MN - Jacob Wetterling, 11, St. Joseph, 22 Oct 1989 - #7

[human]

What guy?

 

[ELOCsoul]

Dear Jacob:

It's been almost a year since you were taken from us and I still miss you so very much. Some things have changed. Cinnamon is no longer a puppy - she's as big as Marcus. Carmen says you'll hardly recognize her, there are so many things she can do now - she's growing up so fast. Amy, I think, is compiling lists of things to tell you about - you two always got along so well. Trevor misses you terribly, he's so often looking for someone to play with and he lost a lot of enthusiasm for sports. Aaron is quietly waiting for his friend to come home. Shannon's at St. Ben's now - a dream she always had.

Some things haven't changed - we left your room just as messy. Remember how frustrated you were last fall because after wearing goalie skates for so long you thought you couldn't skate on regular skates? I found out last winter that those skates hadn't been sharpened right and it wasn't your fault you couldn't skate on them. I wanted you to know that, for the same reason that whatever has happened to you and whatever you've been forced to do - it's not your fault - it's survival. Please don't believe that we don't want you back - that's one of many lies you've probably been told. If pictures were taken, don't believe that if you left they'd show any of the pictures everywhere. If they do, they'd get arrested.

You've done nothing wrong and we love you. Remember how I always believed in you - whatever you wanted to do - whatever dream you had you could do it? I still do, Jake. I believe you have your whole life in front of you and you can still reach for all the good that life has to offer. You are so special and we can get through this. Just grab onto the first opportunity you get to get away. You can do it, Jake. We'll never stop looking for you and we'll never stop aching until we can throw our arms around you and cry and laugh and plan and strive for a better life for all of us. Hang on Jake.

Love, Mom

 

[shergal]

Ok, that made me cry. Today is Jacob's birthday. He is or would be 36 today.

Thanks for getting us back on track, ELOC.

 

[Mossad]

A criminal who knows the whereabouts of law enforcement at any given moment can use that information to their advantage. A person of average intelligence can understand this and use it to his advantage. A criminal who is able to listen to law enforcement radio transmissions, for example, could use information obtained from those transmissions to further their criminal activity, hide criminal activity or avoid detection, assist in a get-away, or gain investigative information. Small town, rural police may be especially susceptible to this, as their daily routines may not vary much from one day to the next. In this manner, the activities and locations of law enforcement officers become predictable to the criminal. Knowing these things, a concerned citizen might even be inspired to write to the local newspaper editor wondering “Will our local police vary their activities so you don’t know where they will be at any given time?”

Such tactics could be used by anyone, anywhere in the U.S, in the late 1980s. For example, first available from your local Radio Shack store on November 30, 1987, the Realistic PRO-27 portable police scanner was priced at only $49.95 (1988 Radio Shack catalog, page 96, http://www.radioshackcatalogs.com/catalogs/1988/). By 1988, Radio Shack’s police call radio guide for Minnesota had increased one dollar in price from $6.95 to $7.95. (Radio Shack Cat. No. 62-1045). Very simple to set up and use, anyone with even a small income could afford such a device if they really wanted one - just a trip to Crossroads Mall. Simple technology affordable even to a person of simple means.

View a 26-year-old Realistic Pro 38 (1987) portable police scanner still fully functional in 2013: Realistic Pro 38 police scanner - YouTube


Despite several highly publicized abductions of boys in the decade preceding the Wetterling case (Etan Patz – May 25, 1979; Adam Walsh - July 27, 1981; Johnny Gosch – September 5, 1982; Eugene Wade Martin - August 12, 1984; Jacob Irwin Wetterling – October 22, 1989) local, state, and federal law enforcement authorities still did not fully understand who to look for by the time Jacob Wetterling was kidnapped. For example, the day after the Wetterling abduction occurred, Stearns County Sheriff Charlie Grafft helplessly remarked to the press “We have nothing to go on.” and “We just have no evidence.”

Serious empirical research (including detailed case studies) on the subject, no doubt fueled by public outrage over these and other high profile abductions, would not arrive until the early 1990s. Federal and state enactments and subsequent funding did eventually provide greater insight into the type of person who commits such acts.

If you expect to understand who abducted Jacob Wetterling, you must know who you are looking for (unlike law enforcement at the time of the abduction). Anything else is just guesswork and a waste of time, as evidenced by many, many years of postings in this thread on this web site.

Start here. Read this document in its entirety: http://www.yellodyno.com/pdf/OJJDP_Child_Molesters_Who_Abduct Children.pdf

Then, after reading the entire document, ask yourself who, if anyone, are you familiar with in relation to the Wetterling case that most closely resembles what you have learned from reading this research, particularly the case studies?





