JACOB WETTERLING

Inside the friendship that resolved the Jacob Wetterling mystery and keeps bringing comfort to others

Jeremy Fugleberg — Wed, 29 Jan 2025 15:55:00 GMT

Patty Wetterling and Joy Baker are riding a whirlwind of a book tour and also bringing a personal touch for those suffering their own loss.

Their book, "Dear Jacob: A Mother's Journey of Hope," tells the backstory of the kidnapping and murder of Wetterling's 11-year-old son Jacob on Oct. 22, 1989, from a rural Minnesota road, and the 27-year quest for justice, including Wetterling and her family's journey through grief, optimism and advocacy.

It's a highly personal memoir by Wetterling, co-authored by Baker, who played an important role in the closure of Jacob's case.

The book was released in October 2023, with a paperback version out this month, but the book tour continues. With 50-plus tour stops so far, on large stages and small book clubs, it would be understandable if the tour was all a blur for the duo.

But it's not, and hasn't been. They say the conversations they've had with those who come up to speak to them, sharing tales of grief and hope, continue to resonate.

"It's one of the things that I guess I wasn't anticipating, some of the responses of other people going through trauma and loss," Wetterling said. "We've heard a lot of stories of loss of a child through illness, through accidents, through suicide, through just everything imaginable.

"It feels like when people share their story, there's a sense of no longer being alone."

A growing friendship

Wetterling and Baker have forged a close friendship over the years since they first got in touch, a growing alliance between two women on a mission to first resolve the mystery of Jacob's disappearance, then later, to share Jacob's story.

"I mean, obviously it's a very hard subject to talk about, but I think the fact that we wrote the book together, we really developed a friendship that is so deep," Baker said. "It's really based on trust and loyalty and just this really deep friendship that we both treasure."

Their friendship and message have drawn in those who are compelled to hear about the book and to share their own experiences in person at the stops on their book tour.

Baker said she has witnessed these encounters play out, calling Wetterling "amazing" in how she relates to people who come up to talk her to her, sometimes in the book-signing line at their tour stops. Their eyes often start to fill with tears as they get close to talking to Wetterling, Baker said.

"By the time they get to Patty, they just sort of un-loose, and it's an amazing experience. She's so kind and empathetic, and she'll just reach out and hold their hands and let them tell their stories, and she's just so supportive," Baker said. "She's an amazing woman — she's an amazing hero for all of us."

Those who come up at events to speak to the duo often have many of the same questions, Wetterling said.

"Mostly they want to know that they're going to make it, or that life can be better again or that they can survive whatever this is. And I guess they draw strength from our experience," she said, of her and her family. "Even though the stories might be different, loss is loss, you know? They lost a child to car accident (and say), 'It's very different from what you're going through.' And like, no — the loss of a child is a really hard thing to deal with."

Wetterling often shares resources with those who speak to her, and always try to extend a message of kindness and support, telling them of all the times she and her family were helped by others amid the tragedy of losing Jacob.

"Some of the stories are ... oof. Nobody should have to live through what they're living through, and I can validate that — 'I'm so sorry' — you know, I get it," Wetterling said. "They just want to know that someone understands the complexity or the bigness of it all."

Wetterling and Baker have been inseparable on the book tour ("We do have a good time when we're on the road," Baker said), and their relationship continues to grow, extending to their spouses. Both couples traveled together to Ireland last year.

Like so much of Wetterling's ongoing advocacy for missing and exploited children, the friendship stands as an example of how goodness can defy evil and suffering.

"She's one of the gifts along the way," Patty Wetterling said, of Baker. "It was just sort of a magical friendship that came out of it."

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Part 4: Suspects in Belinda's case included a man who claimed he kidnapped Jacob Wetterling

Trisha Taurinskas — Fri, 01 Mar 2024 13:31:00 GMT

Editor’s note: This is Part 4 in a Forum News Service investigative series related to the disappearance of Belinda Van Lith, including an exclusive interview with the main suspect in her case. To see everything published in the investigation, visit the

Van Lith investigation page.

Listen to

The Vault podcast

for related episodes.

EAGLE LAKE, Minn. — Belinda Van Lith’s 1974 missing persons case was kept alive through tips from the public. Investigators determined two of them warranted thorough examination, yet they led the law enforcement to a series of complex rabbit holes and disappointing dead ends.

One stemmed from an alleged drunk confession from a distant relative. The other related to a man who falsely confessed to the kidnapping of Jacob Wetterling and owned the home Belinda was looking after when she vanished on June 15, 1974.

These tips were revealed in the 1,200-page investigative file related to Belinda’s case, which was obtained by Forum News Service in August with the help of family members. The file reveals glaring failures in the early stages of the case and the Wright County Sheriff’s Office efforts to remedy the investigation more than three decades later.

The investigation has not yet led to any charges related to Belinda’s disappearance, nor has Belinda been found, yet it did lead to an unrelated conviction for the prime suspect, Timothy Crosby.

Crosby, who went on to become a serial abductor, is now locked up at the Minnesota Sex Offender Treatment Program in Moose Lake., Minnesota In a recent interview with Forum News Service, he denied any involvement in Belinda’s disappearance.

A drunk relative confesses?

In January 2002, the Wright County Sheriff’s Office in Minnesota received a call from a woman who claimed she had information about a confession in Belinda’s case. Belinda was 17 years old when she went missing on June 15, 1975, from a home she was house sitting on Eagle Lake, near Monticello, Minnesota.

The woman told investigators her sister was riding in the back of a truck one to two years prior when she heard their aunt say Belinda’s distant cousin confessed to the crime at some point between 1987 and 1989 while drunk.

The distant cousin arrived at the aunt’s house and allegedly told her that he and a friend forced Belinda into their car while she was walking down the road on a dark and foggy night. Then, he claimed things “got out of hand,” according to the case file.

He said they drove to a nearby cemetery, where she ended up in a grave that had already been dug.

When they got the tip, Wright County Sheriff’s Office investigators tracked down the woman who allegedly heard this confession firsthand.

