Minnesota kidnapping survivor & mom of slain boy break their silence
Two Survivors Speak Out: The Jacob Wetterling Story and a Message of Hope
What Happened to Jacob Wetterling?
Imagine a quiet evening in 1989. An 11-year-old boy named Jacob Wetterling was riding his bike home in St. Joseph, Minnesota. That night changed everything.
- Jacob was kidnapped at gunpoint, hurt, and later killed.
- He was taken on October 22, 1989, while biking home.
- He was with his 10-year-old brother and his best friend.
- A masked man stopped the three boys, took Jacob, and told the other two to run and not look back—or he would shoot them.
- Jacob was never seen alive again.
Important Point: The case stayed unsolved for decades and shook the whole community until 2016.
Another Boy, A Similar Story
About nine months before Jacob disappeared, another scary event happened nearby:
- In January 1989, a 12-year-old boy named Jared Scheierl was kidnapped in Cold Spring, Minnesota.
- He was driven to a remote spot and sexually assaulted (this means he was touched in a wrong and harmful way).
- The attacker dropped him off and said, “Run, don’t look back,” or he’d shoot.
Police thought Jacob’s case might be linked to Jared’s.
How Was the Case Solved?
Here is how the puzzle was finally put together:
- Police investigated Jacob’s kidnapping right away.
- They later looked at Jared’s case from nine months earlier.
- After a cold case review (like re-checking an old, unsolved mystery), DNA was found on Jared’s clothes.
- That DNA matched a man named Danny Heinrich.
- Heinrich was arrested in October 2015 for child pornography (illegal and harmful images of children).
- In 2016, he made a deal: he admitted to abducting, assaulting, and killing Jacob. In return, his charges were lowered to one count of child pornography and a 20-year sentence.
- He showed police where he buried Jacob on a quiet farm, and Jacob’s remains were found in 2016.
Important Point: Heinrich also admitted hurting Jared, but he could not be charged for that because the statute of limitations (a legal time limit to bring charges) had expired. In 2021, Minnesota changed its law to remove that time limit for sexual violence.
The TV Show and Where to Watch
A TV program called “20/20” made an episode named “Where Are You Jacob?” that looks back at this case with new interviews.
- It airs Friday, July 17, at 9 p.m. ET on ABC.
- You can stream it the next day on Disney+ and Hulu.
- The case was first covered in 2023, and this episode adds new talks with the people involved.
- Want more behind-the-scenes? Listen to “20/20: The After Show” on Mondays in your podcast app. It is hosted by Deborah Roberts, a co-anchor of “20/20.”
Healing and Advocacy Work
Jacob’s mom, Patty Wetterling, and Jared Scheierl both shared their feelings in new interviews.
- Patty was a stay-at-home mom who said, “We just played. It was fun.”
- She and her husband Jerry were close with their kids.
- After Jacob was taken, Patty turned to advocacy (speaking up to help others). She said, “I tried to help as many families as I could… Wouldn’t it be nice if this never happened… to another family?”
- Jared said he often wondered, “Why am I still here?” He found purpose when his daughter was born.
- Jared and Patty teamed up to launch campaigns for missing children and child victims of assault.
- Jared says Patty is a big inspiration: “She speaks up, she speaks her mind.”
Important Point: Even after 37 years, Patty remembers Jacob’s “joy.” She says, “I can’t live with the horrific ending. I have to celebrate the life that he lived.”
Summary
Jacob Wetterling was an 11-year-old boy taken and killed in 1989. The case was solved in 2016 when Danny Heinrich confessed. Another victim, Jared Scheierl, was attacked months earlier. Both Jared and Jacob’s mom Patty now work to help other families and prevent such tragedies. A new “20/20” episode tells their story with fresh interviews.
FAQ
Q: Who was Jacob Wetterling?
A: An 11-year-old boy from Minnesota who was kidnapped, assaulted, and killed in 1989.
Q: How did police catch the person responsible?
A: They re-reviewed an old case, found DNA on Jared’s clothes, and matched it to Danny Heinrich, who later confessed.
Q: Why couldn’t Heinrich be charged for hurting Jared?
A: Because the legal time limit (statute of limitations) had passed, though Minnesota later removed that limit for sexual violence.
Q: Where can I watch the new Jacob Wetterling episode?
A: On ABC at 9 p.m. ET July 17, then on Disney+ and Hulu the next day, or listen to the after-show podcast on Mondays.
