MN - Jacob Wetterling, 11, St. Joseph, 22 Oct 1989 - #14

[ELOCsoul]

The resemblance in the trails and scuffling of footprints near the door.

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Sasquatch, can you point out where the tire tracks in the snow are, in relation to the footprints? Were these footprints of a person who got into the car?

 

[Sasquatch321]

Sasquatch, can you point out where the tire tracks in the snow are, in relation to the footprints? Were these footprints of a person who got into the car?

The story behind the picture of the black car is that I found it on St Cloud Used Cars and Trucks For Sale on Craigs List. The person exited the vehicle and took a picture. There shouldn't be much difference from exiting the vehicle and walking away from it compared to approaching the vehicle and getting in it. I found that the pictures bear striking resemblance near the entry or exit. In the picture of the black car, if that car rolls forward, it's going to clip the edge of the footprint or come within inches of it.

 

[KeepHopeAlive]

It just occurred to me (I don't know why it didn't before), depending on if the vehicle went straight ahead or turned just after entering the vehicle (even just slightly), that would affect where the footprints are in relation to the tire prints. I don't know if this makes any difference in Jacob's footprints and the tire tracks on DR's driveway. In my opinion, regardless of how close Jacob's prints are to the tire tracks, I still think he was most likely put into a vehicle. I'm just thinking out loud and trying to make sense of what the driveway is telling us.

 

[ELOCsoul]

It just occurred to me (I don't know why it didn't before), depending on if the vehicle went straight ahead or turned just after entering the vehicle (even just slightly), that would affect where the footprints are in relation to the tire prints. I don't know if this makes any difference in Jacob's footprints and the tire tracks on DR's driveway. In my opinion, regardless of how close Jacob's prints are to the tire tracks, I still think he was most likely put into a vehicle. I'm just thinking out loud and trying to make sense of what the driveway is telling us.

The other thing is, the footprints would be entirely different depending on which direction the car was facing. If facing east, entering the car would be fairly simple with all the prints within a roughly 60 degree angle from the car, basically the area between the rear fender and the open door. If the car was parked heading west, then the footprints would cover an area about 150 degrees alongside the car because they would have to go around an open car door. The difference would be rather significant to an expert inspecting the prints.

If the former were true, it would seem to support DRs story of the car turning around in his yard, and after the kidnapping. It could also explain why Aaron and Trevor didn't see a car - due to the headlights moving away from them.

On the other hand, if indeed the kidnapper was in that car, and was there was an afternoon car as DR says, I have to wonder why the kidnapper would not have turned around before the kidnapping? Assuming DR is right, the kidnapper had to have known that he was in a driveway, and it seems extremely risky for him to take the time afterward to turn around, especially knowing he would have to drive another 1/2 mile after turning around, to get off the dead end road and back to St Joseph.

 

[cGorg]

Unless of course in the scenario of a parked car facing east AND he was the afternoon crazy driver....then it would make sense that the kidnapper would park his car quickly in wait for the boys return trip and in a place out of view from 16th as well as the farmhouse. And also, the kidnapper having traversed the driveway that afternoon, would know there was a farmhouse beyond but abducting Jacob first and then driving through the farmstead is less risky than driving through the farmstead first and parking because he would already have Jacob in his vehicle and the risk is only that his car would be identified after the crime and not before. Either way...the possibility existed for the abductor's car to be identified by someone in the farmhouse...unless the abductor had some sort of comfort level knowing the possibility was slim to none....or he didn't care.

 

[thenotebook]

Or maybe the perp backed up into the driveway. If he was only 120 feet up the driveway, that isn't too far to drive in reverse. Just a thought.

 

[human]

The other thing is, the footprints would be entirely different depending on which direction the car was facing. If facing east, entering the car would be fairly simple with all the prints within a roughly 60 degree angle from the car, basically the area between the rear fender and the open door. If the car was parked heading west, then the footprints would cover an area about 150 degrees alongside the car because they would have to go around an open car door. The difference would be rather significant to an expert inspecting the prints.

If the former were true, it would seem to support DRs story of the car turning around in his yard, and after the kidnapping. It could also explain why Aaron and Trevor didn't see a car - due to the headlights moving away from them.

On the other hand, if indeed the kidnapper was in that car, and was there was an afternoon car as DR says, I have to wonder why the kidnapper would not have turned around before the kidnapping? Assuming DR is right, the kidnapper had to have known that he was in a driveway, and it seems extremely risky for him to take the time afterward to turn around, especially knowing he would have to drive another 1/2 mile after turning around, to get off the dead end road and back to St Joseph.

why would a kidnapper go to the home of elderly people with a thirty something year old son twice in one day?

He was hanging around this isolated area on the off chance that some children would go by the home of the POI?

 

[human]

Or maybe the perp backed up into the driveway. If he was only 120 feet up the driveway, that isn't too far to drive in reverse. Just a thought.

I think your question would be answered if you backed up a dark driveway with no lights for 120 feet. How did you do?

 

[Trackergd]

why would a kidnapper go to the home of elderly people with a thirty something year old son twice in one day?

He was hanging around this isolated area on the off chance that some children would go by the home of the POI?

I don't think the fact the home belonged to an elderly couple and their 30 something son even mattered to the abductor.

He was laying an ambush in the typical military method. Calculating risk of detection and setting his operation up in the best available location that provided cover and an escape route with the least chance of being observed before and after the event.