She said the man who confessed would regularly come over drunk during the 1980s. She tried to ask him follow-up questions to the confusing and troubling confession, but he wasn’t coherent enough to provide answers.

It had been decades since the initial confession was supposedly made, and investigators believed Belinda likely went missing during the daylight hours. Yet, they tracked down the man who allegedly made those claims – and all of his close acquaintances over the years.

Wright County Sheriff’s Office investigators were thorough. They conducted interviews with his ex-wives, family members and friends. They tracked down records from cemeteries in and near the area where Belinda went missing. They attempted to monitor his phone calls and conduct in-person surveillance.

They also talked to Belinda’s mother, Beverly Van Lith, to get a feel for the family’s relationship with the distant cousin and ask her about allegations that she had confronted him.

Beverly, it turned out, had not confronted the cousin.

In the end, investigators determined the confession was not credible and that the distant cousin was not responsible for the disappearance or death of Belinda.

After clearing allegations that Belinda’s distant cousins could be involved, investigators put a microscope on Timothy Crosby, the last person to see her, and the man whose home Belinda was house sitting when she went missing: Duane Cornwell.

The Cornwell investigation

Cornwell was initially considered a person of interest at the start of Belinda’s investigation in June 1974. He was initially cleared after providing investigators with an alibi.

Belinda was house-sitting for Cornwell while he was away with his band in Nashville at the time she went missing. When he arrived home on June 15, 1975, his mother’s vehicle was parked in the driveway.

The two, collectively, realized Belinda wasn’t around.

When Belinda was reported missing, Cornwell told investigators he and a bandmate had stayed at the Scottish Hotel in Nashville and checked out on the evening of June 14, 1974, before making the 14-hour trip home.

But investigators noticed a discrepancy when they attempted to match his story to records obtained by the Scottish Hotel. A teletype returned to the Wright County Sheriff’s Office stated that Cornwell checked out on June 13, along with his bandmate – one day earlier than Cornwall had claimed.

That inconsistency didn’t alarm investigators at the time, yet his possible involvement in Belinda’s disappearance came to light when he was looked at as a person of interest in the Jacob Wetterling case.

A Wetterling connection?

Wetterling was an 11-year-old boy who went missing in October 1989 from Stearns County, which borders Wright County. His case remained unsolved for 27 years until a 2016 confession by Danny Heinrich led investigators to his remains, located near his abduction site.

Portions of Stearns County Sheriff’s Office reports related to Wetterling’s case are included in Belinda’s investigative file, which was obtained by Forum News Service. It is not clear when these files were handed over to Wright County, but they were referenced during the 2008 cold case review of Belinda’s disappearance.

One month after Wetterling went missing, Cornwell told authorities he knew where the 11-year-old had been buried. A task force responded by showing up at his Stearns County home. After briefly refusing to cooperate, he got in a squad car and led investigators on an unsuccessful late night drive throughout rural portions of the county.

After officers sensed Cornwell could be in a state of mental instability, they returned to his home. There, he told an officer he had killed Wetterling and buried him under the dog kennel on his property. He was arrested and taken in for questioning before being sent to a nearby hospital for treatment related to mental illness.

Officials with the Wetterling task force continued to investigate Cornwell, though. A search warrant was executed at his Stearns County property and officials interviewed his ex-wives and friends.

Months after his arrest, hospitalization and treatment, Cornwell was visited by an investigator from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. This time, the questions related to Belinda’s case.

Focus on Belinda

Cornwell denied having anything to do with Belinda’s disappearance. He recounted his trip to Nashville. He recalled pulling into his driveway, shortly after his mother arrived. He told investigators how he and his mother looked for Belinda throughout the house, but realized she wasn’t there.

Cornwell provided details regarding conversations with Belinda’s father in the days after she went missing. Belinda's father had been over at his residence days before she went missing to fix a blown fuse on an outside power box.

He also recalled telling a close friend that he believed one of his ex-wives could have been responsible for Belinda’s death. He hired Belinda to watch the house because he was afraid the ex-wife would steal his property if it was left unattended.

The BCA investigator followed up with Cornwell’s ex-wives. They all reported his issues with alcohol, mental health issues and physical violence.

One of those ex-wives said something that stood out to Wright County Sheriff’s Investigators when they dove back into Belinda’s case file in 2008.

One of Cornwell’s ex-wives told a BCA investigator that while Cornwell was hospitalized in 1989, he allegedly mentioned a shallow grave under a shed. His ex-wife believed the alleged grave could belong to Belinda.

In 2008, Wright County Sheriff’s Office investigators filled out a BCA Cold Case Card application — an initiative that showcased cold cases on decks of cards — for Belinda’s case. The application would put Belinda’s case back in the spotlight. In order to apply, officials with the Wright County Sheriff’s Office had to provide details regarding the case. It seems this process sparked investigators’ curiosity.

Months later, a cold case review into Belinda’s disappearance was launched by the Wright County Sheriff’s Office, in conjunction with the BCA — and investigators honed in on Cornwell’s former residence.

Searching the Cornwell property

Thomas Grue purchased Cornwell’s home in 1975. He learned early on that Belinda had gone missing from the residence when investigators knocked on his door shortly after he bought the house.

“When we bought the place, we found out about the situation with Belinda. And then we had investigators who were trying to follow up and find out, and they came out several times and did a walk through of the property,” Grue told Forum News Service in a recent interview at his residence.

Then, more than 30 years later, another set of investigators knocked on his door asking him questions about Belinda.

He showed Wright County Sheriff’s office investigators around the property. He filled them in on improvements he’s made on the home over the years, which includes an addition to the south side and an accompanying basement. During that project, which required extensive digging, he never came across anything he felt was related to Belinda’s case.

Grue made other improvements to the area. He landscaped the yard and updated the barn. He changed the outdoor pole power source. The dirt floor shed remained the same, though.

That shed would later become the site of an excavation dig related to Belinda’s disappearance.

In 2013, a team of investigators led by Wright County Sheriff’s Office Lieutenant Mike Lindquist with the Criminal Investigations Division dug up the area in and around that shed.

