From Kemo: "A problem for anyone trying to make sense of this is that all news accounts that are readily available seen to start with 2004 and the "re-thinking" of the case after Kevin came forward. Apparently LE had been operating on the assumption that the abductor left in a vehicle. We don't exactly what the bases for this were."
Kemo: LE figured there was a car because DR told them he'd seen a car turn around in his driveway and speed away. And there were tire tracks form a car driving in and turning around, right next to Jacob's footprint. They also thought it was tied to the Cold Spring case of Jared where the abductor had a car.
There are still a couple news articles available online from 1989:
From 12/15/89
http://www.startribune.com/templates/Print_This_Story?sid=11579041
"Then he snatched Jacob and presumably took off in a vehicle, although the other boys did not see one."
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margaret: The only reason I can think of why they didn't search the home that night was because they were sure Jacob had been taken by a stranger in a car. They were misled by DR telling them he saw a car, and there were tire tracks. (Nevertheless, I do agree it was a botched investigation - and LE has admitted that also.) These were small town and county LE, not used to dealing with anything like an abduction, and then they called in the FBI and so many agencies who weren't necessarily communicating all that well, so things got overlooked.
I don't think sirens were used. When the neighbor is on the 911 call, he stays on until cops arrive, and you do not hear any sirens approaching. He goes out and waves at the cop car. Video of original 911 call here (Under "in their own words"):
http://www.sctimes.com/section/wetterling
It was late Sunday night, and a small town, I'm sure they didn't want to alarm everyone with sirens. Even Aaron said later he thought Jacob would show up eventually. I don't think anyone realized that night how serious this was.
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concentric: Kevin says in his interview he followed the police car there. So it had to be a real cop, IMO. It could be the cop was abrupt with him because they did not want any gawkers there. I've always figured whoever the cop was who talked to Kevin, he was probably let go after they found this all out in 2004, and that's why his name has never been released. Good question though, it would be nice if they'd say in an article, although I can understand why they wouldn't publish this cop's name. Of course your comment: "Worse, what if the abductor WAS an actual police officer??" is always a possibility also.
From the sheriff: "John Sanner, Stearns County Sheriff: If hindsight teaches us anything, it’s to not lose focus of that local piece when you’re doing everything else. Very early on in this investigation, we became a national clearing house for information regarding missing and exploited children. We looked at any case that involved a missing child anywhere in the United States and Canada, hoping for a connection. We lost the local piece pretty quickly.
I look at this case as a huge failure both for the entire law-enforcement community and for this agency. We weren’t able to provide answers to the family or the community, and we still have a detective assigned to the case. We truly are the only hope the Wetterlings and the community has to get answers. We have made a commitment to ourselves, every single one of us here, to not let them down.
We have developed a few local suspects. Some, of course, we like better than others."
From the FBI: "Al Garber: We tried as hard as I’ve ever seen a group of cops and agents try and we couldn’t find out who did it and that’s pretty unusual. Usually, people do talk about what they’ve done. Sometimes it takes them a long, long time, but eventually somebody talks and that’s the way that crimes are solved. Nobody who could lead us to Jacob or the kidnapper talked and that leads me to believe that the criminal is either extremely unusual or dead."
http://www.minnesotamonthly.com/med...race/index.php?cparticle=1&siarticle=0#artanc
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DR's continued insistence in those interviews with Julie Nelson that "I know what I saw" - I wish he'd just say what he thinks he saw, unless LE has asked him not to. He seems assured they'll be talking to him again and he can give them more pointers.
This is from an interview DR did with the St. Joseph News Leader paper on what he saw:
St. Joseph News
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‘Person of interest’ says he witnessed ‘things’
On the late autumn day of the evening Jacob Wetterling was abducted, a nearby neighbor, Dan Rassier, said he “witnessed” many peculiar things in the area southeast of St. Joseph.
The day was Sunday, Oct. 22, 1989.
Next day, once Rassier became aware of Jacob’s abduction, the “things” he saw coalesced in his mind as vital connections pointing the way to solving the crime.
Rassier spoke of his frustration in a lengthy July 3 telephone interview with the St. Joseph Newsleader. He is frustrated, he said, because nobody has followed through with the information he so willingly shared about the “things” he saw that day. Rassier, citing “trust issues” with the media, declined to divulge the kinds of things he saw, although, when questioned further, he did more or less agree those “things” were people and/or vehicles. Rassier said he spent a good part of that day jogging on the road past the Delwin Ballroom, where a polka fest was taking place, and on his neighborhood roads, including the one on which Jacob was abducted, just before darkness fell. Jacob was taken on that road (91st Avenue) right at the spot where it intersects with the long driveway to the Robert and Rita Rassier farm.
Rassier said he “witnessed” things throughout that entire day and into the early evening. When he was not jogging, he spent all of the time at home Oct. 22. At that time - as now - Rassier has lived with his parents.
Another reason Rassier cited for not divulging details about the things he saw is because he does not want to tip off anyone guilty of the abduction.
“I am an innocent witness to what happened,” he said. “But I definitely saw something. All of the investigators know the information I told them.”
Rassier has a vivid memory of that autumn day of two decades ago when 11-year-old Jacob Wetterling, his brother and a friend had gone to the Tom Thumb convenience store to get some treats and a video. While returning home on the rural township road, a masked gunman stopped the boys. He told the brother and the friend to run into the woods. When the boys looked back from the woods, Jacob and the man were gone.
From the beginning, Dan Rassier was one of many people questioned by law enforcement.
“I was completely cooperative with them,” Rassier said. “They gave me all kinds of tests, including a lie-detector test. I told them about what I’d witnessed.”
Now, 20 years later, Rassier is yet again a “person of interest” by law enforcement. Last week, a variety of law-enforcement agenices, including the F.B.I., converged in force on the Rassier farm, confiscating some unspecified items and digging up earth from a gravel bed and then trucking it from the farm. Authorities have been tight-lipped about the reason for the raid and about confiscated items, saying only that the search of the farm was precipitated by a court order.
Rassier vigorously denies having anything to do with the disappearance of Jacob Wetterling.
“Yes, this is very tough,” Rassier said. “It’s a nightmare, but it’s nothing next to losing a son (Jacob). I’ve been getting a lot of death threats. I can handle this, but what worries me is my parents. It’s so hard on them. They (media) are saying horrible things about us. They are ruining our lives.”
On a bright side, Rassier noted, he and his parents are receiving a lot of cards, letters and calls of support and sympathy from friends, relatives and well-wishers.
Rassier, 54, is a music-band teacher for the Cold Spring/Rocori School District. He is also an avid runner who has participated in countless marathons during the past few decades.
Posted on Thursday, July 8, 2010 by Dennis Dalman (This article is no longer online.)
