself and a member of your community every day. All parents yearn for a place where their kids can set out and explore. Where they can create their own group of friends. And make the kind of memories that last a lifetime. St. Joseph. Minnesota offers just that. Located in central Minnesota, about an hour northwest of Minneapolis, St. Joseph offers access to the big city, but just enough distance to offer everyone living there a slice of small-town rural life. With a population of around 7,000 residents, the town proudly declares itself as Minnesota's Best Small Town. And they take that title seriously, hosting a variety of local events to bring residents together in the beautiful outdoors. A small, walkable downtown lined with brick buildings gives way to a town surrounded by woods, lakes, rolling plains, and farmland. St. Joseph is for families who want to embrace a slow, safe pace of life. It has everything they could possibly want. The crime rate is low and the streets are safe, offering kids an opportunity to learn independence biking to their friends' houses, adventuring in the woods, or walking to nearby creeks. When Patty and Jerry Wetterling moved to St. Joseph with their four children, like many other parents, they saw it as the ideal place to raise their kids and watch them grow. Unfortunately, in 1989, they were faced with a horrible reality, one that most of us choose to ignore. No matter how safe a town seems, no matter how much we protect our children, evil will always be out there, and all it takes is one opportunity to change everything. 19 years before the town of St. Joseph changed forever, Patty and Jerry, Wetterling were practically two strangers, sitting on a bus together en route to Mexico. Patty King, as she was known then, had seen Jerry before. And to put it nicely, she hadn't been very impressed. Both of them had been in the same class at Minnesota State University, and they couldn't have been more different. Patty was always at the front of the class, pencil in hand, eager and ready to learn. Jerry, on the other hand, was a bit of a friend, and a free spirit. In "Dear Jacob," a book by Patty Wetterling and Joy Baker, Patty describes how Jerry would saunter into class, late and hungover. He would plop down in the back of the room, seemingly uninterested. But now, a few months later, in December of 1970, she was looking at him a bit differently. The two were a part of a large group of students embarking on a trip to Mexico to teach English to children for a semester. Which meant that for the next several days, they'd all have to get to know each other on the long drive down to Mexico. And that's what first caught Patty's attention about Jerry. There was so much to get to know about him, and every new thing she learned was surprising. He was different from her in every way, and different from any man she had ever dated. When the bus stopped in Kansas overnight, the college students stayed in a hotel. Naturally, their chaperones told them that they were going to have a date, and that they were all to stay in their own rooms. But of course, that's not what happened. Patty and her roommate decided to throw a party. And there, she finally got the chance to ask Jerry all of the questions that had been brewing in her mind. Through their conversation, she learned that they were polar opposites. He thought she was a teacher's pet. She thought he was a slacker. He teased her about being in a sorority. She teased him about being a hippie. In those differences, sparks flew. From the get-go, in that smushed hotel room in the middle of Kansas, they knew they had found something special. They challenged one another, not in a mean way, and not to change one another, but to learn and to understand. By the time they reached Mexico a few days later and were forced to go their separate ways, Patty to Monterey and Jerry to Mexico City, all they could think about was one another. It wasn't until three months apart in Mexico that the two got a chance to see one another again. During a holiday weekend, Patty and her fellow Monterey teachers decided to go to Mexico City, then Acapulco, to hang on the beach. Immediately upon their arrival, Patty met Jerry at a local restaurant. As they laughed and caught up over delicious food, Patty was delighted to see the sparks hadn't faded. They were stronger than ever. She invited Jerry to join her and her group on their journey to Acapulco, and, despite not having having a ride there, he managed to hitch arrived with a local family who were on their way to the market when he arrived patty had a surprise for them as a thank you for all the work he put in to join her she got them tickets to a sunset cruise it was there watching the sunset over the pacific ocean with the sierra madre del sur mountain range behind them that they really cemented their feelings for one another but the journey ahead wouldn't be easy when they returned to life in minnesota they were faced with reality away from the sun-swept coast of mexico the vietnam war was raging jerry had been saved from the draft by attending school but with the couple's senior year coming to an end he was about to run out of time fortunately he managed to file as a conscientious objector now at the time filing as a conscientious objector didn't negate your requirement to serve your country instead of serving in a military branch you were required to get a job that served the country's greater good in some way for jerry that was a lot of work but jerry was lucky enough to find a job to serve him was a job in washington dc at the national jogging association he picked it because patty was already nearby working as a teacher for future merchant marines in piney point maryland there they really began their life together enjoying the beauty of dc and the passion of their budding relationship three years after their conversation in that hotel room in kansas patty and jerry had already lived an incredible life together they had sailed in mexico explored washington dc and spent plenty of time in minnesota where they had met but on may 21st 1973 they decided to embark on their next adventure in ramsey minnesota the two finally became husband and wife three years after that they welcomed their first child a daughter named amy then soon after on february 17 1978 their first son jacob irwin wetterling was born by then jerry and patty had lived in long prairie minnesota when jerry set forth to open his own chiropractor office the young growing family decided to move to saint joseph where they all felt their kids would be safe their businesses would be supported and they could grow into the life that they had always dreamt of now after jacob they had two more kids trevor who was just a year younger and lastly carmen by all accounts the children of jacob irwin wetterling were born the children had a beautiful childhood playing outside riding their bikes freely and exploring the nature surrounding saint joseph around 1989 the population was around 2 500 residents and it was the type of community where everyone knew one another where doors were left unlocked and children could roam around freely without fear no child thought twice about riding their bike to their friend's house or the local park in a lot of ways it was just expected and for jacob life was no different at 11 years old he loved exploring the neighborhood with his best friend aaron larson he was also close to his brother trevor he was just a year younger than him the two often butted heads but they also admired each other in that endearing way that only siblings can their mother stated quote they played and they'd fight and then they'd fall asleep each with one arm wrapped around his neck and they'd fight and then they'd fall asleep each with one arm wrapped around the other end quote jacob was according to everyone who knew him an incredible brother when he and trevor would play offense defense a football inspired game their father invented to play with them jacob always played fair giving trevor advantages because he was so much smaller sundays in particular were the days that they loved playing offense defense the most after playing the game with their dad and other kids from the neighborhood at the center of their streets roundabout the wetterlings would run inside get decked out in their purple and yellow gear and cozy up on the couch for a minnesota vikings game football was one of jacob's biggest passions so much so that if anyone asked him he'd tell them that it was his dream to be a professional football player he had a passion for football but he also had dozens of other passions he loved basketball michael jordan hockey and along with that he loved school jacob was according to his teachers a wonderful student he worked hard got good grades and was great to all of his class mates but the thing he looked forward to the most was of course spending time with his family at home heading home from school on friday october 20th 1989 11 year old jacob was excited to embark on a weekend doing just that it was set to be a long weekend with a day off of school on monday for a teacher work day and he and his family had plenty of fun planned to keep them busy until then sadly though those plans would drastically change on saturday night october 21st patty wetterling drove to a local ice skating rink to pick up jacob who had practice on the way home through the winding farm roads she noticed that jacob was unusually quiet he was a chatty kid usually excited to talk about how practice went but something was different today when she asked what was bothering him jacob exasperated told his mom that he needed to skate faster if he was going to make the new team with his best friend aaron on the previous team jacob had been the goalie meaning he wore goalie skates which are much different from regular hockey skates on the new team all players took turns being goalie which meant he had to learn how to use regular skates as he sat in the back seat he was frustrated and down on himself telling his mom that he needed to practice if he was going to make the team now patty doesn't remember jacob being mean or snappy with her yet about an hour after they got home jacob found her in the living room according to her book he apologized for quote being crabby and he asked his mom if she wanted to play a game with him so he could make up for it patty was touched by how thoughtful and empathetic her little boy was he hated to see people hurting at the time patty gave jacob a hug and told him it was okay she said that as much as she would love to play with him she had some things she had to take care of with four children all taking part in their own after school activities she pretty much had four full-time jobs on her plate so she wouldn't be able to play with him jacob understood but he left the room telling his mom that he quote just wanted to do something to make her happy end quote in her book patty writes that not playing with jacob that night is one of her biggest regrets but she could have never known what was to come no one in saint joseph could have possibly imagined it sunday october 22nd was unseasonably warm for a minnesota fall day it was the kind that anyone in the midwest dreams about temperatures in the low 70s with the sun high in the crystal clear sky and the vibrant leaves billowing in a warm breeze jerry wanted to enjoy one last day of fishing before the cold set in so he and jacob planned to wake up early and take the family boat to their favorite spot big fish lake by the time jerry came in from his early morning run just as the sun had begun to rise jacob was already waiting to go fishing dressed and ready the two set out on the 25-minute drive to the lake eager to see if they could bring home some keepers and though the morning together on the smoothest glass lake was a great one the fish weren't biting and by late morning the sun was beating down on them it felt more like summer than fall so by noon jerry and jacob packed up and returned home to watch the minnesota vikings take on the detroit lions a typical sunday tradition in the wetterling household everyone got decked out in their purple and gold curled up on the couch with snacks and watched the game intently jake had a knack for narrating what was happening much like the game analysts and he was so accurate that sometimes when the actual game analyst spoke they'd repeat almost exactly what he had said by halftime you didn't need to be as knowledgeable as jake to know that it wasn't looking good for the lions the vikings had a good enough lead that no one had any doubt they were going to win and so wanting more practice on his skates jake begged his dad to take him to the ice arena in nearby saint cloud to practice jerry agreed taking him and trevor to the arena for a few hours because of the beautiful weather outside the wetterling boys practically had the whole arena to themselves and jake and trevor enjoyed every minute of it by the time they were done jacob seemed much more confident that they would be able to make it to the top of the arena and that's why he was so confident on his skates at home the blissful evening continued the wetterling kids played outside while inside jerry and patty reflected on their day and dear jacob patty remembers how much they both loved days like this days where the whole family was together where there was nothing on the agenda but watching their favorite team's game and where they as