“In review of the interior portions of this garage they did notice the floor was dirt. In the southeast corner of this garage they found a location which appeared lower than the other three corners,” Lindquist wrote in his report.

Search of Cornwell Home

During the search, investigators dug down three feet. On the top layer of the dirt floor they discovered a small, multi-colored beaded necklace. Grue, however, had daughters who grew up on the property.

They also discovered a small animal bone and remnants of an old cloth item with a clasp.

Small bone and piece of cloth with clasp

It was the final push to fully investigate Cornwell’s possible involvement in Belinda’s disappearance, and it led investigators to narrow down the suspect pool to one man: Timothy Crosby.

In conjunction with the dig on Grue’s property, Lindquist led a full-scale investigation into Crosby’s possible involvement in the disappearance of Belinda and the death of two women whose dismembered remains were discovered near Eagle Lake in the early 1990s.

Search warrants were executed. A blood-stained sickle left behind at the Crosby cabin was analyzed for DNA comparisons and areas around the cabin were unearthed. An excavation dig was conducted in the field where Crosby had gotten his vehicle stuck the night Belinda went missing. Cadaver dogs were unleashed, and bones were sent in for DNA analysis.

These efforts did lead to the arrest of Timothy Crosby, but not for the crime they initially set out to solve. Instead, the investigation pulled on a string that unraveled evidence supporting his conviction for the use of a minor in a sexual performance.

Editor's note: This ongoing series will continue soon. Follow

The Vault

for updates.
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'I carry Jacob in my heart': New book details 'personal side' of Jacob Wetterling case

Jim Shaw — Sat, 14 Oct 2023 09:29:00 GMT

ST. JOSEPH, Minn. — Patty Wetterling became the voice of speaking out for missing children. Now, she’s written a personal and touching book about it, called “Dear Jacob: A Mother’s Journey of Hope.” It centers on the tragic kidnapping and murder of her 11-year-old son, Jacob Wetterling.

“Jacob was loving, caring and thoughtful,” Patty told me. “Jacob was fun. He was very clever. He liked to play tricks and jokes on people. He was very good at sports. He loved his family.”

The powerful book — which releases Tuesday, Oct. 17 — provides lots of new and compelling information, while letting us know what Patty was thinking throughout this brutal journey.

“It was absolutely therapeutic for me to write it,” Patty said. “It provides clarity to clear up how things were going. Everyone knows the public side. It’s a recap of things that never became public. It’s about the personal side — how it impacted our marriage and the lives of our children. It was reflective and helpful for me to write a complete journey.”

Joy Baker is the co-author of the book. She met Patty in 2013, and after a short while they became good friends. Joy was blogging about Jacob’s abduction and was determined to find out what happened to him. With her extensive research, Joy even helped solve the case.

“I couldn’t stop thinking about Jacob,” Joy told me. “I wanted to highlight Jacob’s legacy. Jacob is very real and special to me. I feel like I know him. I want people to know what an amazing person Patty is. I love Patty, and I love this family.”

The abduction

Life changed forever for the Wetterling family of two parents and four children on Oct. 22, 1989. Jacob, his 10-year-old brother Trevor and 11-year-old friend Aaron Larson were biking home from a convenience store in St. Joseph, Minnesota. Suddenly, a man appeared wearing a mask and pointing a gun at the three boys. He ordered the boys to get off their bikes and lie face-down on the ground.

After asking each boy his age, Trevor was told to run toward the woods and not look back. Otherwise, he would be shot. After looking at the faces of Jacob and Aaron, the gunman ordered Aaron to run away and told him he would be shot if he looked back.

Jacob was ordered to stay. He was abducted.

Patty and her husband, Jerry, were at a friend’s house at the time. A phone call came in, and the phone was given to Jerry.

“Jerry said, ‘We’ve got to go. Somebody took Jacob,’” Patty said. “I looked at him like he was from a different planet.”

It was all so incomprehensible.

“I was in shock,” Patty said. “I didn’t understand it. It made no sense to me. I couldn’t process it. I had no knowledge of anyone who would harm a child. I needed to know what happened and who did this. I had no clue of what we were walking into.”

Rallying around the Wetterlings

For 27 agonizing years, there was no word about what happened to Jacob. Reports came in about possible sightings of him, but they were false. One person even stole Jacob’s identity.

“It was very scary,” Patty said. “I didn’t know if we were targeted. I was afraid to leave the house because I was hoping Jacob would call. I saw fear and terror in my kids. I didn’t want them to live their lives like that. We had a lot of family meetings. It brought the family closer.”

Despite the pain, Patty was everywhere helping to raise awareness about missing children. She spoke at schools and churches, did many interviews with the media and came to Fargo to help the family of 11-year-old Jeanna North, who was missing. She felt her purpose in life was to carry the message of child safety. She constantly wrote letters to Jacob telling him how much he was missed and loved.

Jacob became everyone’s child. Not just in Minnesota, but throughout the country. Many people had their porch lights on. They tied white ribbons around their mailboxes. They wore badges that said “Jacob’s Hope.” They held prayer services, distributed flyers, brought food to the family and wrote thousands of letters to the Wetterling family. The letter writers told the Wetterlings not to give up, that they are not alone and that they are praying for them.

Patty read every letter at least once.

“I learned this was much bigger than Jacob. I heard from families with victims,“ Patty said. “There was so much support for our family. We didn’t do this alone. It was overwhelming. People carried us when we couldn’t stand on our own. People carried Jacob. I was so grateful.”

Many actions were taken to protect children under Jacob’s name. The Jacob Wetterling Act passed Congress and was signed by President Bill Clinton in 1994. That act required sex offenders who abused children to register their addresses with law enforcement. There was also the establishment of the Jacob Wetterling Resource Center, which works to prevent crimes against children.

“Because of Patty, kids now have a voice that they didn’t have before,” Joy said. “We now have a national center for missing children that has been so effective. Parents hold on to their children a little tighter and listen to their children.”

