MN - Jacob Wetterling, 11, St. Joseph, 22 Oct 1989 - #1

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MNlady said:
The son lived with his parents in 1989. They were in Europe but he was not, he was home. He said he slept through the helicopters and noise of the search for Jacob but yet one of the news stories said that he told LE that a vehicle turned around at the end of their driveway that night...subsequently they were searching for a vehicle and not a person on foot. Quite some time later that person/vehicle was found and was ruled out.
IMO the new young guys looking over an old case put that vehicle rule out into the context that if the perp was on foot we'd better look again.
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:waitasec: This is what always got me about the case: How could DR sleep through all that ruckus going on right outside of his house? Helicopters buzzing overhead and sirens blaring in the dead of night out in the middle of nowhere. No way. DR should have been running down his driveway, throwing on a bathrobe, wondering what the hay was going on.

jmo
 
Cubby said:
Since this is a farm I was thinking along the lines of the size of the parcel of land.. 5 acres, 15 acres... We don't know the size of the farm.
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I guess I am under the impression that it basically takes up the block, IDK. It's late, and I know nothing about real estate. I couldn't find anything on the size, at least on the free records sites. From the pics, it's a good sized one, plus there's woods and such, as well.

I did find out though, that this is reportedly the last working farm in St Joseph's limits, and that it's a start/finish of a marathon in the town. Seems like a rather ideal farm, and integral to the community. Sad that it is also implicated in such a tragic case.

It tells the story of Bob Rassier’s determination to hang on to his family farm, the last standing farm in the city of St. Joseph.
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http://www.csbsju.edu/x2747.xml



Also:
http://www.thenewsleaders.com/articles/2008/06/05/st_joseph/news/news2.txt
 
MNlady said:
The son lived with his parents in 1989. They were in Europe but he was not, he was home. He said he slept through the helicopters and noise of the search for Jacob but yet one of the news stories said that he told LE that a vehicle turned around at the end of their driveway that night...subsequently they were searching for a vehicle and not a person on foot. Quite some time later that person/vehicle was found and was ruled out.
IMO the new young guys looking over an old case put that vehicle rule out into the context that if the perp was on foot we'd better look again.
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The son did give a DNA sample in 2005, after the car was taken out of the equation, so perhaps there is still hope he will be ruled out or brought to justice, whichever the case may be.
 
By the way, Jacob was, for a time this evening, the Top Google search term in all the US, according to the Google trends.

So, even if this search leads no where, his story is certainly getting out there. I am so glad LE still cares about this case.

Hoping for the best for this family. 20 years is far too long to wonder...
 
That is a very, very telling news interview, IMO. Scary! :eek: I hope some answers are found.
 
Agreed, that news interview was chilling.

At the time of Jacob's disappearance, there was a huge search, foot, horse back, FBI and LE involved from the very night. I had just assumed that the immediate area and locals had been thoroughly investigated, because no obvious vehicle was seen. Jacob has been in the back of the minds of us Minnesotans since this horror occurred.
On November10,2002, a college student from near by St John's University just vanished from sight. Again, widespread searches but no evidence of any kind. The student has never been found.
 
Dum-Dum Sucker said:
:eek: 6-minute news video from 2004, aired again tonight on local news. DR (with blurred face) is questioned by a reporter. I found this video to be quite explosive in more ways than one.

http://www.myfoxtwincities.com/dpp/...ng-neighbor-in-2004-fox-9-report-june-30-2010

Note at the very end when DR says that he had to get some sleep. Yikes.
jmo
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Strange response at the end. If I'm correct DR is now 54 years old. This means he would have been 33 when the abduction took place. In DR's defense someone who is 33 and who lives out in the middle of nowhere on a farm might just think an accident happened and go back to sleep. On the other hand, his response to the reporter about not wanting to waste time was very strange.

Again, not wanting to rush to judgment...
DR - if I correctly remember - was a band teacher for 30 years for a local school district. If he was/is a sexual predator, during those 21 years since Jacob's disappearance should there have been other indications? I have not heard anyone state something akin to this. DR also has a VERY deep voice, which seems very recognizable. Would the other boys recognize this voice?