parents got to sit back and admire the wonderful people their children were becoming but there was nothing else the couple had to discuss and that was whether or not they were going out for the night as they had been asked to or if they were going to stay home one of their friends was throwing a housewarming party in clearwater minnesota about 20 minutes away from their home now their eldest child amy was spending the night at a friend's house which meant that jacob would be the oldest kid at home and therefore responsible for his two younger siblings but jacob was an incredibly the responsible kid. So even though it would be his first time his siblings alone, his parents knew that he would be more than capable. When they asked him if he would be willing to babysit, he didn't even hesitate. Though he did have one request. He wanted to have his best friend Aaron come over as well. Patty recalls thinking that it actually sounded like a great idea. Instead of one responsible preteen in charge, there would be two. So that night, Aaron's parents dropped him off at around 7 p.m. and shortly after, Patty ordered pizza for the kids. Now she didn't have the phone number for the house they were going to that night, so she promised them that as soon as she got there, she would call and leave the number with the kids. That way, if they needed anything, they were one phone call away. About 25 minutes later, when they got to the party in Clearwater, she made good on that promise. Jacob answered the phone and told his mom that everything was going fine. She gave him the phone number to call if he needed anything, which he wrote down on a notepad. However, Patty didn't expect that he would need to call. Living in such a small, close-knit town, they never imagined something would happen. It never even crossed their mind that danger could be lurking in St. Joseph. But it didn't take long for the first call to come in. Concerned, Patty took the phone from the host, only to hear Trevor on the other end with a pleading tone. He asked his mom if they could ride to Tom Thumb, their local convenience store, about a mile down the road to rent a movie. Patty, concerned that it was already dark, told Trevor no. In response, he did what every child of the 80s and 90s did, he begged to ask his dad instead. Patty remembers laughing and chiding to Jerry, your son would like to talk with you, before she handed him the phone. Speaking to his dad, Trevor really pleaded his case. He told him that each of them had flashlights, and they were all either wearing white, or had on a high-vis vest, so that they would easily be seen. Jerry had to admit, he was impressed that the boys had thought this far ahead about their safety. Now, the boys had biked this route numerous times before, and he knew that even though his son was young, he was responsible. Finally, Jerry agreed, but told the kids that they had to go straight to the store and straight back, with no detours and no lingering. Excited, Trevor thanked his dad profusely and hung up. Back at the party, Jerry and Patty laughed with the other guests about the call. But just 5 minutes later, everyone looked in their direction when the phone rang yet again. This time, it was Jacob. He told his mom that Carmen, his 8-year-old sister, didn't want to go to Tom Thumb. However, he had called their next-door neighbors, the Jurzaks, to see if their teenage daughter, Rachelle, would be willing to watch Carmen while Trevor, Jacob, and Erin ran to the store. Patty was impressed. They had hardly been at the party for an hour, and she had already talked to her kids 3 times. On top of that, rather than just going or forcing their sister to go with them, Jacob had actually gone out of his way to get a backup babysitter. So, she agreed, telling him to be careful. Back home in St. Joseph, Jacob, Erin, and Trevor were on cloud 9. When you're a little kid, and you get to experience the freedom of doing something by yourself for the very first time, there's nothing quite like it. It's exciting and thrilling. That's what all three of the boys were feeling as they sped down the long, farm-lined road to the convenience store. But little did they know, someone was watching them. As the boys made their way down 91st Avenue, Erin heard a strange noise. It was coming from a field to the left of the road, near a farm owned by the family called the Rastafari. Unfortunately, the area where the noise was coming from was pitch black. There were no street lights. As the boys shined their flashlights in that direction, it only offered a small beam of light into a sea of darkness. The sound was odd, but Erin brushed it off, perhaps believing it was his imagination or an animal wrestling around in the tall grass. So, they continued. At the end of 91st Avenue, the boys made a right at East Baker Street towards Tom Thumb. They stopped and parked their bikes outside the entrance and rushed inside to find the movie they wanted to rent, Major League. But as they looked around, they learned that it had already been rented. It was a bummer, but the boys shrugged it off and quickly agreed on another movie, The Naked Gun. After they grabbed the movie, they strolled the candy aisle, grabbed a few blow pops, and then took their items to the store clerk, where Jacob checked out the video. It was a few minutes after 9pm when they got back on their bikes and pedaled towards the Wetterling residence. The boys joked and laughed as they climbed the hill on 91st Avenue. It was the only part of their journey that took some effort, but once they reached the top, it was smooth sailing the rest of the way home. As they cruised downhill, mere minutes from their home, the lights were changed forever. A dark figure leapt out of the shadows of a driveway, stopping only a few feet in front of the boys and ordering them to stop. Startled, the boys immediately hit their brakes, skidding to a halt in the middle of the road. Out of the darkness, the looming figure yelled out that he had a gun. Trevor quickly pointed the flashlight towards him, offering glimpses of the man behind the voice. He had a start, pulled over his face, black gloves, and a dark puffy winter coat. At first, both Trevor and Aaron thought it might be a prank, but then they saw it. A small silver handgun, glistening in the beam of the flashlight. The man grew angry when Trevor flashed his light in his face, and he ordered him to turn it off. Terror shooting through his veins, Trevor obeyed without hesitation, plunging them all into the darkness, and he was able to get out of the car. Trevor was able to get out of the car, with a click. The man then told the boys to get off their bikes and put them on the side of the road. Terrified and desperate to appease him, the boys decided to offer the man their candy and their movie. Think about that for a minute. These poor, innocent boys, shivering in the dead of night, offering up their blow pops and their movie that they had just got with their own money. In their minds, that's what bad men did. They robbed, people. But they had no idea just how evil this man truly was. They had no idea what he really wanted. In a harsh, raspy voice, he ordered all three of them to lie face down in the grass on the side of the road. Terrified, they obeyed, laying in the cool grass on their stomachs as this man towered over them. Roughly, he asked their ages. All at the same time, the boys blurted out their ages, but the man stopped them. He pointed the gun directly at 10-year-old Trevor and growled, no, you. Trevor responded that he was 10. After him, Aaron said he was 11, followed by Jacob. The man contemplated this, then motioned with his gun, ordering Trevor, the youngest, to get up and run into the woods. He warned him that if he looked back, he would shoot him. Trevor did what any 10-year-old would do in that situation. He ran like his life depended on it. With Trevor gone, the man ordered Aaron and Jacob to roll over so he could get a good look at their faces. It's impossible to imagine how scared the boys were, and sadly, it only got worse from there. The man hovered over the two before he reached down and grabbed Aaron's genitals through his pants. This horrific detail would be a turning point in the investigation, but for quite some time, it was a secret that Aaron harbored, a secret that an 11-year-old child should never, ever have to carry. After the man touched him, he ordered Aaron to run into the woods and not look back. Scrambling to his feet, Aaron did as he was told, running through the pitch-black field into the tree line in the distance. But he couldn't help himself. As he ran, he glanced back over his shoulder, just in time to see the man grab Jacob by the arm and haul him off the ground. Holding onto him, the man forced Jacob to run. Towards the Rossier's gravel driveway, and this would be the last time that anyone saw Jacob Wetterling alive. However, at the time, neither Aaron nor Trevor thought that was possible. As Aaron burst into the woods, he discovered Trevor waiting there, terrified and breathless, beneath the cover of the towering pines. They finally believed that it was safe to turn around and look. They were both hopeful that Jacob would be running, towards them, having been sent towards the woods, just as they had been. But instead, the night was still, and the field was quiet. Jacob, their brother and best friend, was gone. Racing a half-mile through the woods, the boys ran on pure adrenaline, their hearts pounding and breath labored. They didn't dare stop or look back as they darted between trees and stumbled over the fallen autumn leaves. By the time they reached the Wetterling residence, they were both gasping for breath, and so frantic that Rochelle, the temporary babysitter, couldn't understand what they were doing. saying. In between their sobs and gasps, she made out the important part. Jacob was gone. He had been taken. The boys sat down in the living room to catch their breath while Rochelle called her father, Merle Jerzak, and told him to come over as quickly as he could. Within a few minutes, Merle arrived and spoke to the boys. Merle could see the fear on their faces as they recounted what had happened to them on the way home from Tom Thumb. He told the boys that he would take care of things and promised to get their parents home as soon as possible. He slipped into the other room and called the number for the housewarming party. It was a call that would change Patty and Jerry's lives forever. In Clearwater, 25 minutes down the road, the guests were getting ready to sit down for dinner. When the phone rang once more, all eyes swept to Patty and Jerry. It was their children calling again. Many of the people laughed, teasing them that the kids were calling for something. But when Jerry picked up the phone, he knew instantly that something was wrong. When he hung up the phone, he slipped into the dining room and grabbed Patty's arm, quietly but urgently telling her that they had to leave. In a hushed tone, Patty, completely oblivious, asked, what? The kids aren't back? Her husband responded, two of them are. Somebody took Jacob. From there, the two of them started to talk. From there, there were no more questions asked. No more hesitation. Without saying another word, the two rushed out of the party. Patty had never seen such a serious look on Jerry's face before. The sense of absolute urgency and panic that engulfed them as they reached the car was one that would follow them for years to come. The drive home wasn't long, but Patty remembers it feeling like forever. She urged Jerry to speed. To get them home as quickly as possible. But she had no idea that this was just the beginning of the waiting and desperate prayer for answers. Their ride home was 25 minutes. But that feeling she felt during the ride was one that would stay with them for over 25 years. While the Wetterlings raced home to face an uncertain future, Merle called the police to report the kidnapping. At 9.40 p.m., the first police officer, officer Bruce Bechtold, arrived at the Wetterling residence. Officer Bechtold immediately interviewed Trevor and Aaron to find out what had happened. While he got the boys' initial statements, Patty and Jerry started down 91st Avenue, only to be met with a sea of flashing blue and red police lights. At the top of the hill, where the boys had been stopped, the police were hard at work cordoning off the crime scene with yellow tape. Driving by, the Wetterlings could see the bodies of the boys, but they could not see anything short of agonizing. When they arrived at their home just down the road, Patty jumped out of the car and ran inside. Trevor tried to speak to explain what happened, but there was so much adrenaline pulsing through him that it was hard for him to get the words out. His mother and father held him, trying to comfort him. And meanwhile, Aaron stood in the corner of the kitchen, nervously biting his fingernails, his eyes hazy and far away. It was undeniable looking at the boys that they were traumatized. Not only did they have no idea what was going on, but they also had no idea what was going to happen. At the same time, they had a mystery to solve, and both Patty and Jerry knew that time was of the essence if they were going to find Jacob alive. By the time they arrived home, it was past 10pm, meaning that he had been gone for over an hour. Desperate for help, Patty called her good friend, Judy Novak. She told Judy what