'Like living in Hell'

Finally, things started moving in the search for what happened to Jacob. Joy tracked down Jared Scheierl, who at age 12 had been kidnapped and sexually assaulted the same year as Jacob in a nearby Minnesota town. The perpetrator used similar language to what happened during Jacob’s abduction. Joy convinced Jared to come forward with his story. The DNA in Jared’s case was matched to a man named Danny Heinrich.

After receiving a search warrant, law authorities searched Heinrich’s house, where they found about 150 images of child pornography. Heinrich was arrested in October of 2015. Law enforcement was convinced Heinrich kidnapped Jacob but didn’t know the circumstances.

In a plea deal in September of 2016, Heinrich, 53, agreed to a 20-year sentence for possessing child pornography in return for confessing to what happened to Jacob. It’s highly unlikely that Heinrich will ever be released from prison.

Patty and Jerry Wetterling were then told the chilling and shocking details of Heinrich’s brutality. He forced Jacob to get into his car and handcuffed him.

“What did I do wrong?” Jacob asked, according to Heinrich.

Heinrich drove to a tree stand, removed Jacob’s clothes and the handcuffs, and molested him. Afterwards, Jacob asked if he could go home, but Heinrich said he couldn’t do that. Then, Jacob started to cry. Shortly after that, Heinrich shot Jacob twice in the head and killed him.

Heinrich told authorities he buried Jacob’s body near Paynesville, Minnesota. With that information, authorities found Jacob’s remains and clothing.

Patty said the pain of hearing all this was unlike anything she had ever experienced. The hope she had lived on was gone.

“We were horrified. It was stunning," Patty said. “I didn’t sleep. I couldn’t think. We had to tell the children what was going on, which was the worst moment ever. It was like living Hell. I wondered how someone could do this to my little boy.”

Patty also needed answers.

“I wrote a letter to the abductor. I asked him how he turned out this way,” Patty said.

He did not write back.

Hope, resilience and strength

However, the tributes soon started pouring in. People throughout Minnesota were wearing the number 11, which was Jacob’s soccer uniform number. The number also stood for 11 traits to strive for, such as being kind, honest and generous. Minnesota’s pro sports teams all held special events to honor Jacob.

Still, the whole nightmare took its toll on Patty.

“I’m a different person now,” she said. “It was a dark world. I had to find some light. I had a lot of counseling. I refused to let the guy who took Jacob take away my spirit.”

Despite what happened to Jacob, the authors of the book want readers to come away being more optimistic.

“It’s written with hope and resilience and how strong family is,“ Joy said. “This is not meant to be a sad story. This is meant to be more motivational because of Patty’s efforts.”

“I want people to believe in a world that’s good and kind,” Patty said. “I want to honor Jacob for the way he lived, not the way he died. I carry Jacob in my heart. He’s everywhere. I hear him. I am grateful for the gift of Jacob. I miss him, but we were very lucky to have him.”

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ABC to air two-hour special Friday on search for Jacob Wetterling

Shelby Lindrud — Tue, 10 Oct 2023 22:33:00 GMT

WILLMAR, Minn. — For the past several months, ABC News has been working on a special two-hour "20/20" focused on the story of Jacob Wetterling. Set to air at 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 13, the show will include interviews with those closest to the case — including Patty and Jerry Wetterling, Jacob's parents.

Patty Wetterling announced the special on the website for her new book, co-written with Joy Baker, titled "Dear Jacob: A Mother's Journey of Hope." The book will be released Tuesday, Oct. 17.

According to the announcement, crews from "20/20" have visited Minnesota several times since April, interviewing investigators, suspects, witnesses, reporters and many others close to the case, including Baker, a freelance writer from New London.

A story about the book — and the journey both Wetterling and Baker took to write it — will be published on Saturday, Oct. 14, in the West Central Tribune.

Jacob Wetterling was abducted on Oct. 22, 1989, near his home in St. Joseph. The kidnapping set off a nationwide search and, for 27 years, his family worked tirelessly to find and bring Jacob home. Patty Wetterling became a nationally known advocate for missing and exploited children.

It wasn't until the fall of 2015 that investigators were finally able to make an arrest in the case. Denny Heinrich was arrested on child pornography charges after law enforcement searched his home for evidence connected to both the Wetterling case and a separate kidnapping and sexual assault case.

In a plea deal with authorities, which was agreed to by the Wetterlings, in early September 2016, Heinrich confessed to the Oct. 22, 1989, kidnapping, sexual assault and murder of Jacob. He led investigators to where he had buried the young boy's remains in a field near Paynesville. Heinrich also confessed to the January 1989 abduction and sexual assault of Jared Scheierl.

As part of the plea deal, Heinrich was convicted of one count of receiving child pornography and was not criminally charged with any of the crimes against Jacob Wetterling or Scheierl. Heinrich is currently serving his sentence in a federal prison in Massachusetts.

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Anatomy of an investigation: The Jacob Wetterling case file

Josh Verges and Mary Divine / St. Paul Pioneer Press — Sat, 22 Sep 2018 21:40:04 GMT

ST. PAUL - When law enforcement caught up to Jacob Wetterling's killer in October 2015, he said he wasn't the "monster" he was 27 years earlier.

In transcripts of jailhouse phone conversations between Danny Heinrich and his brothers, released Thursday, Sept. 20, along with much of the Wetterling investigative file, Heinrich said Wetterling was his last victim.

"I was a monster back then but I stopped 27 (years ago). I haven't had no sexual contact with anybody, David, since that night," Heinrich said to his brother after confessing in 2016, according to transcripts.

He went on to describe his mindset after the murder.

"I got home that night, David, I'm gonna tell you the truth, and I cried. I could, my god, what have I done. ... The wonderful, I don't know, I'm trying to think of what was wrong. I don't know what went, went wrong, everything went wrong. S-, I don't know what to think."

Heinrich was on investigators' radar early on in 1989 but wasn't publicly named in connection with the case until 2015, when he was arrested on child pornography charges.

