I have been away most of the summer and haven't been keeping up with the discussion, so apologies in advance for inevitable repetition. I just watched the Wetterling episode of The Hunt, which aired about a week ago. I thought it was quite a respectable overview of the case, though much was left out, most notably Rassier, and the show was missing a certain depth of feeling, which is understandable after all these years. (Still the best depiction of the Wetterling case I have seen was a segment from a spring 1991 missing-kids special hosted by Michael Landon, a month or two before he passed away of cancer. Anyone else remember that? It was extremely moving.)
At any rate, I think Joy is fantastic! She's really injecting some energy and passion into the case, even though the sheriff glibly dismissed her involvement. Joy raised the Paynesville incidents from 2 years before, and then noted the absence of incidents in 1988, during which time she conjectures that the perp was jailed. She mentioned having a convicted sex offender in mind who fit that criterion. I'm sure this has been discussed to death here in recent days, but I can't go back over 50 pages of stuff; it's too much. Sorry. Anyone have an idea to whom Joy's alluding? Is he someone who has been mentioned in these threads before? Assuming the same man did Jared and Jacob as well, she/they should track down a picture of how he looked at the time to see if Jared is able to identify him, as well as find out what kind of car he drove at the time, to see if it jibes with what Jared remembers. How difficult can that be? It's possible Jared could make a definitive identification, or rule him out conclusively. Incidentally, I want to echo what Walsh said and commend Jared on his exceptional courage. It must be unspeakably humiliating and disturbing to have had some molest you, but he seems to be doing well. Good for him!