had happened and begged her to come over to help them search the surrounding woods. She said, But Officer Beck told Overheard and told Patty she would have to stay inside in case Jacob called. As for the search, he told her that the St. Joseph Police Department would handle it. As Patty was about to learn, things were well in motion. All of the St. Joseph Police Department officers were on foot canvassing the woods, as well as volunteers from the St. Joseph Fire Department and the Waite Park K-9 Unit. There were at least 50 people on the ground searching the woods and fields near the crime scene. In addition, the police were also searching the roads and fields near the crime scene. In addition, a helicopter with a searchlight was brought in by the Minneapolis Police Department. At that moment, no one knew that this case would become one of the most infamous child abduction investigations in American history and the largest search effort ever in the state of Minnesota. But it was clear from the get-go that this was the most serious case St. Joseph had ever seen and that there was a clock ticking faster with every second. Jerry and Patty were beside themselves. Apparently, Patty's friend, Judy Novak, had made several phone calls to other mutual friends, and soon people started arriving at the Wetterling residence in droves. Aaron's parents, Vic and Fran Larson, arrived with Aaron's two younger sisters. Jacob's older sister, Amy, came home from her sleepover, and other concerned friends raced over to console Jerry and Patty and help them make sense of things. Because sadly, there was a lot that the police needed from the panicked parents. First, they needed a photo of Jacob. Handing it over felt painful for Patty, for more reasons than one. It was Jacob's fifth grade photo, a shot of him smiling sweetly at the camera, clad in a yellow shirt. But the Jacob in that photo was long gone. In just a year, he had changed so much. His new photo, his sixth grade photo, had been taken, but it hadn't been passed out yet. The family wouldn't receive it until several weeks after he disappeared. And when they did, they would see the Jacob that they had lost. In that sixth grade photo, he was wearing a sweater that he had picked out himself. In Dear Jacob, Patty remembers Jacob grabbing the shirt off a rack when they were back to school shopping. It was dark navy with neon stars on it, an outer space adventure that was peak 80s. Jacob loved the sweater and excitedly begged his mom to get it. Patty recalled being taken aback because she would never thought he would pick that out. For her, it was a sight that her boy was evolving into his own person, developing his own style and sense of self. It was something bittersweet, a milestone of sorts, the kind that only a parent would notice. But for Police, that old picture, the one with the sweater she had picked out, would have to do. Along with the photo, Police also asked for a shirt for the canines to use to track his scent. And surprisingly, they also asked for something that contained Jacob's DNA. Now, in the late 80s, DNA was very much in its infancy. But eventually, it would become a vital part of the investigation. Initially, Patty was reluctant to hand over Jacob's mouth guard from his hockey bag. But she was willing to do absolutely anything if it meant finding her boy. And unfortunately, in those early hours, there wasn't much she could do. She comforted her children and anxiously watched out the window, longing for Jacob to come walking up the driveway like he had done so many times before. But as the hours passed, there was still no sight of him. Sadly, the search for Jacob was called off at around 3 a.m. on the morning of October 23rd. It was too dark to search for clues. Investigators decided it would be best to rest and try again once the sun came up. But for Patty and Jerry, rest was impossible. They both laid in their bed, staring at the ceiling in what can only be described as agony. And dear Jacob, Patty writes, How could I sleep in a warm, cozy bed when Jacob was still out there somewhere? Certainly not sleeping in a warm, cozy bed. I felt guilty eating or showering because I knew he wasn't enjoying those same comforts. Anything normal felt like a betrayal. After his dipping down into the low 40s, she kept thinking over and over about the clothes Jacob had with him. He'd only been wearing a thin jacket that night. The idea that her baby boy was freezing somewhere, anxious and scared, it was maddening. Beside her, Jerry was spiraling with his own fear and guilt. He would later recount to Patty that he felt like Jacob was slipping away with every tick of the clock. He kept thinking, over and over, that his son could be in Canada by now. He could be halfway to Mexico, where his journey to being had begun, but he couldn't. Before he was even thought of, so many years earlier, when his parents bonded over card games and each other's differences. Now, life was so different. That night was the beginning of the Wetterlings' new existence. An existence without answers, without their son. Now, early on in the investigation, Sheriff Graft put out a press release regarding the disappearance of Jacob Wetterling. But afterwards, Vern Iverson, a family friend of the Wetterlings, was contacting as many news outlets as he could to spread the word. He made the calls from Jerry's chiropractic office so that their home phone wouldn't be flooded with calls. And this was the beginning of a media firestorm, with several news outlets running the story daily, including the St. Cloud Times, who often reported Jacob's story as front page news. It wouldn't take long for the story to gain national attention. Inside Edition, A Current Affair, People Magazine, Good Morning America, CNN, and the CBS Evening News all talked about Jacob's disappearance. As news said, the story was a story of a man who was killed by a stations across the country awakened to cover Jacob's disappearance. On October 23rd, searchers gathered to begin looking again in the morning light. By 8am, the search was in full swing, with the nearby Delwyn Ballroom serving as a command center for police and hundreds of volunteers who fanned out, searching a two-mile radius around the crime scene. Volunteers searched on ATVs, bloodhounds were brought in from Minneapolis, helicopters searched overhead, a tip line was created at the Tri-County Crime Stoppers, and thousands of flyers were printed with Jacob's picture front and center. Jacob was abducted while riding his bike with his brother and a friend. He grabbed Jacob and then he told me to run as fast as I could into the woods or else he'd shoot. There's no explanation. I don't feel the anger yet, I just want him home. On day two of their search for Jacob, bloodhounds were able to track his scent up the gravel driveway towards the Rassier residence, roughly 75 yards from the mailbox. Investigators discovered a fresh tire track, a child-sized Nike Shepard. print and an adult-sized shoe print. Detective Steve Mund quickly made plaster casts of the evidence, but by that point, many people in the town already believed they knew who the print belonged to. When someone is kidnapped from the end of your driveway, naturally, people are going to be looking in your direction. But the suspicion and judgment that fell on 34-year-old Dan Rassier was as cruel as it was life-changing. The home at the end of the driveway belonged to his parents, Robert and Rita, who were vacationing in Europe, meaning that at the time, he had been the only person home. Naturally, Dan was one of the first people questioned. He had no problem admitting that he had been home the night of the kidnapping. In fact, Dan told investigators that on the night of October 22nd, around 10.45 p.m., he was awakened by the insistent barking of his dog, Smokey. When he looked out the window, he noticed several flashlights moving around a woodpile near the driveway. When he saw the flashlights moving around a woodpile near the driveway, he knew that the dog was trying to steal the wood. Now, Dan had worked hard chopping that wood up, so he wasn't going to let that go without a fight. Keeping the house dark, he slowly walked towards the movement on his property. But suddenly, he noticed it wasn't just a few flashlight beams cutting through the darkness of his yard. It was dozens. Rather than confront the people in his yard, he dialed 911 to report the theft. It was 11:23 p.m. The 911 dispatcher informed Dan that a child had been abducted in the area, and that the dog had been taken to the hospital. When he arrived at the scene, he saw that the dog had been taken to his yard, and that the flashlights were from police officers searching. When he learned of the seriousness of the issue, Dan walked back outside with his flashlight, spoke with Officer Bechtold, and told him that he would search some of the outbuildings near his residence. However, when he failed to find anything out of the ordinary, Dan assumed there was little more he could do. With an early workday ahead of him, he returned inside and went to sleep. Dan Rassiere was a music teacher in Cold Spring. For some, his involvement with kids was just too much for Dan. Involvement with kids was another red flag that had people looking in his direction. But Dan had been a teacher for over 10 years, essentially for his entire adult life, and there had not been one single disciplinary action taken against him. No student ever reported any inappropriate conduct, and according to reports, he was well-liked by everyone. But that didn't seem to matter to the public. Around 8 a.m. on the morning of October 23rd, investigators pulled Dan out of class. They searched his vehicle and questioned him for roughly 45 minutes. Dan told them that on the afternoon before Jacob's abduction, he had seen an unusual car in his driveway while he organized his car in front of him. He had seen an unusual car in his driveway while he organized his car in front of him. It caught his attention. Dan said that the driver was driving, quote, "like his life depended on it," end quote. Now, for the car itself, Dan described it as a tan 1970s Chevrolet Monte Carlo. But this wasn't the only car Dan saw that day. A few hours later, he went for a jog. And when he returned, he stopped at the mailbox to pick up the Sunday morning news. the mailbox to pick up the Sunday newspaper. By that point, the speeding car he saw earlier was already out of his mind. But after he finished eating dinner, he heard another vehicle coming up the driveway. Curious, he looked out the window and saw a small blue car. In the passenger seat, he thought he saw either a woman or a young boy. But strangely enough, it looked as if the passenger had their hands raised near their face, almost as if they were shielding their eyes. Then, the car turned around and sped off down the driveway towards 91st Avenue, the same direction that first vehicle had gone. Now, after telling investigators this story, Dan was allowed to go back to work, but his life was forever changed. Though police had absolutely no evidence that he was involved, several members of the community had essentially found him guilty in the court of public opinion. Though he answered all of their questions, took a polygraph, and allowed police to search anywhere they wanted, people refused to stop looking his way. Because of this, in 1989, Dan had a pretty bad reputation. But over the next decade, the suspicion on him would only grow worse. By Tuesday, October 24th, investigators were at a hearing of a case where he was charged with drug use. Although Jacob's scent had been traced down the rassier driveway, the presence of tire tracks suggested that it was likely that Jacob had been driven to a different location. The entire community of St. Joseph was on edge. Children were too scared to go outside, and parents believed it would be best to keep a tight leash on them. An 11-year-old classmate of Jacob's, Jason Eickhoff, was interviewed by the St. Cloud Times and said, "The guy who did that probably came from somewhere else. Nobody around here would do something like that." In the end, Jacob was found guilty. However, the case was still in court. In an attempt to quell children's fear and give parents tips on handling their questions, a meeting was held at Jacob's school, St. Cloud North Community School. Over 200 students attended, alongside concerned parents and school administration. Principal Ray Pontinen stated that there would be psychologists and social workers to counsel children as they navigated through their new reality. Jacob Wetterling was missing, and there were no answers. But this didn't offer the comfort many needed. The St. Cloud Times reported, "The voices were pained, passionate, and helpless. Tears were shed. The questions were many, the answers few." One child, a classmate, Wes Carls, told reporters, "I was up half the night worried about it. I couldn't get any sleep." When he was questioned further, he told them, tearfully, that he was laying in bed, wondering whether Jacob was alive or dead. And although hundreds of volunteers continued to search for Jacob, going door-to-door to neighbors' homes and searching on foot, by Sunday, October 29th, there was still no sign of him or his abductor. People were doing all that they could, in spite of the horrible reality they were facing, and that included offering donations to both the family and to aid in the search