Prov. 11:14

 

[MadamReporter]

I don't know how Radio Shack was doing business in 1989, but whenever I've bought something at Radio Shack I've had to give my name, which they input in their computer as part of the check-out process, even if I was paying cash.


ETA: I know that seems far-fetched and a long shot, but don't forget, the Son of Sam was caught because the PD double-checked the parking tickets they issued that night.

 

[Jbrown324320]

I read the whole document. Abductors are: Caucasian, 10th to 8th grade education, alcohol fueled behavior, low self esteem, sexually abused themselves, less likely to be married, antisocial behavior, high preoccupation with children (DH). The abductors usually abduct a child they do not know. Non abductors molest kids they do know. Non abductor pedophiles collect information about missing children often injecting themselves in the case (Seitz and DR). The only person in the case known to have a police scanner was Kevin though.

 

[shergal]

I don't know how Radio Shack was doing business in 1989, but whenever I've bought something at Radio Shack I've had to give my name, which they input in their computer as part of the check-out process, even if I was paying cash.


ETA: I know that seems far-fetched and a long shot, but don't forget, the Son of Sam was caught because the PD double-checked the parking tickets they issued that night.

Radio Shack was in business here in St. Cloud in 1989, but they were NOT located at Crossroads. They were in a small store in the strip mall behind Red Lobster on Division Street and between 27th and 28th Avenues (south).

Good point on store receipts, although I'm not sure they'd keep receipts from 25 years ago?

 

[shergal]

I read the whole document. Abductors are: Caucasian, 10th to 8th grade education, alcohol fueled behavior, low self esteem, sexually abused themselves, less likely to be married, antisocial behavior, high preoccupation with children (DH). The abductors usually abduct a child they do not know. Non abductors molest kids they do know. Non abductor pedophiles collect information about missing children often injecting themselves in the case (Seitz and DR). The only person in the case known to have a police scanner was Kevin though.

I haven't read the document yet, but Kevin did not have a scanner, JBrown. He was at his gf's home having dinner and the gf's mom had a scanner. (At least, that's what he is saying currently on J's blog. I can understand your confusion on that, because since 2004 we were told Kevin was listening to his own scanner at home and hopped in his car. No mention of a gf back then.) Also there were reports of Jared's abductor having some sort of scanner in his car, Feeney had a scanner in his car that was "decked out like a police car" (link below -1) and #20 from our who's who - Weiss - was also an EMT and so probably had a scanner in his car. (2)

Link on Feeney (1)
"This is a man who lured children in over 20 years ago with his decked out ex-police car.(He was an EMT and had lights, push bumpers and police radio) Children thought it was great. Soon after he became the Youth Minister for St. Joseph Catholic Church, another way to access children."
http://voices.yahoo.com/mathew-feeney-slipped-through-their-fingers-will-11461654.html

Link on Weiss (2)
20. DPW - David Paul Weiss: DPW was arrested in St Paul in 1997 for molesting a young boy. He had told the boy about a body hidden at Fort Snelling, and also talked about Jacob Wetterling's abduction. (Source: 8/14/97 St Cloud Times) He worked as a paramedic, but also traveled MN as a first aid instructor from 1975 - 1997. Looking into that "find a grave" site more closely, DPW was a member of the site who helped take photos of graves (at Fort Snelling) and he created 2 "virtual cemeteries" - one to Monks of the California Missions and one to "Monks/priests from St. John's Abbey" - an interesting "coincidence."
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg...&GRid=95417537

 

[Jbrown324320]

the article also said child abductors are more likely than non abductors to have very little contact with children outside of non offense situations.

 

[Wisdom]

I'm guessing Mossad was referencing where the Youtube video poster purchased his scanner. The poster says it was purchased at the Crossroads mall in Fort Dodge IA.

Mossad, you seem very intelligent and after reading the entire document..which was very informing by the way...I'm interested in checking out all the area hockey coaches from 1989.. either paid or assistant / volunteer helpers or possibly even school or ice arena grounds keepers of some sort....am I getting warmer???

 

[human]

So why was some random perp out there that night?

There is nothing there and there is no reason to think jacob would be out on the road.

There were something like 7000 child sex offenders in MN at the time of Jacob's abduction. Because of patty Wetterling, LE got an easier way to find out where these offenders are

7000 . A lot of people, no?

 

[Jbrown324320]

I think human that the suspect was familiar with the area, trolling for victims in a dark place with a quick getaway. St Joes is close to a highway.