In one of his first phone calls from Sherburne County Jail, Heinrich admitted to a brother that he was "guilty of the porn." But Heinrich at first called his suspected connection to the Wetterling case "bull" and a "setup" and said he would not be convicted.

Much of their conversations concerned what property Heinrich's brothers could sell so that Heinrich would have money while in jail and once he was released from prison.

At one point, Heinrich said he missed his cats and sobbed, "Oh god, I hope I don't go away too long. ... I don't deserve this. I tried to be a good person."

"There's lots of excuses I could say, I guess," he said at another point in the call. "Whatever. So, it's done, it's done, it's done, it's done."

A St. Paul Pioneer Press review of the state and local files revealed other aspects of the investigation, including Heinrich's connection to other crimes, the role of psychics and the intense focus on Daniel Rassier, a Wetterling neighbor.

Paynesville cases

Stearns County Sheriff Don Gudmundson on Thursday described eight incidents in Paynesville from 1986-1988 in which a stranger ambushed and groped or tried to grope one or more boys.

Heinrich never was charged but in a phone call from jail, Heinrich took responsibility for "a couple" of those attacks.

"They're blaming me for a lot of them Paynesville incidents and I never committed. ... I was involved in a couple, but not all of 'em because I, I know what I did and what I didn't do," he told his brother.

Tips from psychics

The files show that investigators looked into hundreds of possible suspects in Jacob's abduction, including every known sex offender in the state about a decade after the crimes.

They also followed leads from the great beyond.

Within a week of the abduction, a former neighbor went to authorities with information he got from his sister in St. Louis, who knew a clairvoyant who'd been "very successful in finding missing persons and bodies."

Agents called the man's sister the next day.

Jacob's father, Jerry Wetterling, at times welcomed the dubious assistance.

In 1992, two clairvoyants wrote him a long letter asserting that previous tips from psychics were "in large-part accurate." They wrote that Jacob was taken by a man named Willy to the home of a white supremacist cult and was "no question" still alive.

Investigators also learned from two fellow inmates that Duane Hart, a convicted sex offender and Heinrich acquaintance, claimed to have psychic powers and had "seen" what had happened to Jacob.

The wrong man

In the tens of thousands of pages of documents released Thursday, one name stands out: Daniel Rassier.

Rassier, a music teacher, lived with his parents on their family farm near the Wetterlings, and their driveway was near the spot where Jacob was abducted. After Rassier was identified as a "person of interest" in the case in 2010, investigators searched his home and dug up the farm, looking for clues.

But it's clear from the documents that law enforcement officials had mistakenly narrowed in on Rassier at least eight years prior. A 2002 cold-case review by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children focused heavily on Rassier as a prime suspect in not only Jacob's abduction but also the January 1989 attack on Jared Scheierl in Cold Spring.

The documents also include a list of every marathon Rassier ran in 2006; a surveillance log detailing Rassier's movements over four days in 2007, including a stop at Mills Fleet Farm to get gas; and a list of all mail Rassier received over a 30-day period, beginning on Dec. 11, 2007.

In the fall of 2009, Patty Wetterling agreed to wear a wire and confronted Rassier at the Midtown Mall in St. Cloud, where authorities knew he liked to work out on Tuesday nights.

In March 2017, Rassier sued former Stearns County Sheriff John Sanner, Stearns County and the BCA in U.S. District Court, claiming they defamed him and caused him emotional distress. He and his mother, Rita, want $2 million in damages.

The release of documents on Thursday related to the Wetterling case and the arrest and conviction of Danny Heinrich in connection with the crime help vindicate Rassier, said Mike Padden, his attorney.

"He wants the truth to come out."

Why now?

Gudmundson released the 41,787-page investigative file Thursday in response to a court order ruling that the documents be made public.

Once a criminal investigation has closed, the investigative file is made public under the Minnesota Data Practices Act. The documents include countless interviews, transcripts, tips, names of potential suspects and scores of photos.

Some of the information is particularly sensitive; some of the information Patty and Jerry Wetterling sued unsuccessfully to keep private.

About 12,500 pages were pulled from the file and returned to the FBI; the Pioneer Press has filed a Freedom of Information Act request for those documents.

Gudmundson said he hopes the release of information will help future investigations. "We can't change what's happened," he said. "But we can learn from it."

Jacob recording

The file labeled "Transcripts 1989, Part 1" starts with a transcript of a recording of Jacob.

"The date is Oct. 12," the transcript reads. "I'm 5 feet tall. My favorite food is steak. My favorite color is blue. I don't really have a favorite song. My favorite game is Clue. My favorite thing to do most is watch football. My favorite sport is football, and my favorite TV show is 'The Cosby Show.' What I want to be when I grow up is a football player. My favorite hobby is collecting football cards. I don't have a favorite book, and my newest friend is Gabe. I'm finished."

911 transcript

A Stearns County Sheriff's Office transcript of a 911 call from Merlyn Jerzak, a neighbor of Patty and Jerry Wetterling, is included in the documents.

Jerzak's daughter, who had been babysitting at the Wetterling house, called him to come to the Wetterling house when she learned of Jacob's abduction from his brother, Trevor, and their friend, Aaron Larson.

Q: 911 emergency.

A: Ah, yes this is Merlyn Jerzak calling from ... in St. Joe, out in the township.

Q: Uh-huh.

A: I'm right now next door to um, my neighbors, at my neighbors, the Jerry Wetterling family.

Q: That's where you're calling from, correct.

A: And some of their boys went down to Tom Thumb to pick up a movie and on their way back ah someone stopped them and ah, we believe that they have one of the boys because the, one of the boys did not come back with them.

Q: OK, were you, were they picked up in a vehicle?

A: Just a second I'll ask the boys, was there a vehicle there or was he walking? They couldn't, they didn't see a vehicle, ah, this person appeared ah, on the road when they were bicycling back home.

Q: OK, was it, and they don't know where the other friend is at?

A: They don't where their brother and friend is at.

Q: OK, so we're missing two people?

A: Just missing one.

Q: One?

A: Right.

Q: OK, did they see the individual at all?