efforts. The entire community banded together. Businesses donated items and helped fundraisers and events. Professional sports teams, including the Minnesota Twins, North Stars, and Vikings auctioned off tickets and jerseys, and the Minnesota State Outdoor Advertising Association donated several billboard spaces, to display Jacob's picture and information. A few weeks after his disappearance, the Minnesota Vikings dedicated the football to Jacob, and the stands were filled with photographs of Jacob that read, "Please bring Jacob home." For everyone that knew Jacob, it was bittersweet. There's nothing he would have loved more than to be a part of his favorite team's game, but the way he found himself there was heartbreaking. His face was splashed across the stadium, across the entire state of Minnesota, and soon enough, across the entire country. The Conspiracy Files is the most explosive show on the internet. I'm your host, Colin Brown from The Paranormal Files on YouTube, and I'm inviting you to take this twisted journey down the rabbit hole with me. Together, we will dive deep into some of the world's most dangerous and disturbing conspiracy theories, from suspicious suicides to hidden pedophile rings and high-profile cover-ups. On my show, no story is off-limits, and no detail will be spared. And trust me, after listening to just one episode, you will never look at the world. So, if you like conspiracies, mysteries, true crime, and chaos, then this is the show for you. Listen to The Conspiracy Files now on all streaming platforms, or wherever you get your podcasts. With so many people invested in Jacob's disappearance, hundreds of tips started to pour in. In the beginning, everyone was treated as a suspect, including Jerry and Patty Wetterling. Both were taken into the Comfort Inn Hotel in question for several hours, sometimes together, other times alone. Their private life was now fully on display. No question was off-limits. They were questioned about their sex life, extramarital affairs, domestic disputes, and their finances. Jerry submitted a polygraph, and it determined he was not being deceptive. But that didn't stop the public from making a statement. For years, people claimed that Jerry had to be behind Jacob's disappearance, in spite of the fact that he was 25 minutes away when his son disappeared. But despite the public's opinion, both Jerry and Patty were quickly ruled out. Investigators theorized that whoever had Jacob had fled the area, and that he had likely stalked Jacob for a few days before his abduction. Now, at this point, sadly, no one could deny that the only plausible motive for the crime was a sexual one, as much as it pained them to think about. And soon, a few days into the investigation, they got confirmation of that. Like we mentioned, on the night of the abduction, Aaron Larson had been groped by the abductor just before he was told to run. In his shock and shame, it was hard for him to admit. But finally, after being questioned by police a few times, he revealed what had happened. Aaron was an 11-year-old boy scared and traumatized, and he had no idea that that important detail would confirm investigators and Jacob's parents' worst fears. FBI agent Jeff Jamar stated, quote, I'm not an expert on pedophiles, but that's one indication to me that this person is a pedophile. There is no question. The child was abducted for a specific purpose. End quote. Soon enough, several released inmates from the St. Cloud Reformatory were investigated. One of the former inmates had been a convicted sex offender, but after a close inspection of his car, it was determined that the tire tracks did not match those found at the scene. Now, after looking at all of the evidence, Stearns County Deputy Sheriff Jim Castreba believed that Jacob, Trevor, and Aaron were followed from the Tomahawk. He was also seen in the Tom Thumb convenience store. He stated, It's difficult to say that someone just happened to be in that area at the time. It's a fairly remote area, and it's not traveled by everybody. You'd have to say the person followed the three boys from somewhere. Being such a small town, everybody talked, and soon there were several tips that came in regarding a mysterious red car. Apparently, the car was seen leaving 91st Avenue on the night of Jacob's abduction. Not to mention, someone had seen it parked at the Delwyn Ballroom on the afternoon of the night. He was also seen in the car, and he was seen in the car, and he was seen in the car, only a few blocks from the Tom Thumb convenience store. A description of the driver was given to investigators. A Caucasian male, 25 to 30 years old, 185 to 190 pounds. But after a few weeks, and investigating over two dozen red cars in the area, nothing of importance was discovered. Meanwhile, Patty did her best to try to keep her family together as they navigated through their grief. In her book titled Dear Jacob, she admitted that his disappearance took a toll on her children. 13-year-old Amy grew quiet and spent a lot of her free time with her neighbor, Rochelle Jerzak. Eight-year-old Carmen started sucking her thumb and wanted to be close to her parents at all times. As for 10-year-old Trevor, who had been there the night Jacob vanished, he spent his free time playing sports to get his mind off of everything. But at night, he found it hard to sleep. He refused to sleep in his old room, the room he and Jacob had shared, and instead slept with his parents or on a mattress in the living room. Often, both he and Amy would sleep next to each other, one on the couch and one on a mattress on the floor. He never stepped foot in his old bedroom again, something that really speaks to the trauma of what that poor boy experienced. Everyone had to find their own way to cope, and for Patty, that was in writing letters to Jacob. On Monday, October 30th, 1989, Patty wrote this to her missing son. Dear Jacob, Each morning I wake up, I feel drugged, weighed down, troubled. The bad nightmare is still here. My heart hurts as days pass by without you. I wrestle over the details again and again. Who could have done this? Where are you, Jacob? No one has slept much. Psychics started calling almost right away. Your dad talks to them. I can't. Amy, Trevor, and Carmen are surrounding themselves with friends. No one wants to be alone. I'm struggling with trying to find anything else. Everything I can do. Some days, I feel like I can't even get out of bed. But I force myself. That might be all I accomplish in a day. Just getting up. Normal things are impossible. I feel guilty crawling into a cozy bed at night. I think about you not being able to crawl into your own cozy bunk bed downstairs with Trevor. I'm afraid to close my eyes at night. The dark is so dark and ominous. All the scariest thoughts that I manage to forget, manage to overcome during the daylight hours, come back as the sunlight fades. And I feel smothered by this thing that feels like a cold blanket of the darkest dark. I see your face, but as I drift off to sleep, it sometimes gets distorted and I jerk wide awake again. I see your eyes closed and I will open them. I need to see you, hear you, feel your skinny little body snuggled up next to me in your favorite rocking chair. I can smell your sweaty hair. You were so close, but so very far away. I love you, Jacob. And I promise I will never stop searching for you. Love, Mom. - This heartbreaking letter was just one of many. Eventually, some were published in local newspapers, as much a message to Jacob as they were to his abductor. The family was in shambles. And at this point, all they had was one another as they navigated the landmines of calls that flooded their home every day. Some were tips and leads. Some were from wannabe psychics. And others, unfortunately, were cruel pranks. Some people called to tell the family that Jacob, their 11-year-old boy, had been raped and killed. Others called demanding that Patty give her life to Jesus in order to get her son back. For Patty, who was already religious and cared deeply about God, she was wounded by these calls. In a letter to Jacob, she wrote this. - I didn't know how to respond. I was praying. I am a Christian. I couldn't take the yelling and the blame she was placing on me. I know it wasn't God or Jesus who took you away from us, Jacob. It was some really bad guy wearing a mask and holding a gun. Trevor and Erin saw him, and now they have to live with the nightmare. - In between answering the phones, helping investigators, and keeping her family afloat, Patty gave interviews begging for answers and raising awareness. - This shouldn't happen. It shouldn't happen anywhere. It's the type of, it shouldn't happen anywhere. All I could think of is who would take a child away from their parents? I couldn't. - Can you think of any reason anyone would want to harm your family or your son? - No. Nothing. - But Patty had no idea that the biggest lead to finding her son had already been essentially missed by the local police. Because just 48 hours after Jacob was abducted, an unnamed high school sophomore from nearby Painesville, Minnesota, hesitantly came forward to police. Nervously, with his father by his side for support, the boy told investigators that over the past two years, there had been a string of sexual assaults in his own town. It had become so terrifyingly common that all the boys around his age knew of it. And they all knew that they had to be careful. The witness told police that he had personally seen at least two of the assaults, where boys were snagged off their bikes by a heavyset man. And they were then threatened with a knife to comply with his demands. Now these attacks happened all over Painesville. It was so frequent and so widespread. The boy was confident that those attacks had a connection to Jacob Wetterling. And yet, even with this information, it would take investigators three months before they even remotely pursued the lead. This was in spite of having not one, but two victims who pointed out the similarities between the Painesville cases and Jacob's abduction. - Aside from the high school sophomore, they also had the word of a 12-year-old boy named Jared Shirell, who hadn't been attacked in Painesville, but nearby in Cold Springs. On January 13th, 1989, Jared was walking home from a cafe after getting himself a malted milkshake. It was a little after 9:00 PM. The air was brisk and cold, and he was eager to hurry home to his warm bed after a long day of hockey practice. But when a car pulled up next to him and the seemingly lost driver asked for directions, he felt obligated to help the man behind the wheel get where he was going. As Jared politely told the driver where he needed to go, the man leapt out of the car and forced young Jared into the back seat. Jared's panicked breath were clouds of white in the frigid January air as he called out for help, but it was too late. The back door of the car clicked behind him and the driver ordered him to lay down in the back seat where he would shoot him. Jared obeyed, laying in the back seat and staring up at the starry sky as the car went from the drone of smooth roads to crashing down a gravel farm road. Imagine the terror the poor boy felt as he was driven further and further into the unknown with a man who wanted nothing more than to harm him. - Now, what happened to Jared is horrific. So listener discretion is advised. But we feel it's important to know what these innocent kids are subjected to in order to understand the true depravity of the people committing these crimes against them. But that night, when they reached the end of the desolate farm road, the driver ordered Jared to pull his pants down in the back seat. He attempted to sexually assault Jared by performing forcible oral sex on him. But when that didn't go as planned, the man then forced Jared to perform oral sex on him instead. He told the young, terrified boy that if he threw up, he would shoot him. Finally, when he was finished, he ordered Jared to take off his pants and underwear and give them to him so he could keep them. Jared did as he was told, and then he was ordered to get out of the car. Before leaving, the driver threatened to kill him if he ever went to the police. And then, just before he drove off, he ordered Jared to roll naked in the freezing snow and then walk home. Jared was miles and miles away from his house, pantsless, cold, and traumatized. It was a mere 20 degrees outside as he made the long, terrifying walk home, unsure if the man who assaulted him was watching, unsure if he was planning on finishing the job. Jared was more brave. He was more brave than any child should have to be. And finally, after he arrived home, he broke down in tears and told his parents what happened. They immediately went to the local police station, where Jared gave them every detail he could think of. He described the car the man drove as a late model, mid-sized, four-door, dark blue car with a luggage rack on the trunk and a dark blue interior. As for the man himself, Jared stated he was a Caucasian male, around 5'8", 170 pounds, mid-30s to early 40s, dark hair, rough skin, large nose, large ears, broad shoulders, protruding stomach, and a raspy voice. He described his clothing as military-style with camouflage fatigues, black boots, and a gray vest. Further information indicated that the man had a portable police radio wrapped in duct tape in the front seat. Within a few days of Jared's sexual assault, Detective Lou Leland, Detective Doug Pierce, and Stearns County Sheriff's Deputy Robert Ziegelmeier received information. In life, there are things that are too good to be true. Time shares, those pop-ups that say you want a free iPhone, the Nigerian prince that wants to give you money. But you know what's not too good to be true? 