The family is very well respected in St. Joe's, and DR has run marathons with respectable times. I hope for the aging parents that DR wasn't involved.
 
Crews are there as I type this with dump trucks and back hoes.

I will grab some links in a minute...just wanted to get that info out there.

I am in St. Joseph and will update with anything I see or hear.
 
I have no law enforcement experience, so perhaps my thought on this is misguided, but what does it say about this investigation if it turns out that the guy who lived at the frickin' house closest to where Jacob was last seen is the perpetrator of this crime?

I can just see the press conference now. "Yeah. Turns out it was the guy who lived at the house connected to the driveway where Jacob's last footprints were found did it. It only took us 21 years to determine this." Will there be a round of applause, a la the BTK Killer press conference?

Sorry, but I've gotta question the police's competence if it turns out someone from this house did this crime.
 
freshwater said:
I have no law enforcement experience, so perhaps my thought on this is misguided, but what does it say about this investigation if it turns out that the guy who lived at the frickin' house closest to where Jacob was last seen is the perpetrator of this crime?

I can just see the press conference now. "Yeah. Turns out it was the guy who lived at the house connected to the driveway where Jacob's last footprints were found did it. It only took us 21 years to determine this." Will there be a round of applause, a la the BTK Killer press conference?

Sorry, but I've gotta question the police's competence if it turns out someone from this house did this crime.
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This is what I was thinking! I would think he wouldn't have been able to hide Jacob and not be caught at that time. No evidence on him/ his property and the dogs didn't trace him further on the property? That's why I think it's unlikely, but who knows. Wonder where they are digging up.
 
freshwater said:
I have no law enforcement experience, so perhaps my thought on this is misguided, but what does it say about this investigation if it turns out that the guy who lived at the frickin' house closest to where Jacob was last seen is the perpetrator of this crime?

I can just see the press conference now. "Yeah. Turns out it was the guy who lived at the house connected to the driveway where Jacob's last footprints were found did it. It only took us 21 years to determine this." Will there be a round of applause, a la the BTK Killer press conference?

Sorry, but I've gotta question the police's competence if it turns out someone from this house did this crime.
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I know! Not to mention if it turns out he may have done other crimes since. :(

However, I should add as a disclaimer here that I have somewhat avoided airing all of my suspicion of this fellow - he's a teacher, so accusations like this could seriously affect his life, which would not be good if he is innocent. I know that people have had their suspicions of him for a long time, but I just don't want to add to it as long as LE doesn't even have enough to lay charges. MOO.
 
LE cannot search private property without permission or a warrant. No matter how much they would like to they cannot. Did the property recently change hands?
 
Shay said:
Crews are there as I type this with dump trucks and back hoes.

I will grab some links in a minute...just wanted to get that info out there.

I am in St. Joseph and will update with anything I see or hear.
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Hi Shay! Would you have an estimate of how large the farm is? (Ever since Cubby asked, and I couldn't find it anywhere, it's been nagging at me.) TIA.
 
believe09 said:
LE cannot search private property without permission or a warrant. No matter how much they would like to they cannot. Did the property recently change hands?
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I was under the impression they had all the warrants they needed. Is this wrong?

(But the property is still owned by the same people as it was 21 years ago.)
 
WhyaDuck? said:
Hi Shay! Would you have an estimate of how large the farm is? (Ever since Cubby asked, and I couldn't find it anywhere, it's been nagging at me.) TIA.
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According to my 2003 plat book, the Rassier's own 158 acres.
 
believe09 said:
LE cannot search private property without permission or a warrant. No matter how much they would like to they cannot. Did the property recently change hands?
Click to expand...

http://www.sctimes.com/article/2010...nt-enters-farm-near-Wetterling-abduction-site

[snip]...Sanner said a court order prohibits him from saying why more than a dozen vehicles and numerous officers are searching the site. FBI spokesman E.K. Wilson said the FBI was assisting in a search warrant operation in the area. Investigators from the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension also were involved in the search...[snip]
 
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