MN - Jacob Wetterling, 11, St. Joseph, 22 Oct 1989 - #8

[Sasquatch321]

This is the part that blows me away!

Trish Van Pilsum: “Why would you go to bed when a kid had just disappeared?”

The Man: “I wanted to get some sleep. I wasn’t going to waste my time.”

Im having a little trouble trrying to decipher what this means-

The Man "they didn't come in the house that night, it could have been over with."

 

[shergal]

Is this the building that burned down a couple years ago after the search? Can someone confirm?

No. The two buildings that burned down were smaller and out more in the center of their yard. They held a workshop of the dad's and some tools, antiques, etc. according to one of Dan's interviews.

The trunk/chest, chair and umbrella stand were taken from a different building that was used as a four car garage. they were up in a loft in that building.

 

[shergal]

As per Joy's blog(snipped by me)

jared | February 26, 2014 at 1:40 pm


Traci – Although I’m limited on what I can say about suspects in these cases, I can say that through the years, there have been a thousand people looked at, and at least a dozen that have not been cleared as suspects. Dan is one, even though I dismissed him as my perpetrator.

There are still those who believe that the suspect in my case and the Wetterling case are not the same guy. Now that we are looking into these Paynesville incidents, I can say that… if these cases are associated… I personally see more similarities with the Wetterling case than my own. Yet, I can also identity several red flags that indicate that they are also related to my incident.

I found it interesting that Jared refers to DR as a "suspect" (in any of the cases) and not as a POI. Maybe that was just a slip of the tongue. But he probably knows more about these cases than we do.

Also, that Trish Van Pilsum interview has been beaten to death. ;-) It's been discussed at length on here that it was heavily edited and some comments left out. While IMO, DR may still know something or be involved somehow, it's probably time to give dragging that up again a rest. (JMO)

It's obvious that some posters on here are convinced DR did it. It's also obvious that some are convinced he had nothing to do with it. Hopefully we can put aside those differences and discuss any of the facts that LE has released, or new facts that come out through this Paynesville investigation.

 

[Sasquatch321]

I found it interesting that Jared refers to DR as a "suspect" (in any of the cases) and not as a POI. Maybe that was just a slip of the tongue. But he probably knows more about these cases than we do.

Also, that Trish Van Pilsum interview has been beaten to death. ;-) It's been discussed at length on here that it was heavily edited and some comments left out. While IMO, DR may still know something or be involved somehow, it's probably time to give dragging that up again a rest. (JMO)

It's obvious that some posters on here are convinced DR did it. It's also obvious that some are convinced he had nothing to do with it. Hopefully we can put aside those differences and discuss any of the facts that LE has released, or new facts that come out through this Paynesville investigation.

There is always newcomers like myself who need to walk over the beaten path to catch up and understand everything. Hopefully this is a place people can at random share their thoughts, opinions, and facts in this open case. While staying within forum guidelines and in a mature manner.

 

[HEY YOU!]

I found it interesting that Jared refers to DR as a "suspect" (in any of the cases) and not as a POI. Maybe that was just a slip of the tongue. But he probably knows more about these cases than we do.

Also, that Trish Van Pilsum interview has been beaten to death. ;-) It's been discussed at length on here that it was heavily edited and some comments left out. While IMO, DR may still know something or be involved somehow, it's probably time to give dragging that up again a rest. (JMO)

It's obvious that some posters on here are convinced DR did it. It's also obvious that some are convinced he had nothing to do with it. Hopefully we can put aside those differences and discuss any of the facts that LE has released, or new facts that come out through this Paynesville investigation.

Even if the interview was heavily edited how do you explain Dan's response to why he didn't go help search being he 'didn't want to waste his time?' Who says that when a child is kidnapped from the end of your driveway? And do you have a link to the full interview?

 

[kemo]

So Jared did dismiss DR as his attacker, I didn't think they were related and yet law enforcement tied the two incidents together right away due to tire tracks in DRs driveway caused by Kevin. Interesting that there are similarities to Paynesville incidents. Was there a car involved in the Paynesville incidents? I know there were masks involved, what else was similar?

In many ways, the Paynesville cases bore closer similarities to Jacobs case than they did to Jared's. Besides the use of a mask, they occurred at night, the description of the assailant was very consistent; husky with a raspy voice, and the assailant was willing to approach a group of boys and select just one while leaving the others unharmed. I think this represents a pretty distinctive MO. What are the odds of these happening within a radius of 10 miles only two years apart and not being related?

Much has been made of the Sheriff's claim that after Kevin came forward, the use of a vehicle could be ruled out. Obviously, to anyone who knows the facts of the case, this would point the finger directly at DR. We must consider the fact that it is a standard LE technique to misrepresent the evidence so that a "suspect" will think they are "closing in" and the suspect's situation is hopeless. The expectation is that the guy will either confess, change his story or panic and run. This ploy works best when the suspect has no experience with the legal system. It didn't work in this case.

My WAG (wild *advertiser censored* guess) is that whoever did Jacob had a history of sexual interest in young boys and probably had prior "snatch and grab" molestations. DR lived close to the scene of the crime and should have been ruled "in or out" early in the investigation.