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He dropped out of high school during his junior year and spent time at the Wilmar Regional Treatment Center, a hospital that specializes in treating people with diabetes. He was hospitalized in mental health and addiction problems. As he got older, he had several run-ins with law enforcement. On March 30th, 1984, Danny was arrested for breaking and entering at a local store called Twice as Nice after police discovered him hiding inside a pile of boxes. He admitted that he had also burglarized another location earlier that same evening and blamed it on his parents' divorce and a gambling habit. Ultimately, Danny pleaded guilty to two counts of third-degree burglary and was sentenced to 30 days in prison. Danny was sentenced to 30 days in jail with five years of probation. Soon after he was released, he was up to no good again. On August 30th, 1986, Danny was arrested for a DWI. During his arrest, he was combative with police officers, allegedly yelling at them, yeah, I'll take your fucking breath test, but then refusing to. Back at the station, Danny finally complied, blowing a.17, twice the legal limit in the state of Minnesota. He was arrested and charged with DWI and assault. He was later sentenced to 90 days in jail and ordered to attend Alcoholics Anonymous. Danny's record was riddled with DWIs, robberies, and combative behavior. And police couldn't help but wonder, had he been committing even more heinous crimes right under everyone's noses? A few days after Jared's assault, nine months before Jacob's abduction, Detective Pierce and Leland drove to Danny's place of employment, Mastermark Industries. But they didn't want to question Danny, at least not yet. However, they did want to get a good look at his 1987 Mercury Topaz. The car wasn't an exact match for the one that Jared had described being inside during the assault. In fact, Jared described the interior of the vehicle as navy, but the interior of Danny's vehicle was gray. In addition, Jared claimed that there was a luggage rack on the vehicle and there was not one, but there was a luggage rack on Danny's. And because of these minor discrepancies, police decided to not pursue Danny for the assault of Jared. Now, looking past him for that assault was one mistake, but the next was looking past him for the disappearance of Jacob Wetterling, not once, but several times. Now, as we mentioned earlier, after Jacob's abduction, both Jared and another unnamed victim came forward, suggesting that they were the ones that the cases were connected. And as we stated, it took law enforcement three months to even look at those cases and their suspect, Danny Henrich, in relation to Jacob's disappearance. But when they finally did speak to Danny in January of 1990, they decided to look at the tires of his blue Ford to see if they matched the tires that were left at the scene of Jacob's abduction. And on January 12th, it was confirmed that the tires on his blue Ford were the same tires that were left at the scene of Jacob's abduction. But the tires on Henrich's car were consistent with the tires left by Jacob's abductor. Out of the hundreds of suspects that police looked at for Jacob's abduction, only two cars were ever consistent with the abductor's tire tracks, Danny Henrich's and another vehicle that was not operating at the time of his kidnapping. So all this to say, this should have meant something. It should have had police laser focused on Danny Henrich. And yet, that's not what happened. A supplementary offense report filed by the Stearns County Sheriff Department on January 12th, 1990, disclosed that the tires were consistent with the imprints found at the scene, as were the shoes that Danny Henrich was wearing with the footprints left behind. And that wasn't all the evidence. Police subjected Danny to a polygraph test, but she failed miserably. And when asked why he possibly failed, he blamed it on being nervous. Police ended the report by stating that they were going to put Danny Henrich under surveillance pending further investigation. But that didn't last. The night of January 12th, 1990, 12th, shortly after he was released from questioning, an officer with the Stearns County Sheriff's Department wrote in a supplementary report, Subject Heinrich left the apartment and entered his vehicle, proceeded south on Highway 124, and then doubled back, proceeded east on Highway 23, and turned into the Painesville Industrial Park, doubled back from that location. Subject proceeded east on Highway 55 and south on Highway 3 to Route 20. Subject then doubled back and proceeded west on Highway 55. Subject turned right onto 160th Street, picked up surveillance. Subject turned his lights out and was lost. And, yeah, you heard that right. As police tailed Danny Heinrich, he tried to lose them by doubling back three separate times before he finally shut off his lights going down the road in the dead of night in order to evade the police. Now, if you ask me, that's about the most suspicious thing you can possibly do, especially when your shoes, physical description, and tire marks match those of the person. Kidnapped an 11-year-old boy. But, apparently, the police didn't think so. Their surveillance continued for just one more day before police abandoned it entirely. However, they did still have their sights set on Heinrich. Rather than follow them, though, they were given the go-ahead to conduct a search warrant on his father's home, where he lived. According to Danny's younger brother, Tommy, Danny had been living in the basement for several months. Inside his bedroom, investigators located two police scanners. Military scouts and investigators located two police scanners. They were wearing black lace-up boots, brown caps, camouflage clothing, and a brown vest. Investigators also found photographs of young boys in a locked trunk. Two photos showed young boys in various states of undress, including getting out of the shower, and multiple others showed boys fully clothed. Of course, investigators intended to take the photos. However, Danny objected. He stated that the police shouldn't take the photos just because they didn't look right. He said that the police shouldn't take the photos just because they didn't look right. Shockingly, the police didn't confiscate the photographs, not even the ones where the young boys were clearly nude, leaving them in Danny Heinrich's possession. Danny would later claim that he burned the photographs because they looked bad and were no kind of pictures to have anyway. Shortly after this, in late January, the sheriff's department had Danny stand in a suspect lineup. Authorities stated in a press conference in 2018 that Jared Trevor Aaron, and the victims from the Painesville assaults, should have been present during the lineup. However, the only victim there was Jared. In addition, authorities stated that all of the suspects in the lineup should have spoken, since all of the victims described his voice as deep and distinctive. But that didn't happen either. Ultimately, no one in the lineup was identified as Jared's abductor, but he did tell the police that he wasn't certain, because he hadn't got a good look at his kidnapper. But little did he know, his abductor was standing right before him. And just a few days after being in the lineup, he would be arrested by the FBI for first-degree criminal sexual assault. Of course, during his interrogation, Danny denied any involvement in both Jacob's abduction and Jared's assault. You know, the parents just desperately need to know what happened to their boy. Absolutely, I don't blame them. There's nothing I can tell them. And do you have any information about the abduction of Jacob? I have no information whatsoever. That's the truth. Ultimately, the FBI did not charge him, and they let him go. Apparently, county attorney Pat Strom was furious that the FBI arrested and charged Danny prematurely without first consulting with him or the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, known as the BCA. There were so many different agencies working the case, Stearns County Sheriff's Office, the Minnesota BCA, the FBI, the Painesville Police Department, and the St. Joseph Police Department. And that communication between all of them was inconsistent. And ultimately, it hurt the case. And not just the case, but dozens of children and families. Because immediately after Danny Heinrich was released, his name was forgotten for 20 years. That's right, for the next two decades, in spite of all the evidence piling up against him, Danny's potential involvement, and the case was all but erased. Even though time and time again, more people came forward to present him as a suspect, including other local sex offenders. But one name that kept popping up in their investigation was that of convicted child sex offender, 42-year-old Dwayne Dewey Allen Hart. When he was questioned regarding Jacob Wetterling while in prison on sexual assault charges, he denied involvement entirely and gave police one of the most disturbing alibis of all time. He said that at the time of Jacob's arrest, he had been raping a different victim in Mud Lake, Minnesota, nearly five hours away. When the FBI interviewed the preteen boy, they learned that, yeah, Dwayne Hart had indeed been raping him. It's shocking and disturbing, but that was the odd thing about Dwayne. He didn't care. In every interview with police, he was extremely forthcoming with information, how he lured young boys in, and the graphic details of what he liked to do to them. When police continued to investigate, and continued to hound him about any knowledge he had of Jacob Wetterling's disappearance, Dwayne offered them an alternate suspect, his good friend, Danny Heinrich. In fact, according to Dwayne, the composite sketch of Jared and Jacob's abductor resembled Danny so much that it was undeniable. In addition, he gave police more information about Danny. While Dwayne tended to groom his victims, he said that Danny preferred to surprise attack them. According to Dwayne, Danny was more impulsive and aggressive. He also said that Danny took trophies from his victims, something he could look back on to remember his sick crimes. Dwayne admitted that he saw evidence in Danny's bedroom that implicated him in several crimes around Painesville, a small dark blue pistol and a black ninja-type suit. As for the Jacob Wetterling abduction, Dwayne stated that around the time of Jacob's abduction, Danny asked him how to get rid of a body. Now, in October of 1991, Dwayne agreed to a second interview. This time, he offered more specific information and told investigators that he believed the person responsible for the Painesville and Cold Spring assaults drove a blue car and carried a police radio to monitor police activity. If anything, there was definitely a pattern emerging of someone who planned his attacks carefully and knew how to avoid getting caught. But despite all of this information, nothing was done and Danny remained a free man. There was a predator hiding in plain sight despite having been caught by a police officer. Dwayne was not the only one who was caught by a police officer. Despite how many people kept trying to force police to look his way. For the Wetterling family, the dwindling leads offered nothing but heartbreak. In all those years, neither Jerry nor Patty even heard of the name Danny Heinrich. As time went on, police distanced the Wetterling family more and more from the investigation and to their son's disappearance. And with a lack of answers and lack of opportunities to help find her son, Patty felt helpless. But she knew she had to do something. She knew she had to do something. More than anything, she wanted to protect other families from experiencing what she had, no matter what it took. So over the years, she became a leading voice in the fight to develop a National Sex Offender Registry. She believed that if parents were aware of who was living around their children, they could take steps to protect them. On January 26th, 1991, the U.S. Senate approved an amendment to the National Sex Offender Registry that required states to establish a sex offender registry. This would make it to where all sex offenders had to register their home address for 10 years after being released from prison. And in Jacob's honor, they named it the Jacob Wetterling Act. But it would be a few more years before the bill was officially passed. As the five-year anniversary of Jacob's disappearance approached, a significant milestone was reached. On September 13th, 1991, the Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent Offender Registration Act was officially passed and signed into law by President Bill Clinton. Going forward, all states were required to implement a sex offender registry. So this was a huge step forward towards a national tracking system for sex offenders. But unfortunately, the registry was not made public and only law enforcement officials were able to use it. But it was a step in the right direction. After being released from prison, all inmates involved in a sexually