He knew the children would be passing. The event was planned. Which victim he picked was something he had to do on the spot based on criteria.

The first run up the driveway was to recon the location and see how quickly his foray was detected and reacted to. When there was no reaction from the house and no LE responded to investigate, he verified that his abduction spot was suitable for the event.

 

[human]

I don't think the fact the home belonged to an elderly couple and their 30 something son even mattered to the abductor.

He was laying an ambush in the typical military method. Calculating risk of detection and setting his operation up in the best available location that provided cover and an escape route with the least chance of being observed before and after the event.

He knew the children would be passing. The event was planned. Which victim he picked was something he had to do on the spot based on criteria.

The first run up the driveway was to recon the location and see how quickly his foray was detected and reacted to. When there was no reaction from the house and no LE responded to investigate, he verified that his abduction spot was suitable for the event.

So you are implying that parent(s) were behind this? That the children were instructed at home to call the place where the party was?

Please look at how the rest of the children developed. There is no way this wonderful family could create such loving children if it was such a mess. Then add a kidnapping onto it.

Please look into how children thrive. They cannot thrive in dysfunctional families.

 

[Wisdom]

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There is a similarity to be found here with the activity left behind of exiting or entering a vehicle. I think Jacob was put into a vehicle, was it DR's or Kevins?

In addition to these prints there would have to be an extra set of prints left by the perp from exiting the vehicle after parking it in the first place before walking out towards the road. In my opinion that would've solidified the car theory with LE which obviously isn't the case.

 

[shergal]

I don't think the fact the home belonged to an elderly couple and their 30 something son even mattered to the abductor.

He was laying an ambush in the typical military method. Calculating risk of detection and setting his operation up in the best available location that provided cover and an escape route with the least chance of being observed before and after the event.

He knew the children would be passing. The event was planned. Which victim he picked was something he had to do on the spot based on criteria.

The first run up the driveway was to recon the location and see how quickly his foray was detected and reacted to. When there was no reaction from the house and no LE responded to investigate, he verified that his abduction spot was suitable for the event.

How did he know the children would be passing? If the twice in one day scenario is true, he could hardly have known in the afternoon that the children would be passing later that night.

 

[chaplain1]

How did he know the children would be passing? If the twice in one day scenario is true, he could hardly have known in the afternoon that the children would be passing later that night.

Maybe, by off chance, he decided this was the perfect place to abduct a child and waited each night. Would explain why he would take the chance with three, probably got sick of waiting for opportunities.

 

[shergal]

Maybe, by off chance, he decided this was the perfect place to abduct a child and waited each night. Would explain why he would take the chance with three, probably got sick of waiting for opportunities.

Seriously? Are you saying he waited each night in DR's driveway in case children passed by? For how many weeks? The boys had never gone to the store before at night without an adult.

 

[chaplain1]

I think it's a possibility. Not likely, but without DR'S involvement I don't see too much that's probable.

I have always held it as a possibility that some form of roaming pedophile monster committed a near perfect crime. If he Is caught, It Will Be Another Crime

 

[KeepHopeAlive]

So you are implying that parent(s) were behind this? That the children were instructed at home to call the place where the party was?

Please look at how the rest of the children developed. There is no way this wonderful family could create such loving children if it was such a mess. Then add a kidnapping onto it.

Please look into how children thrive. They cannot thrive in dysfunctional families.

I don't understand your response to Tracker's post (#749). Tracker was talking about the abductor using the Rassier property as the location for the crime and not caring about who lived on the Rassier Farm. I don't see anything about about the Wetterling family in his post. Did I misunderstand/misread something?

 

[cGorg]

I don't understand your response to Tracker's post (#749). Tracker was talking about the abductor using the Rassier property as the location for the crime and not caring about who lived on the Rassier Farm. I don't see anything about about the Wetterling family in his post. Did I misunderstand/misread something?

For the record I took it the same way as you but human took it another way so will have to answer that question.

 

[Dave K]

I don't understand your response to Tracker's post (#749). Tracker was talking about the abductor using the Rassier property as the location for the crime and not caring about who lived on the Rassier Farm. I don't see anything about about the Wetterling family in his post. Did I misunderstand/misread something?

I had a really hard time with that post myself, and actually started to ask, as you have, what she meant. I also will like to hear her respond. After thinking about it for some time; I think that she's going by Tracker's statement that:

"He knew the children would be passing. The event was planned. ...."

Meaning that the abductor knew that the children would be passing, and therefore was able to Plan the event. So, how did the abductor know that the children would be passing that way.

That's a good question in itself; I'm assuming that Tracker meant that he expects that the perp first spotted the kids on their way to Tom Thumb's, and then knew (or at least assumed) that they would be coming back.

It'll be interesting to see how Tracker responds to Human, and how Human responds to your question.

At least that's the way I figured it, in each case.

 

[cGorg]

Either way....it appears to me that the crime is limited geographically to a very small physical area. And given this area....either that perp had pre-knowledge of where Jacob lived and who he was or took advantage very quickly of a happenstance situation.
(I was composing this prior to seeing Dave K's post #758)

 

[FBI Surveillance Van]

So you are implying that parent(s) were behind this? That the children were instructed at home to call the place where the party was?

Please look at how the rest of the children developed. There is no way this wonderful family could create such loving children if it was such a mess. Then add a kidnapping onto it.

Please look into how children thrive. They cannot thrive in dysfunctional families.

Please clarify/explain.