MN - Jacob Wetterling, 11, St. Joseph, 22 Oct 1989 - #17

[777]

The simplest explanation for the dogs losing Jacob's scent in the immediate area of Jacob's last footprint is that Jacob was moved to a vehicle at this point. Agree?

There are definitely other explanations. The helicopters could have blown off the scent - if so it's an amazing coincidence this effect occurred close to the point where Jacob's footprint disappears. Jacob could have been carried at this point as well, but again his scent would not simply disappear, it seems to me.

If anyone has a likely and simple explanation for the scent disappearing in the area of Jacob's last foot print, besides the explanation that he was placed in/on a vehicle, I would like to hear it.




777

 

[StinkSprings]

Why didn't the firefighter (GF's brother) keep this quiet for all those years? He was/is a man of the uniform and he let his community and fellow firefighters down. I think it's time to pump the brakes on Kevin and figure out why, at minimum, 4 other people kept this quiet?

Not one of these individuals went to LE to note that Kevin and his GF were at every crucial spot in the investigation. What blows my mind even more is Kevin knew that DR's road was a dead end and yet he still went all the way up the driveway to turn around. In the dozens of times in my life where I've been lost and needed to use a driveway to turn around I've always done a 3 point turnaround. Have any of you ever gone up a driveway that you knew was a dead end when you could have done a 3 point turnaround?

 

[human]

In the case of Somet Thompson, she walked up to the perp's home and was killed there. The dogs were in his yard and never hit on her scent.

About a month ago, Madyson Middleton was dying in a dumpster a few feet behind her sweet mother who was giving a TV interview.

The dogs tracked Madyson down a path. In fact, Madyson never left the apartment complex.

What do the dogs indicate losing Jacob's scent? Not much

 

[human]

Speaking of the helicopter once again, how did DR not hear it?

I would think a musician has highly evolved hearing

 

[777]

What do the dogs indicate losing Jacob's scent? Not much

It means plenty in my view.

The most likely explanation for the dogs losing the scent on the driveway, in the area of Jacob's last footprint, is obviously that Jacob was no longer walking on the driveway after this point in time. Jacob put into or on a vehicle explains this in the most straightforward way, while being lifted off and carried by the abductor(s) does not explain the loss of scent from the entire property.


777

 

[777]

Why didn't the firefighter (GF's brother) keep this quiet for all those years? He was/is a man of the uniform and he let his community and fellow firefighters down. I think it's time to pump the brakes on Kevin and figure out why, at minimum, 4 other people kept this quiet?

Not only does Kevin's story of that night not make sense, the cops' treatment of Kevin and their decade+ long treatment of the tire track evidence does not make sense.

It's widely apparent from the news stories at the time that the cops were looking for suspects based on tire tracks. Kevin and his GF and his GF's brother (at a minimum, but also perhaps including the whole family) knew BOTH that the cops were seeking information about the tire track evidence at the scene AND that Kevin put tire tracks at the scene.....hmmmmm.......

Furthermore, if the cops are so sure the tracks they found are from Kevin's car, they would have in 1989 been able to say something about the type of car which likely made the tracks they were looking for, based on the track size, brand of tire and other details. Also, the single tire track picture I've seen on WS next to Jacob's footprint is too small to come from a Grand Prix it seems. It's the tire track from a tiny car or even a motorcycle tire - made in the soft dirt in between the hardened twin tire-ruts common on dirt road driveways, IMO.

What blows my mind even more is Kevin knew that DR's road was a dead end and yet he still went all the way up the driveway to turn around. In the dozens of times in my life where I've been lost and needed to use a driveway to turn around I've always done a 3 point turnaround. Have any of you ever gone up a driveway that you knew was a dead end when you could have done a 3 point turnaround?

Initial reports from the 2003/2004 era suggest Kevin turned around in the way you suggest would make the most sense, near the intersection of the driveway and the street. He was familiar with the area after all and knew that DR's drivesay was no public road because he had seen it used as a hidden parking lot for the party spots. These 2003/2004 reports also suggest Kevin made contact with the cops at the crime scene.

...By the time of Kevin's story on Joy's blog, the story of him traversing the ENTIRE LENGTH of DR's driveway emerges, along with the unwitnessed/unreported contact with the cops at the dental office. Any thoughts on why this story might need to be changed between 2003 and 2013?



777

 

[777]

In the case of Somet Thompson, she walked up to the perp's home and was killed there. The dogs were in his yard and never hit on her scent.