motivated crime had to provide their home addresses to law enforcement. And Patty didn't stop there. In 1995, she was back in Washington, D.C. with well-known crime victims advocate John Walsh. Both Patty and John urged that the federal government be more involved in child abduction cases by allowing the FBI to immediately get involved with local police departments. Thankfully, on May 17th, 1996, President Bill Clinton signed an addendum to the Jacob Wetterling Act named Megan's Law. In 1994, seven-year-old Megan Conka was raped and murdered by her neighbor in New Jersey. Once again, the man responsible was a convicted sex offender. With the addition of Megan's Law, the sex offender registry would now be made public. This included a photograph of the offender, their address, the nature of their crime, and their risk level. It was a step in the right direction, right direction and something that would now allow parents and schools to be aware when a sex offender moved into the area. After the bill was signed, John Walsh stated, this is letting parents know that the fox is in the hen house. Believe me, I've hunted these people for nine years now. They're predators. They prey upon children. That's their business. We deserve to know these people are in our neighborhoods. Although Patty was making positive changes to help children, her son Jacob had still not been found. And the void that left couldn't be filled. Soon after Megan's law was signed by President Clinton, Patty was doing the unthinkable. Standing in front of a graduating class at Apollo High School, the class that Jacob should have been graduating from, Jacob never had the opportunity to get his driver's license, to try out for his high school team, to go on his first date. He hadn't gotten the chance to grow and learn with the 370 classes he had. But he had the chance to grow and learn with the 370 classmates that graduated that day. But in his honor, every student wore a white ribbon pinned to their gown, a symbol of quote, Jacob's hope. And in spite of the passing years, his hope remained. It's flames fanned by his parents, who refused to let the case go cold. They fought tirelessly to keep his story alive. But there were still so many unanswered questions. What happened? Where was he? Who was responsible? On the ninth anniversary of Jacob's abduction, October 22nd, 1998, Patty wrote a letter to Jacob's abductor. It was published in the local newspapers across Minnesota. It read, quote, To the man who took Jacob, I often wonder, does October 22nd mean anything to you? Do you remember the young boy you took from us? Do you still have him with you? He's an adult now, but just as loved and still dearly missed. Do you know the person you took? You took away a wonderful person. Someone who probably would have stood up for you if things weren't fair. Did no one do nice things for you? I have found some comfort picturing you, not as a mean old ugly bad guy. But at one time, you were an 11-year-old boy. Someone's son. Possibly someone's brother. Someone's brother. Someone's brother. Someone's daughter. Someone's brother. Someone's brother. Someone's brother. Someone's brother. Someone's brother. Needing and hopefully sharing the love an 11-year-old boy deserves. If this love wasn't shared in your family, I'm sorry. Every child is entitled to the love and caring that family and friends provide. You have held the answers for so long. You also hold the pain. Please talk to me. With hope, Patty Wetterling, Jacob's mom. But there was no answer. And yet, life continued. Amy, Trevor, and Carmen all graduated from high school, moving on to college, and chasing their own dreams. The only thing that remained of Jacob was cherished memories. Now, over the years, thousands of tips continued to pour in, and most were followed up on, including the most heartbreaking ones. Hello, Jacob Wetterling Foundation. They still come. Tips, leads, a couple of times a day, 933 days, and 40,000 leads after the abduction. How do you know that? They are most often now vague and unpromising, and sometimes entirely useless. And most rare is the call with a note of realism, a call that makes investigators drop everything else. The last call like that came on March 15th of this year. It's the very call we wait for every day. The immediacy and the reality of that phone call was something that you just, you just can't deny. It came from Utah. Okay, where are you at? A town so small, more kids bike than bus to school. Telephone security traced the call to this phone booth. And we said, it sounds like it could be Jacob, and none of us in our family could say that it wasn't him. Okay, how do you feel? He's all right, all right? A sheriff's detective from Box Elder County, Utah, picked up the search after a call from Wetterling investigators. They seemed very encouraged they'd received a call, and they felt like there may be some substance to it. I'm going to pick from that. And in a small community, the chances are fairly good if they weren't just traveling through. So there's, I was optimistic. Can you bring him to the law enforcement, people? I don't know, man. I'll get back to him. Can I put you through to his parents? No, I gotta go. Bye. Back in Utah, Detective Johnson traveled all over the county and played a tape of the call to more than a dozen people. Finally, 15 days after the call, a woman said she recognized a voice. It was not the voice of Jacob or the kidnapper. It was her 13-year-old son and a friend, and it was a prank. We were just staring at the heck of it. What do you think about that now? It was stupid. What were you thinking? Just have fun. You thought that'd be fun? What do you think about it now? It's not fun no more. You messed up their lives. Probably brought their hopes up. Wanted to say I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. In 2003, investigators once again turned to the person physically closest to the crime, Dan Rassier, who was home alone on the property where Jacob was abducted. On February 7th, 2004, investigators brought Dan in for an interview. This time, they accused him of being the person who abducted Jacob. They believed that he had been outside when the boys drove past his residence, and he was the person who made the strange noise that Aaron Larson heard on the way to Tom Thumb. Sheriff Sanner was open with the media about the fact that Dan was being questioned in connection with the case. He told the local newspaper, "It's a real possibility that our suspect lives within the general vicinity of the abduction. We're rethinking the entire scenario. The abduction could have occurred with the perpetrator on foot." With statements clearly pointing towards Dan, many in the community turned against him. Parents began to call in to the school he worked at, saying that they were uncomfortable with him teaching their children. For Dan, who loved nothing more than sharing music with others, this was devastating. He couldn't be fired from his job, but to quell concerns, the school required him to have another adult present at all times in his classroom. By then, he had been teaching for well over two decades. The loss of trust he suffered was absolutely crushing. And it wasn't just Dan that was affected. His parents, Robert and Rita, were questioned as well. And the 140-acre Rassier farm and family computer were searched. Nothing significant was discovered. But investigators continued to believe that Dan was somehow involved in Jacob's disappearance, and even went as far as to suggest that his original 911 call about the flashlights near the woodpile had been employed to throw him off as a suspect. As the years progressed, Dan remained their number one suspect. On June 30, 2010, investigators returned to the Rassier residence. At this time, they had brought back hoes and dump trucks, which only added fuel to the fire. It could mean a break in the case of a boy missing for more than two decades. Right now, Stearns County Sheriff's deputies are standing guard as trucks haul away belongings and dirt from a St. Joseph farm that's just a half mile from where Jacob Wetterling was abducted 21 years ago. Chris Keating is live there with more on the investigation. Good morning, Chris. Good morning, Rebecca. And at this hour, this is as close as we can get to where Jacob Wetterling is. I'm standing in front of a cornfield on the edge of the Rassier family farm. Just to the right of me, take a look, you'll see a sheriff's officer there. He's with Stearns County guarding over the entrance to this farm. And then just behind him, down that long dirt road, well, the end of that road is the farm, and that's where this investigation is going on. The scene outside the farm in St. Joseph was quiet until about 9:30 this morning. That's when a dump truck full of dirt left the property. It returned 20 minutes later. We're going to take a look at that. 20 minutes later, empty. Well, what exactly is going on is not clear. The BCA won't even confirm their investigators are in St. Joseph. But we did see them coming yesterday with the FBI. Neighbors have been watching too. It's kind of scary, very scary, seeing that you guys are out here and seeing that you guys are seeing the dump trucks doing some digging and everything, and that just doesn't seem good. It gives me a sick feeling, really a sick feeling. And why wasn't it found 21 years years ago why did it take this long if this was it it was on the edge of this driveway where jacob wetterling was last seen he was with friends and abducted at gunpoint it was 1989 his mother patty wetterling says she didn't know this investigation until authorities actually got here and the wetterling resource center sent out this message today saying we have not received any contact from law enforcement meanwhile neighbors remain hopeful answers will be found would be nice to find out what happened you know and then so we could all maybe be more comforted and actually patty wetterling just drove by us we are hearing that she's going to be speaking at this scene later on today as soon as she does we'll let you know what she says reporting live chris keating five eyewitness news we all recognize the photos and remember the fear and frustration as investigators tracked thousands of leads and false sightings patty and jerry wetterling were eliminated from the suspect list right away but that list was long investigators questioned hundreds of people one big break came in february 2004 that's when investigators decided the suspect was most likely on foot and not driving a car so they re-interviewed everyone within walking distance of where jacob was grabbed the wetterling suffered with their own questions but they still remain hopeful that they will find some answers just four months after jacob's disappearance patty and jerry wetterling became activists for children starting the jacob wetterling foundation in 1994 they helped get the jacob wetterling act passed starting a state sex offender registry jacob's brother trevor who was with him that october day still hopes jacob is out there until there's something else that's going to change my mind i mean i'm going to still believe that he's out there somewhere the wetterlings still live in the same home in saint joseph they still have their same phone number just in case jacob calls news reports like this turned dan's life into a living hell since the very first day of the investigation he had been nothing but cooperative he allowed them to search his property he did dozens of interviews and he even took polygraphs which he passed dan told a news leader reporter quote for over 20 years we have experienced our own never-ending nightmare we realize it's nothing like what the wetterlings have gone through i am an innocent witness to what happened but i definitely saw something all the investigators know the information i told them i had absolutely nothing to do with anything with jacob i didn't do it i had nothing to do with jacob to do with it end quote yet dan was the only person the police ever publicly named as a person of interest despite there being absolutely no evidence pointing to him as you've likely guessed the police were barking up the wrong tree but elsewhere there were three people looking in the right direction and they weren't law enforcement detectives or professionals they were just three perfect strangers who wanted nothing more than to be seen as a victim of a crime they were nothing more than justice for jacob and peace for their community joy baker had always loved to write when she began blogging she never imagined that it would help solve the disappearance of a young boy she lived in minnesota so like everyone else she had thought about jacob wetterling for the past 20 years of her life with young sons of her own she herself felt drawn to the case and so in 2010 she began to look into his disappearance her blog soon attracted the attention of jared now a grown man who was still desperate to find his attacker and bring him to justice joy was one of the first people he had ever seen publicly discuss a possible link between the attacks in paynesville as well as the attack on jared and jacob's abduction joy had scoured through endless police reports and newspaper articles to find all the victims and her commitment to finding the truth established a foundation of trust between her and jared her and patty on the fact that they could connect i was speaking at a gala um for a women's shelter