By Maya Geving / News Reporter

While the abduction of Jacob Wetterling rocked central Minn. for nearly three decades, his mother stood at the front line in the fight to find him. 

On Wednesday, March 13, Patty Wetterling spoke at the Stearns History Museum about her new book Dear Jacob: A Mother’s Journey of Hope, which offers a behind-the-scenes insight into her unwavering strength and hope. The book is co-written with Joy Baker, a local blogger who took an interest in Jacob’s case. 

Wetterling began her talk by recalling what it was like to move to St. Joseph and raise four children. She said they lived above her husband Jerry Wetterling’s chiropractic office before moving into a cul-de-sac in the heart of St. Joseph. 

“I was often seen pulling the wagon and having kids on scooters and trikes. It was our world. I grew up in St. Paul so living in a small town was a new experience for me and it was really, really fun.”

“We were happy,” she said before recalling the events of Oct. 22, 1989. 

Last minute, the Wetterlings decided to go to a gathering at their friend’s house that night. They asked 11-year-old Jacob if he minded babysitting his younger sister Carmen. He agreed and stayed home with his friend Aaron and his 10-year-old brother Trevor. 

“Shortly after they called and said they were bored and asked could they ride their bikes to the Tom Thumb store to rent a video,” said Wetterling. 

She said no because it was getting dark but Trevor asked to talk to Dad’

“Then they called again and said Carmen doesn’t want to go. Can Rochelle come over to babysit? These were responsible kids, they got a babysitter for their little sister.”

On the way back from the store, the boys were confronted by a masked gunman only half a mile from their house. He let Trevor and Aaron go but took Jacob. The boys ran home to call 911 and the neighbors called the Wetterling’s to tell them what happened. 

“That began this journey. Jerry and I drove back from St. Augusta which seemed like hours to get back home. I kept telling him to go faster and he didn’t wanna get stopped by the police and I said ‘Well then we’d have an escort, let’s go’. It was absolute chaos,” said Wetterling. 

The room was full of people, many of whom lived in the area when Jacob was abducted. Program Director of Stearns History Museum Caitlin Carlson said that due to the magnitude of people wanting to attend, they needed to require pre-registration.

“It was a story that a lot of people remember, and that a lot of people want to learn more about,” said Carlson. 

Jill Pundsack, who lived in Sauk Rapids when Jacob was abducted, said it was a topic of conversation no matter where she went. 

“I was a nurse at the time. Many of the people that worked at the police department were patients of mine and they were just so absorbed in this whole thing. It was hard for them too and it was hard that they couldn’t figure it out,” she said. 

During her talk, Wetterling showed pictures of newspaper articles about Jacob’s abduction. 

“I was caught off guard by how fast the story grew. I really believe it was because of the community response. This community stood up and said ‘No, you can’t take our children’,” she said. 

The community showed solidarity in numerous ways, including a five-mile-long line of people who stood together to show support for Jacob. Pundsack recalled standing in that very line back in 1989. 

“I brought my son, he was four. It was really cold, we had our winter stuff on. My son was so affected that he wouldn’t ride a bike until he was about 12 years old. His grandma said ‘Jacob would want you to ride a bike’. So, it affected our family and we prayed for that family all the time,” she said.

For the next almost 27 years, Wetterling consistently wrote letters to Jacob as reflected in the book’s title. Some of these were published in the St. Cloud Times. 

“It was my way of keeping him with us,” she said. 

As the years went by, Wetterling’s dedication to finding Jacob never wavered. 

“Jacob was worth fighting for. Other kids would write saying ‘Don’t give up looking for Jacob, if my parents quit looking for me, I don’t wouldn’t want to go home’. You’re delivering a message. It was bigger than our family almost right away.” 

An Advocate for Children’s Safety

With Jerry Wetterling having to go back to work to support the family, Wetterling was thrust into the role of becoming the family’s main spokesperson. She went on to become the Chair-of-the-Board for the National Center of Missing and Exploited Children and completed law enforcement training all over the United States and Europe. 

“It was such an incredible honor. I was the first female chair and the first victim that they ever put on the board,” she said. 

While serving on the board, Wetterling championed a law that would make all sex offenders in the United States be listed on a registry. On Sept. 13, 1994, the ‘Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent Offender Registration Act’ was passed and signed into fruition by Bill Clinton. 

While Wetterling believes that the registry is a good tool for law enforcement, she also recognizes that it presents certain challenges, such as the fact that not all sex offenders will be listed on the registry due to not being convicted or because children can be put on the registry and have their lives changed forever. 