A: Yes, they did. Did you see the individual at all? He had a mask on.

Q: He had a mask on?

A: Right.

Q: OK, Jacob. It's Jacob, right?

A: Yes.

Q: And he's 11.

A: Jacob. Jacob Wetterling.

Anatomy of an investigation: The Jacob Wetterling case file

Investigators photograph the scene where Jacob Wetterling, 11, was kidnapped near his St. Joseph, Minn., home in Oct. 1989. This photograph is part of the investigative file that was released by the Stearns County Sheriff's Office on Sept. 20, 2018. Courtesy of the Stearns County Sheriff's Office

A 1989 family photo of Jacob Wetterling, who was abducted at gunpoint near his home in St. Joseph, Minn., on Oct. 22, 1989. Courtesy of the Wetterling family.

Danny Heinrich

Footprints found at the scene where Jacob Wetterling was abducted were matched to Danny Heinrich early on, along with tire tracks of his car. Both were found to be consistent with tracks left in the dirt where Wetterling was taken. Courtesy of the Stearns County Sheriff's Office

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Sheriff: Wetterling investigation went 'off the rails' as FBI chased multiple leads, killer remained free

Mary Divine and Josh Verges / St. Paul Pioneer Press — Thu, 20 Sep 2018 20:40:19 GMT

ST. CLOUD, Minn. — It took 27 years to get a confession out of Jacob Wetterling’s killer, but investigators had substantial evidence against Danny Heinrich within months of the October 1989 attack in St. Joseph.

“All of us failed,” Stearns County Sheriff Don Gudmundson said Thursday, Sept. 20, as he summarized and then released some 42,000 pages of files from local and state investigators.

Gudmundson, who became sheriff last year, spent over an hour with reporters describing missed opportunities and the failure by scores of investigators to piece together evidence that Heinrich was behind not only Wetterling’s killing but also sexual assaults of several boys in Cold Spring and Paynesville.

Heinrich admitted in 2016 that he’d attacked Jared Scheierl in Cold Spring in 1986 and months later sexually abused and shot Wetterling. He led authorities to Wetterling’s buried remains as part of a plea agreement on child pornography charges.

Gudmundson said the investigation “went off the rails” early on.

Despite the similarities in the two attacks, the Cold Spring case didn’t appear in investigative files until five weeks after Wetterling’s abduction.

“How many other boys were abducted in Stearns County? Well, there was one, the Cold Spring boy. The investigators should have been on that in mere moments after Jacob was taken,” Gudmundson said.

Similarly, one of several boys who had been groped by a stranger in Paynesville in the three years prior told investigators two days after Wetterling was killed that it was likely the same man who did it. Both attacks were “quick, military and efficient,” the investigative notes say.

Yet, no one followed up on that lead for more than two months.

Once they did, the Paynesville police chief said Heinrich should be considered a suspect. A sheriff’s office investigator noted Heinrich bears a “strong resemblance” to a composite drawing of the Cold Spring suspect.

Heinrich failed lie detector test

Days later, Heinrich took a lie detector test and registered “deceptive on all questions” pertaining to both Wetterling’s disappearance and the Cold Spring attack. The same day, his shoes and the tires of his car were found to be consistent with tracks left in the dirt where Wetterling was taken.

“What are the chances of anyone else matching both those? Pretty slim,” Gudmundson said. “Not just slim, but miniscule.”

Investigators surveilled Heinrich and took his car. Scheierl sat in the back seat and said the car was the one he remembered riding in when he was assaulted a year earlier.

Scheierl recalled Heinrich keeping a police scanner in his car. Investigators located records from Heinrich’s 1986 drunken driving arrest, which said he’d had a scanner then, too.

However, when Scheierl was asked to pick his attacker out of a lineup, he did not choose Heinrich.

In February 1990, investigators arrested Heinrich anyway for the Cold Spring assault. After an hourlong interrogation, the county prosecutor let him go for lack of evidence.

FBI criminal profilers who watched the interrogation told detectives they didn’t think Heinrich was guilty, Gudmundson said, citing his own conversations. The FBI’s investigative files on the Wetterling case have not been made public.

After that, “Heinrich is essentially forgotten,” Gudmundson said.

When the investigation “goes wrong, it really goes wrong,” he said. “In short order, this task force was not just on the wrong path, it was on the wrong freeway and, later, it was on the Autobahn with no speed limit.”

FBI agent: ‘We had to keep looking’

Following the news conference Thursday, FBI special agent Al Garber, who was in charge of the case, took issue with the sheriff’s characterization of the investigation.

“Don wasn’t there. He didn’t see the day-to-day operations,” he said. “He didn’t see how many investigators were working so hard on this case.”

He said investigators “absolutely” felt Heinrich took Wetterling but couldn’t prove it.

“(Gudmundson) tells you we should have given up, no other leads, just investigate Heinrich again and again and again,” Garber said. “That’s ridiculous.”

But more than one person confessed to killing Wetterling. They had to keep looking, he said.

“I remember a guy who confessed,” Garber said. “He said, ‘I kidnapped Jacob, and I put him in this lake,’ and we found him in state of Washington. Are we supposed to not go and talk to this guy? Of course not. Another guy confessed to an inmate in prison. ‘I did it, and this is how I did it, and this is the car I used.’ Are we supposed to say, ‘He’s in prison. He didn’t do that.'”

“I want the picture to be clear: We’re not dopes. We’re not stupid. We don’t miss big things. We didn’t do everything right, but we certainly didn’t do this.”

Jerry Wetterling, Jacob’s father, attended the news conference along with Garber and another FBI agent, Steve Gilkerson. Wetterling declined to comment.

Sheriff: Wetterling investigation went 'off the rails' as FBI chased multiple leads, killer remained free

Jacob Wetterling File photo/Center for Missing and Exploited Children

Original sketch of suspect in two 1989 Minnesota abductions, including unsolved abduction of Jacob Wetterling.

