Using technology that wasn’t available back in 1989, investigators found Heinrich’s DNA on the 12-year-old’s sweatshirt, Richard Thornton, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Minneapolis office, said when authorities announced Heinrich’s arrest in October.
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The Ramsey County Medical Examiner and a forensic odontologist identified the remains as Wetterling’s, the sheriff’s office said in a statement released today. They did not say where exactly the remains were found.
“The similarities are there”, Stearns County Sheriff John Sanner told KARE 11 at the time.
It appears the story of Jacob Wetterling is having its last chapter written, at long last, almost 27 years after his abduction and disappearance burned his image into our consciousness. “I just wanted to show support for Patty and the Wetterlings and give some kind of love”.
Patty and Jerry Wetterling confirmed Jacob had been found dead and said: “Our hearts are broken”. “I am not responding to any media yet as I have no words”. DNA from Heinrich has implicated him in that case.
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“Saturday September 3 2016, marked an end of a 27 year search for Hope and Truth”.
Every Oct. 22, on the anniversary of Jacob’s disappearance, Minnesotans kept their porch lights on in his memory.
Authorities confirmed Saturday that the remains of Wetterling, who disappeared 27 years ago in his hometown of St. Joseph, Minnesota, have been found. The official told the AP that Heinrich took authorities to a field in central Minnesota last week, and that remains and other evidence were recovered.
Authorities said the man held on to Jacob and told the other boys to run. After the incident, Jacob has not been seen since, despite intense search efforts and missing posters offering rewards for his appearance.
Over the years, Heinrich had denied any involvement in any of the cases.
Because the statute of limitations had expired, he wasn’t charged Jared’s sex assault. “My prayers are with them”.
Neighbors say they always knew he was a suspect.
Heinrich has been held on charges of receiving and possessing child pornography.
At the time of Jacob’s disappearance, Paynesville had suffered a string of attacks on young boys – a husky white man, his face obscured, would approach and sometimes grope groups of kids on bikes. He said at that time that he was not involved in the case, authorities have said.
They did not confirm where the remains were found, but said authorities were reviewing new evidence in the case and hope to provide more information in the coming days.
However, police discovered Heinrich’s DNA on the sweatshirt Jared had been wearing the day he was kidnapped past year. All along, investigators have believed the Wetterling and Scheierl abduction cases may be linked. They lit the flame that became Jacob’s Hope.
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Heinrich first came to the attention of investigators in 1990.