“I ask a lot of questions because that’s how you find out answers. And I think we should do that with legislation. It’s people’s lives that will be forever changed. Is it helping or is there something else we need to do?” she said. 

The Wetterlings also founded the Jacob Wetterling Resource Center to help other families searching for their missing children. 

Joy Baker Enters the Picture

Wetterling said she first met Baker at a gala in Willmar in 2013. She was impressed by Baker’s ability to accurately recount Jacob’s story in her blog, although skeptical as to why Baker was so interested in Jacob’s case. Eventually, she was able to let her guard down and trust Baker due to the important connections she was making between Jacob’s abduction and other similar cases. 

“What made me need to work with Joy was her finding all of those other victims. I wanted to talk to them too but I was really busy at that point traveling. She knew everybody in Paynesville. She knew all the families that were victimized,” said Wetterling. 

In her research, Baker found articles from the Paynesville Press that stated that there were numerous attacks against young boys in Paynesville around the time that Jacob went missing. She was also able to connect with Jared Scheierl, who had been abducted, sexually assaulted and let go in Cold Spring the same year that Jacob went missing. 

Could all these cases be related? Baker wondered. So, the Wetterlings, Scheierl and Baker formed a team with a mission to find out. 

Finding Answers

Around the 25th anniversary of Jacob’s abduction, the Wetterlings went to the Sheriff and said they wanted the crime to be revisited. They set up a meeting with many law enforcement agencies including the FBI, which brought in a cold-case team. It was when they revisited Scheierl’s case and re-ran some of his clothing that they got a DNA hit.  

“DNA advanced. So now they knew who took Jared. They knew who sexually assaulted Jared but the statute of limitations had run out and they couldn’t do anything about it. But they could get a search warrant so that’s when they did the search and arrested Danny Heinrich. Not on anything for Jared or Jacob but for child pornography,” said Wetterling. 

At this point, Wetterling and Baker had started writing the book. It was meant to be another way to spread awareness about Jacob’s disappearance. But on Friday, Sept. 2, 2016, Jacob’s remains were found. 

“We were devastated,” said Wetterling.  

The Wetterlings agreed to a plea deal, stating that if Heinrich confessed to murdering and assaulting Jacob and telling police where his body was located, he would receive a lesser charge for his possession of child pornography and would avoid being charged with Jacob’s murder. 

“They knew my answer. I was looking for my son. I’ll let the rest of the world deal with the guy. Just bring me my son,” said Wetterling. 

She held up a stack of yellow bookmarks for the audience to see. Listed on them were 11 values that Jacob stood for: be fair, be kind, be understanding, be honest, be thankful, be a good sport, be a good friend, be joyful, be generous, be gentle, and be positive. Wetterling said the idea came from a kid in Virginia who wanted to paint the number 11 on his cheek during a football game to honor Jacob after his remains were found. 

Still Re-defining

“I was a searching mom for nearly 27 years. Now who are you?,” said Wetterling. 

She said writing the book was therapeutic for her. When the Minnesota Historical Press offered them a book deal, she and Baker were ecstatic. 

“This is where it belongs. Jacob’s story changed history here,” said Wetterling.

Throughout her talk and her book, Wetterling mentioned stories of when she did something to make a sad situation a little bit better. She mentioned how when Jacob first went missing, she baked cookies and brought them to the police station to make the atmosphere less tense. She also recalled the time when she took out a loan to buy a pool table for Christmas so that her children’s friends would feel less scared to come over to their house. 

“It worked!” she laughed. 

There is one common theme, threaded throughout all of Wetterling’s activism, letters to Jacob, and acts of kindness: Hope. Although Jacob’s story did not have the happy ending everyone hoped so badly for, his spirit lives on through everyone who loved him and his story has touched the hearts of many. 

“I think in order to help yourself, you have to help somebody else. And that’s what she did. She turned it around and helped many other people whose children had been abducted,” said Pundsack. 

Wetterling said she will always care and try to build a safer world for children, but that she is also willing to pass the torch and let the younger generation lead. Her eyes lit up as she spoke about her grandchildren and the family trips, talent shows, skits, and color-coordinated photoshoots that the whole family does together every year. 

“I want to be a grandma. I don’t wanna be the tragic grandma, I wanna play,” she laughed.

Wetterling said she will forever fight for her grandchildren to experience those 11 values Jacob stood for. 

“I believe in community healing which is part of the reason why I wanted to write this book and I believe in communities pulling together. Our world needs that right now.”