************************************LAW ENFORCEMENT SAYS OTHERWISE**************************************
"
One of those who trained in the house before it was torched was a rescue dog named Peanut, the K-9 that tracked Somer's scent that stopped just outside Harrell's house. "He kept trying to come back here," said Russ Perrone, Peanut's handler. "Unfortunately it ended up like too many of them do -- another bad ending." "

http://www.news4jax.com/news/water-...ouse-where-somer-thompson-was-killed/31231960


Human, do you still think dog scent-tracking doesn't mean much?
777
\

 

[human]

************************************LAW ENFORCEMENT SAYS OTHERWISE**************************************
"
One of those who trained in the house before it was torched was a rescue dog named Peanut, the K-9 that tracked Somer's scent that stopped just outside Harrell's house. "He kept trying to come back here," said Russ Perrone, Peanut's handler. "Unfortunately it ended up like too many of them do -- another bad ending." "

http://www.news4jax.com/news/water-...ouse-where-somer-thompson-was-killed/31231960


Human, do you still think dog scent-tracking doesn't mean much?
777
\

That is just plain bizarre. The killer was only found because his "friends" turned him in. They were insistant that LE look at this guy.

If the dog hit on Harrell's house, this is the first anyone ever heard of it. Otherwise, LE would have been looking there and they were not.

As a matter of fact, they examined a totally different house that was being remodeled on Gano.

I cannot get over the statement by that guy.

Totally totally bizarre statement by the dog handler.

 

[777]

"He said he ran through his family farm field on a path that led to the Del-Win Ballroom, where the polka festival was going on"

I have a theory that DR was up by the mailbox when the boys came by, he ran with them off on the side all the way to the store (aaron hears rustiling in the weeds), and probably using his own trails through the woods. He sees the boys go to tom thumb and knows they're coming back his way. He takes that path he's talking about back to the house, gets disguised, then heads up to the mailbox to play his prank or discipline the boys for being out. I think he's saying this to cover his tracks because they were there, and he may never have ran earlier that day. Does LE have footprint evidence from that trail showing his footprints going to and back from the del win?

This seems a viable way to meet the logistic requirements implied by the known evidence.

I feel DR's education and socio-economic class, along with his occupation, indicate that IF he was ever of a mind to abduct a kid, he's going to do it in a way that does not attract the cops right to his front door within minutes of an abduction. A Jared-style or Paynesville-style abduction, for instance, is proven easy enough to pull off without spotlighting the abductor's own home.



777

 

[777]

That is just plain bizarre. The killer was only found because his "friends" turned him in. They were insistant that LE look at this guy.

If the dog hit on Harrell's house, this is the first anyone ever heard of it. Otherwise, LE would have been looking there and they were not.

As a matter of fact, they examined a totally different house that was being remodeled on Gano.

I cannot get over the statement by that guy.

Totally totally bizarre statement by the dog handler.

It seems to me that the cops investigating Somer's case were hiding their dog-scent techniques from the media, since this fact only recently came out, and came out through the perhaps un-approved mouth of a talkative dog handler.

Back in 2012 the official story seems to be the killer became a suspect after some kind of tip. It's also possible the tip caused the search with dogs.

In any event, I hope you'll re-think your opinion of the dog scent evidence in Jacob's case in light of its proven relevance in Somer's case.


777

 

[777]

Speaking of the helicopter once again, how did DR not hear it?

This is mainly relevant if the helicopters arrived before DR sees the flashlights at the woodpile and calls 911, correct?
It seems to me the helicopters would have to arrive on scene incredibly fast for us to ask why DR wasn't wakened by the helicopters instead of his dog and the flashlights as he says. I've seen the various timelines in the forums and cGorg posted it again the other day:

• It seems certain Dan's call to 911 was at 11:23pm. Could the helicopters have been on scene before then???
• 10:10 estimated time of arrival for Jerry/Patty who meet the police at their own house. No one is at the crime scene yet to summon helicopters (except Kevin!)
• Dan is said to go to bed at 10pm.
• 911 call from Wetterling house at 9:32pm.

Dan says "They had a chopper with a spotlight on" according to Joy, but is unclear when DR says he notices the helicopters.



http://www.joybaker.com/category/jacob/page/2/

timeline post 3
http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...-22-Oct-1989-***CASE-FACTS***NO-DISCUSSION***



777

 

[bessie]

It seems to me that the cops investigating Somer's case were hiding their dog-scent techniques from the media, since this fact only recently came out, and came out through the perhaps un-approved mouth of a talkative dog handler.

