MN - Jacob Wetterling, 11, St. Joseph, 22 Oct 1989 - #16

[bucshunter]

Very cool about the book! ��

 

[Jewelia]

Thank you for posting all these descriptions. How crazy is it that all the cars seem to have been raised up(all red, too)? I'd think it was something that was done due to heavy snowfall, if they weren't just raised in the rear. Whatever the reason, I agree with what Human says: a pervert would probably not want to do something so conspicuous to his car.

That first person sure sounds creepy(the one who drove that maroon car). Who drives away when someone approaches their vehicle? My first thought is that he must have been doing something drug-related; whatever it was, it was probably either illegal or embarrassing.

The second car's driver was probably young(at that time, under 45/50), what with his longer hair. If his car was just trimmed in white, I would expect it to be a Gremlin; if it had an additional white stripe down the side, it was probably a Pacer. Does anyone know which dealer the logo plates came from?

I'm disappointed that none of the descriptions of these men match that of the perp...but, could the perp(who was wearing something that obscured his vision and was, apparently, walking around out of sight of his vehicle) maybe have had a "getaway" driver - someone waiting for him in the car who could be ready to leave the scene quickly once he returned? Given the amount of time he took to interrogate the boys, and given that Jacob was probably not eager to follow him back to his car(or probable car), I'd think that having an accomplice helping him out in this way would have...well...helped.

Otherwise, he'd have had to struggle to get Jacob into the car(or its trunk), then start his car back up(I'd think so, anyway, because a running car would just make suspicious noise while sitting there unattended), pull/cut the stockings off of his head, and make his way off the premises. That's a lot of stuff to do while also trying to avoid being seen(especially by someone who claims he looked out his window several times).

Oh, also: because of a very kind and generous person, I now have the book. I'll be reading it, as I can, over the next few days. :happydance:

I'm thinking the guy in the maroon car did not want to be identified, and that's why he took off. I also think there was an accomplice. There'd have to be to get him in the car that quickly, and to be gone, nowhere to be found, by the time the cops got there.

There was Jacob's foot print right next to the tire track. I just think the accomplice/accomplices were hiding, and that's why to boys didn't see him/them.
How do we know it wasn't them when one of the boys thought he heard something rustling in the brush while riding on their bikes? Wasn't it on the way to the Tom Thumb? Wouldn't this give them time to hide before they came back that way?

Why not pick DR's driveway; it's very long, and the house sits way back. The boys wouldn't see a car parked way back on the driveway. Didn't the dogs lose Jacob's scent half way up the driveway? Could this possibly be where the car was parked?

 

[cGorg]

Maybe...but all I can say is listen to the MB interview (which I'm sure you have)....his descriptions of the 2 vehicles on the 'brush road'....I could never reconcile his statements with the physical geography.....maybe you've deciphered it but I never could.

 

[cGorg]

When you say, "Think beyond," do you mean that you think you have special insider information that you're waiting for me to grasp, or...?

When I ask how they ruled out the driver of the "proven" vehicle(which I put in quotes because I think it's even more dubious than I think Kevin's story is), I'm talking about the guy who called the cops in 2004(2005?) and said he was that vehicle's driver, and that he'd been a college student driving around(right by someone's private property?) looking for things to sketch.

Did the cops just say, "Well! That clears things right up," or did they investigate this man and and his story like they should have?

"In code" definitely could mean either/or, and that they're afraid of revealing which...it looks(to me at least) like they almost have to be thinking it's one or the other of those two possibilities(either there was another vehicle on site, or else, the perp was the only man who could arrive and leave on foot - D.R.).

I think it was another car. D.R. does have familiarity and physical fitness on his side - but, he doesn't have a husky build, and I just don't see why he'd do it(especially at such a stupidly obvious time and location).

That said, I trust him about as much as I trust Kevin...what the heck is a "medical cop," and why would anyone who is one identify himself as such to a civilian who's asking him questions? And why did Kevin's story change?

I don't suspect Kevin of abducting Jacob in any way/shape/form, but his story seems to me to have, "I'm a fabricated witness," stamped all over it(either that, or, "I feel like I have to come up with some wild story, since I was there.").[/QUOTE]
RBBM....No, I don't have any special knowledge awaiting your grasping of the situation....I simply meant...think beyond the statement itself or beyond the info available.
Regarding Kevin....as suspicious as I have been regarding his story....IMO....it's a flaw in his character or fear or both that he never came forward. I don't know what to say about his girlfriend and her immediate family.