The manner in which DR was investigated between 2005 and 2010 was pretty heavy handed. I don't know how things are usually done in Stearns Co, but the Sheriff is sending the message: "I think he did it but I won't tell anyone why". In other situations that I know of when someone has become identified as a suspect in the media but no charges are filed, LE will either "clear" the suspect or release enough information so that the public can draw their own conclusions. To allow, and perhaps encourage, the shadow of guilt to hang over an otherwise respectable citizen without releasing the basis of that suspicion, is most unusual.

 

[shergal]

Even if the interview was heavily edited how do you explain Dan's response to why he didn't go help search being he 'didn't want to waste his time?' Who says that when a child is kidnapped from the end of your driveway? And do you have a link to the full interview?

I can't explain him saying that. I have pointed this same quote out before on here, and been told that his quote was taken out of context.

No, I don't have any links to the full interview. The TV station may still have them. All videos of this interview have been removed online, and it was difficult to even find this transcript still online.

 

[Wisdom]

Also, that Trish Van Pilsum interview has been beaten to death. ;-) It's been discussed at length on here that it was heavily edited and some comments left out. While IMO, DR may still know something or be involved somehow, it's probably time to give dragging that up again a rest. (JMO)

I just posted the transcript of the interview and some links where DR is speaking and or quoted to give people a resource to help answer their questions about what he said or didn't say. Wasn't trying to drag anything up again. He said exactly what was on that transcript however.

 

[nmogren]

In many ways, the Paynesville cases bore closer similarities to Jacobs case than they did to Jared's. Besides the use of a mask, they occurred at night, the description of the assailant was very consistent; husky with a raspy voice, and the assailant was willing to approach a group of boys and select just one while leaving the others unharmed. I think this represents a pretty distinctive MO. What are the odds of these happening within a radius of 10 miles only two years apart and not being related? (Snipped by me.)

Paynesville and St. Joe were 30 miles apart, not within a 10 mile radius.

 

[Sasquatch321]

In many ways, the Paynesville cases bore closer similarities to Jacobs case than they did to Jared's. Besides the use of a mask, they occurred at night, the description of the assailant was very consistent; husky with a raspy voice, and the assailant was willing to approach a group of boys and select just one while leaving the others unharmed. I think this represents a pretty distinctive MO. What are the odds of these happening within a radius of 10 miles only two years apart and not being related? (Snipped by me.)

Paynesville and St. Joe were 30 miles apart, not within a 10 mile radius.

30 miles in straight line by airplane, but if you drive it i would say 40 to 50 miles.

 

[cGorg]

As per MapQuest MN, it's 26.35 miles from St Joseph to Paynesville on Hwy 23

 

[Sasquatch321]

As per MapQuest MN, it's 26.35 miles from St Joseph to Paynesville on Hwy 23

lol i thought the truth would at least come out, thank you. Thats pretty close!

 

[cGorg]

lol i thought the truth would at least come out, thank you.

ha ha! You're welcome. 1 of the few things I've been able to 'research'.

 

[kemo]

I based my number on somewhere that I read Paynesville and St Joe were 20 miles apart (Cold Springs in between them). Eyeballing it on the map, as the crow flys, they look pretty close to 20 miles. Measured with a ruler, it is closer to 21 or 22. Driving distance would be longer but the concept of "within a radius of" implies a straight line. If the two most distant towns are 22 miles apart and the other is between them, then they all fall within a radius of 11 miles. I stand corrected but I still stand by my point which is that this was a relatively small area with a population of around 100,000 (that's just a guess but anyone if free to provide the correct number) and a child abduction occurred within it that was very similar to a series that occurred within it 2 years earlier. I don't have any information on the subject, but I would be willing to bet that a sexual attack or abductions or a series of them that fit this pattern would not be all that common within the entire US over the last 50 years. From that I would infer that the chances of the Paynesville cases and Jacob's case being unrelated are LOW. I left off Jared because I think his case is somewhat less likely to be related, but I still suspect it is.

 

[Trino]

I wonder why the 1980's abductions appeared to stop after J's disappearance. Is it possible the perp may have died or moved?

 

[human]

Paynesville population is in the 2000 person range

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paynesville,_Minnesota

 

[nmogren]

I wonder why the 1980's abductions appeared to stop after J's disappearance. Is it possible the perp may have died or moved?

This assumes they were all related. Some of us don't believe they were.

 

[shergal]

These were (and still are) very small towns.

Paynesville population in 1989, approx. 2200.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paynesville,_Minnesota

St. Joseph population in 1989, approx. 2800
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Joseph,_Minnesota

Cold Spring population in 1989, approx. 2400
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cold_Spring,_Minnesota

St. Cloud population in 1989, approx. 48,700
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Cloud,_Minnesota

I don't think Kemo's 10 mile radius was including St. Cloud, but I added it in anyway.

 

[shergal]

I wonder why the 1980's abductions appeared to stop after J's disappearance. Is it possible the perp may have died or moved?

It depends on which "J" you are referring to? Jared, Jacob, Josh?? If the abductor kept Jacob, he didn't need to abduct anymore boys. Or he could be in prison for other assaults.

 

[Jbrown324320]

I wonder why the 1980's abductions appeared to stop after J's disappearance. Is it possible the perp may have died or moved?

I believe he is in prison, unvoluntarily committed to the MSOP (MN Sex Offender Prison), dead or moved.