I am still leaning towards DH- abductors are more sadistic than non abductors. DH was sexually violent to his victims and unpredictable. Abductors usually do not know their victims. I don't think Jacob or family knew DH. Abductors have more records for sexual offenses when they were younger than non abductors. DH had record of child sexual offenses and is known to abuse alcohol. Abductors have high incidences of alcohol or drug induced behavior. In the civil commitment record, it was said that he had no family to help him- nothing to lose if he committed a child abduction.

DR seems to me like a typical non abductor pedophile- high non-offense contact with children, family, unusual interest in children, friends with a known offender, low incidence of sadism.

I wish we knew more of RB's background.

 

[human]

As far as the statistics of offenders, here is the problem.

Let us use 100 as the number.

If 60% have a characteristic, then 40% do not.

60 people do, 40 do not.

So, reading those statistics , to me, is what has to be taken into consideration. And it could be that Jacob was a joke gone horribly wrong. That is why he asked the age if the boys. Who would not freak out over a joke.

 

[human]

How does this school employee since 1998 fit into the statistics?

http://m.kmbc.com/news/suspect-in-h...rked-for-springfield-school-district/24558500

 

[ELOCsoul]

Exactly two months following Jacob's abduction, on December 22, 1989, a rumor quickly spread throughout the region that Jacob had been found safe in a Texas hospital. The general mood in the St. Cloud area and even in the Twin Cities was ecstatic! People flooded the phone lines of newspapers, and television and radio stations across the state. WCCO even had to call a sports reporter into work to help staff the phones. Shopping malls and other businesses announced the news across their public address systems. Word of the good news spread like wildfire, but it turned out the good news was not about Jacob at all. There were actually no media stations that had reported the story about Jacob. Instead, what had been reported was that a soldier named Jason from Fergus Falls was safe in a Texas hospital after a military related injury in Panama. Folks thought they heard "Jacob," and the rumor mill was rolling.

The Wetterlings heard about the rumor almost immediately, as friends and relatives were calling them at home asking them about it. They had experienced their share of rumors and misinformation about all sorts of things related to Jacob over the past few weeks. They followed up with law enforcement officials who, after checking with Texas officials, determined there was no validity to the story. Rather than react with anger, the Wetterlings were encouraged by the giddy reaction by the public. Jerry commented that it demonstrated how people would react when Jacob comes home for real. The calm demeanor demonstrated by the Wetterlings in this situation exemplified their strength and determination that would carry them, and their marriage, through years of ups and downs.

 

[ELOCsoul]

As far as the statistics of offenders, here is the problem.

Let us use 100 as the number.

If 60% have a characteristic, then 40% do not.

60 people do, 40 do not.

So, reading those statistics , to me, is what has to be taken into consideration. And it could be that Jacob was a joke gone horribly wrong. That is why he asked the age if the boys. Who would not freak out over a joke.

You are absolutely correct!! Whatever the odds, even if they are 90% accurate in profiling Jacob's abductor, there is that one out of ten reality that breaks the mold. That one out of a ten is not an anomaly, it is only an exception.

Dead end road, what would normally have been a school night, a kidnapping that left witnesses, a kidnapping at gunpoint, a masked man in a winter coat. This "math" doesn't add up under any formula.

And…it very well may have been a prank gone wrong.

 

[human]

Yes, ELOC, that is so true. If you read about the killer of Hailey Owens, that I posted above, he does not fit into the general profile.

There are plenty of things in that report about molesters that does fit DR. The unmarried, the lisp, and what else?

 

[thenotebook]

I don't believe the prank theory. To me, pranks are pulled by teenaged boys and include public humiliation in front of the group. And teenaged boys could have not pulled off a disappearance with no evidence for 25 years.

 

[KeepHopeAlive]

I don't believe the prank theory. To me, pranks are pulled by teenaged boys and include public humiliation in front of the group. And teenaged boys could have not pulled off a disappearance with no evidence for 25 years.

I don't believe it was a prank, either. Someone had cruel intentions.

 

[ThePhantom]

It is odd to me there have been a higher than average number of abductions in one general area of Minnesota. For example, where I live, in the general area (let's say within 25 miles of my home), there have been three non family abductions recorded in the past 40 years. I live in a suburban area, but not far from a major city. Make no mistake, the sex offender registry for my county and the surrounding counties shows a sickening number of pedophiles. There are also runaways and family abductions that I am not counting for the purpose of this discussion. Why have there been a higher number than average of abductions perpetrated upon young males in this vicinity of Minnesota?