The remains of an 11-year-old boy who was abducted nearly 27 years ago in St. Joseph, Minnesota, have finally been found, authorities confirmed in a statement Saturday.
Advertisement
The Minneapolis Star-Tribune and KSTP-TV, Minneapolis, reported Saturday the Stearns County, Minn., Sheriff’s Office recovered the remains late last week.
Jacob was biking home from a convenience store with his brother and their friend after when a masked man approached them.
Jacob Wetterling was just 11 years old when he disappeared in 1989.
At the time of Wetterling’s abduction, Heinrich lived in Paynesville, about 30 miles southwest of St. Joseph, with his father.
Authorities stated that they would continue to research the incident and that DNA tests will take place to find new evidence that may lead to the kidnapper’s apprehension.
According to a report by Twin Cities CBS affiliate WCCO, sources claim the remains of Jacob Wetterling have been found.
Jacob’s abduction shattered the entire state’s sense of safety.
The resource center in Minneapolis is dedicated to helping prevent the exploitation of children. So, investigators moved on to other leads. In the end, the search ended in the same county where it began. “Thank you for your hope”.
A white ribbon with a yellow wooden letter J has since been hung on a post near the scene following the news.
Campion said he spent only a little time on the Wetterling investigation in 1989 but was still “at a loss for words” on Sunday, still processing the break in one of Minnesota’s most enduring mysteries. “God, I prayed for that”.
2010: Investigators spend two days searching and digging at a farm near where Jacob Wetterling was last seen. His dream, he once said, was to be a football player when he grew up.
Authorities said the man held on to Jacob and told the other boys to run. The kids dubbed the menace “Chester the Molester”. He has denied involvement. They found a match to Heinrich.
October 26, 1989: Deputies on horseback and hundreds of people search for Jacob, but find nothing.
He is now incarcerated and awaiting trial on child pornography charges. Child pornography also was found on Heinrich’s computer hard drive. Federal authorities declined to comment.
“There was a lot of mistrust”, he said, adding that people started locking their doors for the first time.
Heinrich has been held on charges of receiving and possessing child pornography.
At a news conference last October, U.S. Attorney Andy Luger announced that Danny Heinrich was being charged in federal court on multiple counts of possession of child pornography.
Jacob’s abduction led to the 1994 Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent Offender Registration Act, which requires sex offender registries and guidelines exist in every state, according to CNN.
As the years passed, the Wetterlings never gave up hope.
St. Joseph is a community that has felt every up and down of the highly-emotional case since October 22, 1989.
Cops are understood to have made the tragic discovery after naming Danny Heinrich, who has denied any involvement in Jacob’s abduction, as a “person of interest” a year ago. This year, he would have turned 38.
Jacob’s parents founded the Jacob Wetterling Resource Center, which provides support to families and communities to deal with child sex offenders and abductions.
The family described being in “deep grief”.
Jacob Wetterling’s mother Patty said the remains of her son have been found.
Advertisement
“They had to stay in the house, and we went them whenever they went to the playgrounds or to their friends’, and made sure that’s where they were”, Stocker said of parenting after Jacob’s abduction. “Their choice changed the world”, the statement said.