right and um this very tall woman came and introduced herself and said she'd been blogging about jacob and i really had never read a blog i mean this is going back always and she handed me her card and i went home handed it to my husband and he read it and the next morning was reading it aloud to me and it was incredibly well written details accurate and i thought who is somebody's telling my story who can and i didn't trust anybody we'd been burned by people who were wannabe cops and and i didn't want somebody interfering with the case so um i was very much afraid of of joy and you know what what was her what where was she going with this so we had about a two-hour phone call that day and um i was the skeptic and she continued do you want to yeah so i i just i was i thought i was a mom helping another mom that really was my intention that i just wanted so badly to become a writer and to find my purpose in life i knew writing was my thing and i just wanted to figure out how to use those skills for greater good and so when i picked jacob's case to write about i honestly thought you know there's a chance here that this could make a difference if enough people could start thinking jacob with me that we could make a difference collectively and so after that conversation you know i think it was we talked for two hours but we were polite and patty was polite and and i think that was encouraging to me so i just kept going by then i had already been putting witnesses and persons of interest together at you know they were having conversations and i was talking to all these people and i think she was getting more and more nervous but it wasn't until i um i met with a young child survivor really of an abduction that had taken place 10 miles away from saint joseph and nine months prior to jacob's abduction his name was jared he had been a 12 year old boy at the time was now you know in his 30s and he agreed to meet with me i found him and he agreed to meet with me and he wanted um to reach out to patty and to talk to her son and and aaron the other boy that was with jacob when he was abducted and so i said sure i'd give that a whirl and uh how'd that go so joy called and i was so super protective of of our kids and i didn't see any benefit to having trevor who was with his brother you know and aaron who lost his best friend talked to jared i knew jared but i just didn't see the wisdom of all of that and i and i was just like i confronted her it's like you're talking to neighbors persons of interest suspects witnesses it's like it feels rather i called her a stalker she did i did well what if i did that to you i interviewed your neighbors your co-workers you know it just felt scary to me i didn't know her well enough but um yeah so i've almost scared her away which would have been disastrous it would have been disastrous indeed however joy doesn't blame patty and really how could she after all patty had been through she just wanted peace for herself and the other victims of this sick man's crimes at the time it was hard for her to see that joy was on the same side as her but as she looked more and more into the blog it became clear that joy was an asset in patty's words i finally accepted that joy was doing more investigating than anything else any local police or sheriffs that investigation centered around the so-called paynesville attacks spanning from 1986 to 1988 the year before jacob went missing when joy and patty spoke with jared about these paynesville attacks he was shocked he had never heard of them despite having moved to paynesville after he himself was attacked in nearby cold springs wanting answers jared began to ask people around town now these were former classmates of his pete people who had only ever talked to police about the assault that they had faced when they were younger and sadly nothing had been done for them they weren't willing to talk to police but they were more than willing to talk to jared and joy they felt comfortable with them understood and as the months went on more and more people came forward until eventually patty jared and joy were in contact with 13 victims from paynesville all of whom had seemingly been sexually assaulted by the same man soon the news of this discovery spread like wildfire local news stations gained a renewed interest in jacob's disappearance and for patty jared and joy that was everything the more people that were talking about the case the more sway they had with local law enforcement in 2014 patty approached the stearns county sheriff's department she urged them to bring a team back in to begin a new investigation into jacob's disappearance and armed with all the new interest and research that joy had done the sheriff's department agreed they reached out to the fbi who brought their child abduction response team in to look into the connection between jared's abduction the paynesville assaults and jacob's disappearance it had been 25 years and by now advancements in technology were able to open doors they believed would remain shut forever back in 1989 after jared's assault dna had been discovered on his clothing but in 1989 there wasn't anything the police could do with it However, now, things were different. Police ended up comparing the DNA on Jared's clothing to the DNA found on a hat at one of the Painesville attacks. And from there, they determined that it was a match. This was the first conclusive link between Jared's case and all of the other attacks in Painesville. Now, if you recall, the main suspect in Jared's abduction and sexual assault was Danny Heinrich. And when police looked at where Danny was living during the span of the Painesville attacks, it seemed like they had their man. Danny lived in the center of Painesville, mere steps away from where the majority of the victims had been attacked. There was a very noticeable ring of attacks directly around his own apartment. And fortunately, police had just the way to prove that he had been the one behind them. Because back in 1990, Danny Heinrich was the only person in the city who had been in the city of Painesville. Danny willingly gave police a hair sample. And now, over two decades later, police ran that hair sample against the DNA of the Painesville attacker and the person who sexually assaulted Jared. And on July 12th, 2015, the results came back. Investigators looked at the results in awe. It read, quote, the predominant male DNA matches Danny James Heinrich, end quote. The DNA analysis revealed an 80.5% match to Danny. So it appeared that without a shadow of a doubt, he was the man who had been terrorizing their community with no remorse. But was he also the man who kidnapped Jacob? And if he was, where was Jacob now? Desperate for answers, detectives served a search warrant on 52-year-old Danny's home in Annandale, Minnesota. They hoped that this time, they would be able to find him. They also hoped to find a link between Danny and Jacob's abduction. Now, unfortunately, due to the statute of limitations expiring on Jared's case, there could be no charges there. But since Jacob's case was still open, they hoped that whatever they found would be able to connect Danny to his disappearance. On July 28th, 2015, investigators stormed inside Danny's residence at 55 Myrtle Avenue South. And inside, Danny was found dead. They found the confirmation of just what kind of monster they were dealing with. Because sitting on a shelf, they discovered 19 binders with child sexual abuse material, two police scanners, military-style clothing, boxes of boys' clothing, silver handcuffs, Nazi memorabilia, knives, and duct tape. There were also VHS tapes that Danny had filmed showing footage of young boys playing on a playground. There were also VHS tapes that Danny had filmed showing children walking around, riding their bikes, playing sports, and simply walking around. Repeatedly in the footage, Danny zoomed in on the boys' genitals. During one video, Danny was shown throwing money on the ground. And as a young boy bent over to pick it up, Danny zoomed in on his buttocks. In addition, Danny had taken regular photos of young boys, and he superimposed them onto naked bodies he found on the internet. Several searches included, quote, kids' Christmas photos, 1978, 2013 7th grade wrestling photos, and boys in tough skin jeans photos. Now, when confronted with this evidence, Danny did not deny that he had child sexual assault material. And he even described himself as a, quote, dirty old man. And although detectives couldn't arrest him for the assaults against Jared or any of his other victims, they could arrest him for the assaults against Danny. Danny was also charged with child pornography. And in this case, he was charged with five counts. But sadly, during their search, there was no evidence that linked him to the abduction of Jacob Wetterling. So they couldn't charge him, at least not yet. Through 26 long years, there are significant developments in the disappearance of Jacob Wetterling. The FBI have arrested a man who they are describing as a person of interest. Federal agents arrested 52-year-old Danny. Danny Heinrich at his home in Annandale late Wednesday for having child pornography. Yesterday, the FBI announced he was now a person of interest in Jacob's 1989 kidnapping. So he offered Danny a deal he couldn't refuse. If Danny told them where Jacob's body was located, they would drop all but one count of the child pornography charges, and he would be granted immunity for the murder of Jacob Wetterling. If he was convicted of one count of child pornography, he would face a maximum of 20 years in prison. And though that may not seem like enough time, both Jerry and Patty Wetterling agreed that it was worth it, as long as they got information about what happened to their little boy all those years ago. And so, on September 6th, 2016, Danny signed the plea deal. Moments afterwards, he confessed to the abduction and murder of 11-year-old Jacob Wetterling. After 26 agonizing years, the truth had finally come to light. There are no words to describe how bittersweet it was for everyone. And sadly, there are no words to describe how horrific Danny's confession truly was. Danny admitted that on the evening of October 6th, 2016, he had confessed to the murder of Jacob Wetterling. On October 22nd, 1989, he left his Painesville apartment and drove towards St. Joseph. That night, he didn't dare to stay in Painesville because his previous attacks had been gaining traction in the local press. So he decided to get out of town and hunt for victims elsewhere. He drove his blue 1982 Ford into town. On the passenger seat, he had his items ready. A mask, gun. Flashlight. And handcuffs. As he drove on 91st Avenue, he suddenly spotted three young boys riding their bikes. Aaron, Trevor, and Jacob. Danny figured that the boys would have to eventually turn around and come back. So he pulled into the Rossier driveway, drove all the way down, and then turned around. He parked his car roughly 75 yards from the entrance, shut off his headlights, and then waited in the tall grass. He stayed there for 20 minutes. 20 minutes where he could have changed his mind. 20 minutes where he could have gotten back in his car and spared these young boys trauma that no one should ever have to experience. But instead, in the biting cold, he waited like a monster, hunting prey. When he saw a flashlight grow brighter in the distance, he suited up, pulling a stocking cap over his face and gloves over his hands. Once the boys were a few feet away, Danny jumped out and ordered them to stop. He told them he had a gun. Once Trevor was told to run, Danny walked towards Aaron and Jacob and groped their genitals. And after looking at the two boys, he decided that he wanted Jacob. So he told Aaron to run and not look back, or he would shoot and kill him. Danny then grabbed Jacob by the shoulder and led him back to his vehicle. Once Jacob was in the car, he placed the silver handcuffs on him. And then, sadly, Jacob looked at his kidnapper and asked, What did I do wrong? But Danny didn't answer him. As he sped out of the driveway, he ordered Jacob to duck in the front seat so that no one would see him. He turned right on 91st Avenue and then left towards Highway 75. Once the two were out of town, Danny told Jacob to get back up. In the pitch dark, he continued driving towards Painesville. Then, unsure of exactly where to go, he pulled over by a farm. He parked the car in a field, which was blocked away from the farmhouse on the property by a grove of thick trees. It was isolated, cold. But Danny ordered Jacob out of the car and told him to take off his clothing. Jacob did as he was told. Then, Danny took off his clothes. And he sexually assaulted Jacob for roughly 30 minutes. Once the nightmare was over, Jacob began to cry. He told Danny that he was cold and that he wanted to go home. Danny dismissively told Jacob to get dressed. And he did. Through his tears, he asked the man who had just assaulted him if he was going to take him back home. Danny shook his head, telling him that it was too far away. And with that answer, Jacob began to sob harder. He was alone, scared, unsure of what awaited him. On the road in the distance, Danny claimed that he saw a police cruiser speed by. And it was then that Danny made his decision. Coldly, he told Jacob to turn around so that he could pee. And Jacob turned his back to him. Then, Danny raised the handgun and pulled the trigger. But no bullet came out. fired again. And although a bullet came out this time around, he noticed that Jacob was still standing in the same position. It's horrifying to think about what was going through Jacob's mind when he heard that gunshot. He knew that his life was about to come to an end. Behind him, Danny realigned the bullet in the chamber, raised the gun for a third time and pulled the trigger. 