Jerry Wetterling, left, the father of Jacob Wetterling, listens as Stearns County Sheriff Don Gudmundson hosts a news conference Thursday, Sept. 20, at the Stearns County Law Enforcement Center in St. Cloud. At right is Al Garber, the FBI investigator in charge of the case in 1989. Scott Takushi / St. Paul Pioneer Press

Al Garber, center, the FBI investigator in charge of the Wetterling case in 1989, reacts vehemently to the conclusions of Stearns County Sheriff Don Gudmundson after listening to Gudmundson's news conference to close the investigative file regarding the abduction, Thursday, Sept. 20 in St. Cloud. Scott Takushi / St. Paul Pioneer Press

In Jan. 1990, a Stearns County sheriff’s office investigator noted Danny Heinrich bears a “strong resemblance” to a composite drawing of the Cold Spring suspect in the Jacob Wetterling case. Courtesy of the Stearns County Sheriff's Office via St. Paul Pioneer Press

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Wetterling case file to be released Thursday, but thousands of federal documents won’t be made public

Mary Divine / St. Paul Pioneer Press — Thu, 20 Sep 2018 00:36:44 GMT

ST. PAUL - About 42,000 pages of state and county documents related to the Jacob Wetterling investigation will be released to the public Thursday, Sept. 20, in Stearns County.

What's notable is what won't be released: thousands of pages of federal documents that have been returned to the FBI.

Mark Anfinson, the attorney who represented a coalition of media outlets and public interest groups that intervened after Jerry and Patty Wetterling sued to keep some documents private, said he was "very troubled" by the number of documents that the FBI has taken back.

A spokesman for the FBI said Wednesday, Sept. 19, that the agency took back about 4,000 pages, but the Stearns County Sheriff's Office chief deputy said the agency has about 13,000 pages.

"Losing that large a percentage of the total investigative file will almost certainly inhibit people's ability to understand what happened with the investigation," Anfinson said.

Once a criminal investigation has closed, the investigative file is made public under the Minnesota Data Practices Act.

The Wetterlings, as victims of the crime, were allowed to review the files first. They requested that 168 pages be sealed, claiming the 22 documents held personal information about their marriage and family, but a judge in March ruled against them.

District Court Judge Ann Carrott sided with media outlets and public interest groups, who successfully argued that if privacy concerns were used to trump the Data Practices Act, it would effectively dismantle the law.

However, Carrott also ruled that the federal documents included in the investigative file belonged to the federal government and could not be released by Stearns County; the Pioneer Press has filed a Freedom of Information request seeking those files.

Anfinson said he was "extremely skeptical" that the FBI needed to take most of those documents back, "given the age of most of them."

"What was so important in taking those back that they were willing to frustrate some broader understanding of the investigation?" he said.

The Stearns County Sheriff's Office will release 41,787 pages of documents via thumb drives during a news conference at 10:06 a.m. at the county's Law Enforcement Center in St. Cloud.

The pages will include all documents from the Stearns County Sheriff's Office and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, including investigators' reports, lab findings and search warrants, said Sheriff Don Gudmundson.

Why did it take so long?

Jacob Wetterling was 11 years old when he kidnapped on Oct. 22, 1989, by Danny Heinrich, who confessed two years ago to sexually assaulting and killing the St. Joseph boy. Heinrich was sentenced to 20 years in prison on a child-pornography charge as part of a plea agreement approved by the Wetterlings.

Under the terms of the plea agreement, Heinrich confessed to Jacob's kidnapping, sexual assault and shooting and agreed to lead authorities to the boy's body. In return, Heinrich was not prosecuted for murder, which has no statute of limitations, and 24 other counts of pornography were dropped.

Heinrich also had to confess in court to kidnapping and sexually assaulting 12-year-old Jared Scheierl in Cold Spring on Jan. 13, 1989, nine months before he abducted and killed Jacob.

The documents released Thursday should shed light on why it took investigators so long to solve both cases and why Heinrich, who was interviewed by investigators in 1989 and 1990, wasn't arrested sooner.

The documents also should provide insight as to why authorities focused so intently on Dan Rassier, whose family farm is near the site where Jacob was abducted.

Former Stearns County Sheriff John Sanner publicly named Rassier, an elementary school teacher, as a person of interest in Jacob's abduction in 2010.

Rassier maintained his innocence but wasn't cleared until 2016 when Heinrich confessed. He and his mother, Rita, have sued authorities in U.S. District Court and are seeking more than $2 million in damages.

Their lawsuit alleges, among other things, that Sanner and other investigators obtained a search warrant for the Rassier farm illegally.

The Wetterlings on Wednesday said they were sorry if any information made public Thursday caused pain to others.

"Our hearts hurt for anyone who is pained or hurt from the release of this file," they said in a statement released through their attorney, Doug Kelley. "Clearly, changes are still needed."

The Wetterlings said it has been difficult for them "to relive those dark days."

"With time, our family is healing and getting stronger, and we appreciate all of the efforts to make things better for future victims of crime, their families and for all of us," they said.

The couple asked that people "honor Jacob and the short life he lived" by hugging their children and telling them how unique and special they are.

It ended with this request: "Say a prayer, light a candle, hold hands, be with friends and always hope."

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Jacob Wetterling documents to be released next week

Mary Divine / St. Paul Pioneer Press — Fri, 14 Sep 2018 20:27:15 GMT

ST. CLOUD, Minn.-The closed investigative file regarding the Jacob Wetterling abduction will be released to the public on Thursday, Sept. 20, Stearns County officials said Friday.

The release will happen at 10:06 a.m. at the Stearns County Law Enforcement Center. Sheriff Don Gudmundson will host a news conference and present "key elements in the case and take questions based on the presentation," according to a news release.

Jacob Wetterling's parents, Patty and Jerry Wetterling, sued to keep part of the investigative file private, at least until a judge could review documents that they said held personal information about their marriage and family.

Several Minnesota media organizations - including the Pioneer Press - intervened, arguing that the documents should be public under the Minnesota Data Practices Act.

In April, Douglas County District Judge Ann Carrott ruled that because the investigation had concluded, the documents should be released.

