by Dennis Dalman
editor@thenewsleaders.com
Silence is not an option when it comes to the abduction, exploitation and brutalization of children, said Patty Wetterling, mother of Jacob Wetterling, the boy who was abducted by a masked gunman 26 years ago near St. Joseph.
The Wetterlings, like law-enforcement officials last week, did not connect Jacob’s disappearance to a “person of interest” arrested Oct. 28, although the connection remains an open question.
“I refuse to be silenced by this man,” she said at a Nov. 3 meeting with the media. She was referring to the man recently arrested. That man, Daniel Heinrich of Annandale, was on law enforcement’s radar as far back as Oct. 22, 1989, when Jacob Wetterling was abducted. He has been charged with multiple counts of possessing child pornography. (See related story).
Dr. Jerry and Patty Wetterling sent out an invitation to all media to meet them at their home southeast of St. Joseph at 12:15 p.m. Nov. 3. And the media were happy to oblige, coming from far and wide. Shortly before noon, the roads leading to the Wetterling home were lined with news vehicles from TV, radio, newspapers and social media.
On a warm November day, a large cluster of media people gathered as the Wetterlings, arm in arm, walked down their sloping driveway to address those gathered. They talked for 10 minutes and did not take any reporters’ questions. After the meeting, they walked arm in arm back up the driveway to their home, the same one they lived in when their son was abducted on the road leading to that home 26 years ago.
The Wetterlings thanked the media for keeping the abduction issue alive for 26 years, and they thanked the victims of sexual abuse in Cold Spring in the late 1980s, who came forward to describe what happened to them when a man, out of nowhere, attacked and groped them. In one case, a boy was abducted and sexually assaulted in the man’s vehicle. Fortunately, after the assaultive trauma he endured, he was set free and has since talked about it, many years later, as an adult man. That victim, because of a recent DNA match to the crime, has been confirmed as the one abducted and sexually assaulted by Heinrich, the man arrested two week ago.
During their 10-minute visit with the media Nov. 3, the Wetterlings’ message was that good people must continue to work together not just to find missing children but to prevent the abuse of children to begin with.
The man who was arrested for possessing child pornography is one example of how pervasive the problem is, with “millions of images” of children exploited for sex being distributed, Patty noted.
Jerry said some people likely have a “little piece” of information about Jacob’s abduction, and if that little piece is added to other little pieces, it could make a big difference and result in “bringing Jacob back home.”
Patty emphasized the importance of creating a world in which children are nurtured and safe, a world based on the Golden Rule in which mutual respect is valued and modeled.
Hope, she said, is an active verb.
“You don’t sit back and hope something will happen,” she said. “It’s all of you (people) showing up.”
Every child, she added, is “our” child, everybody’s child.
Days earlier, before their in-person meeting with the media, the Wetterlings, who were in Colorado at the time visiting their son, daughter-in-law and a grandchild, released the following statement:
The Wetterling family would like to thank all involved in the investigation of Danny Heinrich and his crimes against children. The search for Jacob is an ongoing investigation and we will watch and learn with everyone else. Right now we know what is being reported. We know what you all know.
For 26 long years, we have said somebody knows something. If you know anything about this man, his ties to St. Joseph and his victimization of children in 1989 or since, please call the Stearns County Sheriff’s Department at 320-259-3700 or 320-656-6625.
We also need to point out the obvious. Child pornography is a devastating, harmful criminal activity. If you know of anyone who is engaged in looking at, producing or sharing child pornography, please call the police or the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (1-800-THE-LOST) so these people do not harm another child.
We are so grateful for the prayers, the support and the Hope shared in our search for Jacob and the search for answers. Who took Jacob? Where is he? What happened?
Today we ask for a little time. We will be available for comment next week but ask for some space at this point in time. We have no further comment.
With hope,
Patty and Jerry Wetterling
Reporters and camera operators wait for Dr. Jerry and Patty Wetterling to emerge from their home to make statements to the media concerning the arrest of a man who is a person of interest in the abduction of Jacob Wetterling 26 years ago.
Patty Wetterling speaks to reporters, who gathered at the Wetterling home to hear their reactions to the arrest of an Annandale man who has been charged with possession of child pornography. Behind Patty is her husband, Jerry, who also spoke to the reporters.
Members of local and statewide news media gather at the Jerry and Patty Wetterling residence Nov. 3 to hear what the couple has to say about an arrest of a person of interest in the abduction of their son, Jacob, 26 years ago.