11-year-old Jacob Wetterling, the kind soul who always wanted things to be fair, who loved Michael Jordan, who was always looking to make people smile, fell to the ground. There, underneath the cold autumn sky, he took his final breath. Danny didn't stop to think about what he had just done or what he had taken from the world. Frantically, he jumped back into his car and sped towards his apartment. For two hours, Danny laid low before he eventually returned to Jacob's body with a shovel around midnight. This time, he didn't bring his car and opted to walk. Instead, Danny dragged Jacob's lifeless body about a hundred yards and attempted to dig a hole near a gravel pit, but it proved to be too difficult. Knowing the area, Danny remembered there was a construction site right down the road. He wanted to steal a bigger shovel, but found a Bobcat skid loader with the keys in the ignition and drove it back to the location of Jacob's body. He used the Bobcat to dig a hole and then rolled Jacob's body into the grave. He was wearing a red jacket with white letters that read, St. Cloud Hockey, a t-shirt with the name Wetterling and the number 11, blue sweatpants, and the reflective vest he had promised his father, Jerry, he would wear. Danny quickly covered the grave with dirt. However, as he walked away, he noticed that Jacob's Nike shoe had fallen off of his foot. So, he threw it into a nearby ravine, drove the Bobcat back to the construction site and left the scene. Near the one-year anniversary of Jacob's death, Danny returned to the scene with a trash bag. He knew that animals might have gotten to the grave and he wanted to make sure that Jacob was still buried. When he arrived, he found portions of Jacob's skull, other bones, and his red jacket was sticking out of the dirt. Danny collected the bones in the jacket and placed them inside the trash bag. He then walked them over to a new, deeper grave he had dug with an entrenching tool. There, he reburied the items and then left the scene. It wouldn't be until August 31st, 2016 that Danny returned to the area again. And this time, he was with investigators. He pointed out where he had left Jacob's body. Inside the grave, investigators located his red jacket and bones. Unfortunately, those bones were determined to belong to animals, but investigators weren't going to give up. They expanded the search and eventually they found more bones and a skull. Dental records confirmed that the remains belonged to Jacob Wetterling. It had been nearly 27 years, but now, at last, Jacob had been found. After nearly three decades, Dan Rassier's name was finally cleared. Though he had never been charged in connection with Jacob's disappearance, the toll of being a person of interest greatly affected his life and reputation. Now, the real person responsible for the crime was behind bars and Dan was forced to pick up the piece of his life and reclaim the piece he had lost so long ago. He eventually filed a lawsuit against Sheriff Sanner and the Stearns County Sheriff's Office for targeting him in connection to Jacob's abduction despite lacking any evidence. He was seeking $2 million in damages, but it was eventually tossed out in 2020 due to too much time passing before the lawsuit was filed. Dan filed an appeal in 2021, but it was denied. Fortunately, though, his life seems to be going well, going better now. He runs marathons, continues to teach, and travels, living a life without prying eyes and whispers about him being a suspect. For the Wetterling family, it was extremely difficult to wait nearly 27 years for answers. Even worse was the news that Jacob would never be coming home and that he had been murdered only a short time after he had been abducted. It was five weeks ago that Danny Heinrich confessed to kidnapping and killing Jacob Wetterling. Today, Jacob's parents, Jerry and Patty Wetterling, are speaking out about how they and their family are coping. To this day, I'll probably never understand. He let all of his other victims go, and Jacob did nothing wrong. He just wanted to go home. In a sit-down interview with Esme Murphy, the Wetterlings described their shock over the sudden end of their search for Jacob, their horror at the details of his death, and how they're overwhelmed by the tributes to Jacob. We've been gifted to Jacob. To receive just so much love and support, and it's been truly what sustains us. It also shows how strong Jacob's spirit is. I mean, that gunshot snuffed his breath out in October 22, 1989, but his spirit is so strong, you can just see how it affects people. Jerry and Patty Wetterling say it is Jacob's spirit that has also helped them cope. It's almost 27 years worth searching, and then in seven days, it was eight total. It's over. How are you doing? That's the hardest question to answer. You know, it's day to day. It was just six weeks ago when they were first told of the possibility that Danny Heinrich, awaiting trial on child porn charges, might be willing to lead investigator to Jacob's body in exchange for a plea deal. The very next day, the Wetterlings agreed to the deal. Was it a hard decision? No, not really. For nearly 27 years, we've been looking for Jacob. We wanted to know, where's Jacob? Less than 24 hours later, Patty Wetterling got a phone call from the lead prosecutor. It was around noon, I think, when they found Jacob's jacket, which was heartbreaking to me. One thing that nobody will ever know is the intensity of these phone calls to call Jerry and tell him. It was hard. We later had to call our children and tell them that they'd found his jacket. And those were grueling phone calls to make. In all of these years, we've never had any piece of evidence to show Jacob was not alive. They both went to the farm that day, staying only briefly. We didn't go anywhere close to where they were digging, but Jacob wasn't alive there, and I didn't want to stay. The next few days, more of Jacob's remains were found. On Labor Day, the family was given the details of Heinrich's confession, and the next day, they heard Heinrich in court, in a matter-of-fact tone, explain how he abducted Jacob, handcuffed him, drove him to Painesville, molested him, and then shot him when he thought law enforcement was approaching. I don't even know how to describe what it felt like hearing his words. When he came into the courtroom, all I could look at him and say is, "How could you?" It was actually absolutely stunning to try and process. How do you shift your head from, from hoping and searching and to now knowing that, that he wasn't alive? And what a horrible death. They both say they are not second-guessing law enforcement. Danny Heinrich was an early suspect, but dropped off investigators' radar for a quarter of a century. It's so easy to look at a situation from today's perspective. As for the future, the Wetterlings say they will continue their work on behalf of Child Safety and the work of the Jacob Wetterling Resource Center. There's still a lot of work to do, and we're gaining strength to help, but we're just grateful for people who've carried us along the way. Esme Murphy, WCCO 4 News. The Wetterlings will be offering a victim impact statement when Danny Heinrich is sentenced on child porn charges November 21st. Heinrich faces 17 years in prison. Prosecutors say that he then faces the likelihood of civil commitment as a sex offender. - On November 21st, 2016, Danny Heinrich was actually sentenced to 20 years in prison for child pornography. As a part of his plea deal, no charges of first-degree murder were issued for the abduction and murder of Jacob Wetterling. U.S. Attorney Andrew Lugar stated, "Today's sentencing marks the close of a sad chapter in Minnesota history. Danny Heinrich hurt countless lives, none more tragic than Jacob Wetterling. I encourage all Minnesotans to draw on the example of Patty and Jerry Wetterling who transformed their grief into hope. Patty and Jerry have dedicated their lives to helping other parents bring their kids home. We can all help. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received more than 4 million online tips last year of suspected child sexual exploitation. No concern is too small, no observation too important, to call 1-800-THE-LOST or go online to www.missingkids.com. Every child matters. Every second counts. After confessing to the crime, Danny issued a statement to Jerry and Patty saying, "To Mr. and Mrs. Wetterling, the heinous acts of selfishness are unforgivable for what I've taken away from you. I am truly sorry." Today, Danny is serving out his sentence at the Federal Medical Center Devins in Eyre, Massachusetts. His release date is listed as March 28th, 2033. Upon leaving prison, Danny will remain under supervised release for the rest of his life. As for the Stearns County Sheriff's Office, sheriff's office, they admitted that the entire Jacob Wetterling case had been a complete failure. According to the new sheriff, due to inexperienced agents within the FBI during Danny's original interrogation, he was allowed to walk away as a free man. But of course, the FBI disputed those claims. They have, in my view, from October 22nd, mistaken activity for accomplishment. They just felt like if we keep doing this and keep doing this and keep doing this, getting more and more tips and coming and coming, we'll eventually stumble onto it. They had it. So was this investigation poorly done? Was it a failure up until 25 years later? How would you characterize it? Went off the rails. Went off the rails and very quickly on. Frankly, it went off the rails with the Painesville incidents. We should have been involved in that and solved those cases way back in 87. Then it goes off the rails again in 1989. And then I think it goes off the rails certainly from October 22nd through the arrest and release of Danny Heinrich. Don wasn't there. He didn't see the day-to-day operation. It's the impression that we disregarded Heinrich. My goodness. And I don't understand what he's talking about, about arresting him in a bar when he was drunk. That's not what happened. I want the picture to be clear. We're not dopes. We're not stupid. We don't miss big things. The Wetterling family will never have closure. Nothing will ever bring Jacob home. But through their tireless efforts to uncover the truth, positive changes were made and they continue to be made to protect children and families from a similar fate. Patty said to her son, quote, I still believe in you, Jacob. I still feel you are so close. Your spirit is strong in this physical world and you are still making a huge difference in so many lives. You became a unifier of hearts all the world around. You showed us how incredibly special each child is and that love spread all across the globe. United hearts and hope. I feel your hand softly brush away my tears when I'm having a bad day. I sense you watching when I see a deer stop to stare at me through the woods. I hear your voice in the wind reminding me to smile and enjoy the day. I shed tears when I'm in the woods. I hear your voice in the wind reminding me about the other children who are struggling. I smile when I see rainbows. I still believe in the magic of Santa Claus. I believe in the power of following your dreams. I believe in a loving God. I believe in prayer. I believe in the power of good people pulling together to do amazing things. End quote. Jacob Wetterling's story may have ended in tragedy, but his legacy lives on through the advocacy work that his loved ones do. For today's episode, we will be making a donation to the Jacob Wetterling Resource Center and the Zero Abuse Project. It's a non-profit organization founded in 1990 by Jerry and Patty Wetterling, later merged with the Zero Abuse Project. The organization works to end abuse, neglect, and exploitation of children. Through training, education, and prevention, it also works with survivors and families to provide support and treatment. The main sources used for this episode were the books Finding Jacob Wetterling, The 27-Year Investigation from Kidnapping to Confession by author Robert M. Dudley, and Dear Jacob, A Mother's Journey of Hope, written by Patty Wetterling and Joy Baker. Hey everybody, thank you so much for listening to this week's episode of Murder in America. Just crazy to see the lapses in law enforcement and the FBI's investigation. It really always makes me wonder how many cases that are out there right now could be solved today if people just took another look at it from a different perspective or tried to remedy some of the wrongs that had been done in the case so many years ago. If you want to help support the show and what we do here on the show, please consider joining us on Patreon. You can get early access to ad-free versions of every episode that we post on the main feed on our Patreon. And also, if you love the show and you've listened to every episode, we have over 120, 30, I don't even know how many at this point, bonus episodes on our Patreon. These are full-length episodes of the show. 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