Back in 2012 the official story seems to be the killer became a suspect after some kind of tip. It's also possible the tip caused the search with dogs.

In any event, I hope you'll re-think your opinion of the dog scent evidence in Jacob's case in light of its proven relevance in Somer's case.


777

The house was near the school, and where other kids last saw Somer, so that was the reason for the search in that area. The dog might have hit on the house, but at the time, the house had been vacant for weeks. Neighbors had seen Harrell come and go in the meantime, and he was on the list of suspects. But LE was so heavily focused on another neighbor, I believe they developed a bit of tunnel vision until DNA ruled him out. If true, it's easy to see why they didn't publicize the fact that they overlooked other possible leads, like a dog's alert.

It wasn't until after Somer's body was found that Harrell's former roommates, a couple with children who Harrell's mother had asked to help him out, spotted his car in the driveway of the Gano residence, and alerted police. (A couple of months earlier, they'd discovered child *advertiser censored* on the computer he'd left behind when they kicked him out, and turned it into LE.)

 

[bucshunter]

Tunnel vision

 

[Trackergd]

The simplest explanation for the dogs losing Jacob's scent in the immediate area of Jacob's last footprint is that Jacob was moved to a vehicle at this point. Agree?

There are definitely other explanations. The helicopters could have blown off the scent - if so it's an amazing coincidence this effect occurred close to the point where Jacob's footprint disappears. Jacob could have been carried at this point as well, but again his scent would not simply disappear, it seems to me.

If anyone has a likely and simple explanation for the scent disappearing in the area of Jacob's last foot print, besides the explanation that he was placed in/on a vehicle, I would like to hear it.




777

Don't get too hung up on the helicopter blowing off the scent. To be able to view the area, the helicopter needs a bit of altitude and the rotor wash would not travel down to the ground other than when the helicopter landed. I don't see this as a major cause of the scent trail stopping. Even if Jacob were picked up and carried, the scent trail would have continued as the scent trail is comprised of dead skin cells. Walking or being carried would not make much of a difference unless Jacob were wrapped in a tarp or blanket.

 

[human]

This outlines Somer very well. Police had tunnel vision because they were looking at people who fit the profile.

They did not know Harrell fit the profile until a friend of the fanily told police.

Nothing about dogs. Police went through a huge search on another empty house on the same street. I seriously doubt the dog story or they would have been looking at the house Harrell was in and they were not

http://abcnews.go.com/2020/TheLaw/police-home-somer-thompson-suspect/story?id=10385449&page=3

 

[Sasquatch321]

This seems a viable way to meet the logistic requirements implied by the known evidence.

I feel DR's education and socio-economic class, along with his occupation, indicate that IF he was ever of a mind to abduct a kid, he's going to do it in a way that does not attract the cops right to his front door within minutes of an abduction. A Jared-style or Paynesville-style abduction, for instance, is proven easy enough to pull off without spotlighting the abductor's own home.



777

Well exactly it was his social intelligence and education that prevented LE from searching his house or multiple buildings that night. This is why he searched them himself, because he became aware they might want to, what which lead to the house. Where he was possibly holding Jacob.

 

[shergal]

Well exactly it was his social intelligence and education that prevented LE from searching his house or multiple buildings that night. This is why he searched them himself, because he became aware they might want to, what which lead to the house. Where he was possibly holding Jacob.

I agree with all this, except the part about him possibly holding Jacob in his house. IMO, Jacob was taken right away off DR's land. However, I think DR either had a part in helping this happen, or knew who took him.

DR's assertiveness in walking up to the cops on the road helped keep them out of his house where they might have wanted to search his room, examine his computer, etc. Him offering to search the out buildings assured LE probably wouldn't double his efforts.

 

[human]

I agree with all this, except the part about him possibly holding Jacob in his house. IMO, Jacob was taken right away off DR's land. However, I think DR either had a part in helping this happen, or knew who took him.

DR's assertiveness in walking up to the cops on the road helped keep them out of his house where they might have wanted to search his room, examine his computer, etc. Him offering to search the out buildings assured LE probably wouldn't double his efforts.

So many out buildings! Does that very old house have a secret room like so many old houses?

 

[human]

Good article about Jacob and the searches

http://www.thenewsleaders.net/2014/10/09/a-historical-prospective-from-25-years-ago-oct-27-1989/

 

[human]

Another good article about the family

http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20115979,00.html