In 2016, Danny Heinrich confessed to kidnapping and killing Jacob Wetterling in rural St. Joseph in 1989. Heinrich is serving a 20-year prison sentence for child pornography at the Federal Medical Center Devens in Ayer, Mass., about 40 miles northwest of Boston. FMC Devens is a prison for male inmates who require specialized long-term care, according to the prison's website.

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Minnesota judge says Wetterling files are public; family of abducted boy will seek to change privacy laws

Al Edenloff — Fri, 20 Apr 2018 20:45:46 GMT

ALEXANDRIA, Minn.-A Minnesota judge ruled Thursday, April 19, that all the documents in the investigative file in the Jacob Wetterling case must be released to the public.

Patty and Jerry Wetterling, the parents of Jacob Wetterling, who was abducted near the family's St. Joseph home in 1989, filed suit to prevent the release of 168 pages within the 56,373 page file that was compiled by law enforcement during the three-decade long investigation.

The investigation ended in September 2016 when Danny Heinrich confessed to Jacob Wetterling's kidnapping and murder, which would have triggered making the investigative file public information.

The Wetterlings, however, reviewed the file and requested Stearns County to redact information regarding their marriage and family life, which they described as personal and private information.

A coalition of media outlets and public interest groups intervened, saying that the documents are public government data and the Wetterlings did not have a constitutional right of privacy.

Douglas County District Judge Ann Carrott ordered the file remained sealed until the privacy question was resolved.

During a Feb. 2 hearing in Alexandria, Mark Anfinson, an attorney representing the Minnesota Newspaper Association, told Carrot that the Minnesota's Data Practices Act requires all files to be public once an investigation is complete.

Anfinson said that no court has ruled that a right to privacy prohibits the disclosure of public records. He said that if privacy concerns are used to trump the Data Practices Act, it would effectively dismantle the act.

"Whenever someone thought that information was too private, too sensitive to disclose, information could be withheld," Anfinson said.

Carrott ruled in favor of the media coalition, giving it summary judgment, meaning there are no issue of material facts to go forward to a trial.

Carrott said the Wetterlings do not have a legal claim of informational privacy.

In her written copy of the ruling, Carrott noted, "The (Wetterling) family tragedy had a profound effect on the people of Minnesota. In many ways, Jacob Wetterling's kidnapping on a dirt road in a small rural town in Minnesota made us all feel less safe. While the court has great personal empathy for the Wetterlings, the court must impartially apply the law, unswayed by emotion. To do otherwise would result in an unfair application of the law."

In a statement released after the ruling, the Wetterlings said that although they were saddened to hear the ruling, they were thankful for Carrott's "careful consideration of our concerns."

The Wetterlings added that their lawsuit was never about preventing the media from seeing the case file. It was about preventing victims and their families from further harm.

"From the beginning, we have witnessed firsthand the integrity and accuracy of the Minnesota news media," the Wetterlings said. "They have set the bar very high, and have always treated our family with respect and dignity. We trust that this high level of reporting will continue. Our hope is that beyond the media, whoever reads the file will also have a discerning eye and will treat information respectfully."

The Wetterlings thanked all those involved in the 27-year effort to find their son and to identify the man who abducted him.

They said they will work to change the Minnesota Data Practices Act to help protect future victims of crime.

Anfinson called Carrott's ruling a thoughtful, careful decision, which is "all you can ask for from a judge," he said in a phone interview with the Echo Press.

"Of course I'm gratified with the decision," he said, "but what is more gratifying is how she approached this important issue."

Last month, Carrott ruled that thousands of pages of documents the FBI shared with the Stearns County Sheriff's Office as part of the investigation be returned to the FBI.

The FBI documents cover the majority of the pages that the Wetterlings were trying to keep sealed. FBI documents can be accessed through the federal Freedom of Information Act.

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Judge rules Wetterling documents must go back to FBI

Peter Cox / MPR News — Fri, 30 Mar 2018 14:18:21 GMT

A Stearns County judge has ruled that a portion of contested files in the Jacob Wetterling investigation must be returned to the FBI. The agency can then decide whether to make them public.

Stearns County had planned to publicly release the entire investigative file last year, after Danny Heinrich confessed to abducting and killing 11-year-old Jacob in 1989.

But Jacob's parents, Patty and Jerry Wetterling filed a lawsuit to stop the release of 168 pages - including some created by the FBI - because they contain personal information.

Seven media organizations, including MPR News, joined the suit, saying all the documents should be made public. Then the FBI got involved, saying it wanted thousands of its investigative files returned to the agency. Now, a Stearns County judge has ruled in favor of the FBI, saying the documents are subject to federal law.

Douglas Kelley, an attorney for the Wetterlings, says the 168 pages the family wants kept private amount to 22 separate investigation documents.

"The court's ruling says of the 22, 15 of those documents will go back to the FBI, so that means that we are down to the wrangling of just seven documents out of all the entire file," Kelley said. "And I think that's very heartening and I think it's good news for the Wetterlings."

Kelley said the district court still has to rule on those seven documents.

The high profile Wetterling investigation dragged on for nearly three decades and the Wetterlings only learned of Jacob's fate in the fall of 2016.

The media organizations' attorney Mark Anfinson, said the public has a right to know what's in the documents.

"The ability of the news organizations and the citizens of Minnesota to really understand what happened in that investigations is going to be significantly diminished, I think," Anfinson said. "That's unfortunate, and the FBI has never explained why they need to cause that impact. I think that's the big issue here."

Anfinson said he's not sure yet whether the media organizations will appeal the decision on the FBI files.

An FBI spokesperson declined to comment on the case, but did say the documents would be subject to the federal Freedom of Information act.

However, Kelley, the Wetterling's attorney, says federal law will be more friendly to the Wetterlings' requests.

"There is a recognized safety valve for a right of privacy, so we will then make a request to the FBI to say of those 15 documents that came back, which we had previously asked not to be released, we will ask them to make that determination," Kelley said.

Meanwhile, the case continues in the Stearns County court, with the next hearing slated for April 10.