 

[emeraldine]

He could have never come forward because they brushed him off when he first tried...but...I think what he gave for his "official" reason is that he "didn't think he needed to."

How in the world he could have thought that is beyond me, but oh well.

I'm glad it's not just me who has suspicions about his story.

I still want to know what a "medical" cop is. Is it the kind of cop who keeps a first aid kit in the glove compartment?

 

[human]

Since no one knows what a medical cop is, could we brainstorm on maybe he misheard and what could it be?

I do not think LE refers to themselves as cops

 

[emeraldine]

I don't think so, either.

Maybe the person was just saying he had a medical problem. It's got that same 'ah' sound, though it would have been a weird way to respond.

 

[cGorg]

An unfounded idea....it was MF...stopping at the TT after dropping off someone in Kiwi Court....and describing himself as such.

 

[emeraldine]

I wonder if he ever described this supposed "medical cop" to authorities. Surely they would have known if he was "one of them" or not? It would be one of those instances in which all the time that's passed wouldn't matter - enough officers would have been around long enough to remember if the description fit anyone who may have retired or etc.

 

[cGorg]

There's no way to know...but a good lead to follow...but IMO...it's just another example of the bizarre oddities of this case....so many happenstances + coincidences. For some reason, the "I'm a medical cop" seems to fit MF's strange personality...something someone in the entertainment field would say. IMO, I don't think MF is involved but by some very perverse reason wishes he was(JMHO of course). There's a strange confluence of characters at the abduction site over time and that could simply be per chance.

 

[emeraldine]

I'm actually surprised, seeing how high-profile Jacob's disappearance has become, that we don't have more people claiming they were involved(which, to me, usually happens because someone wants attention). Virtually every other case has at least one "look at me, look at me" type of false confessor...this one is strangely quiet in that regard.

It could be, though, that Kevin heard correctly, and someone just thought he was gullible enough to believe whatever was said.

 

[cGorg]

Good points. It has been quiet....depending upon who you're listening to....but yes, mostly silent. Very hard to decipher. Others may disagree, but I think the 'Kevin Story' is exactly what happened...despite the suspicions. IMO...it fits the scene.

 

[Sasquatch321]

The man, a white van, Jacob is taken, and 2 kids run to the woods. That is what I knew for 15 years. Then kevin came forward, and they said they had accounted for the tire tracks, tire tracks? Where did that come from? I had never heard about a car parked on a gravel driveway yet, or a footprint on a gravel driveway yet. And now they have a new theory that someone saw them on the way to the store and knew they would be returning? That is starting to make sense, something in this long time abduction is suddenly starting to make sense. A dig is performed 21 years after the abduction at the farm next to the abduction? What? Who and what is this about? It's about Daniel Rassier, an elementary school teacher, and also still living with his parents. HE was home alone that night and has been named a POI after three searches of his farm. The ball stops there, as going into details could hamper a future prosecution. But please enlighten me with speculations in the meantime. Trust in LE, they got this.

 

[emeraldine]

Two things are possible, I think:

1.) Kevin's lying(he did change his story a bit, whether due to different recollections or because he's unreliable);

2.) Whoever he saw in that car was messing with him.

 

[Ifollowthis]

I personally believe LE Knows who the medical cop is.

 

[emeraldine]

The man, a white van, Jacob is taken, and 2 kids run to the woods. That is what I knew for 15 years. Then kevin came forward, and they said they had accounted for the tire tracks, tire tracks? Where did that come from? I had never heard about a car parked on a gravel driveway yet, or a footprint on a gravel driveway yet. And now they have a new theory that someone saw them on the way to the store and knew they would returning? That is starting to make sense, something in this long time abduction is suddenly starting to make sense. A dig is performed 21 years after the abduction at the farm next to the abduction? What? Who and what is this about? It's about Daniel Rassier, an elementary school teacher, and also still living with his parents. HE was home alone that night and has been named a POI after three searches of his farm. The ball stops there, as going into details could hamper a future prosecution. But please enlighten me with speculations in the meantime. Trust in LE, they got this.

I want to trust them, but they are pretty slow(hence the need to come in here and start speculating). Hopefully they are speaking in euphemisms, and their wording means they know what happened and just need to locate evidence that'll hold up in court.

I, too, think that someone saw the boys go to the store and sat waiting for them to come back. Like Jewelia said, D.R.'s driveway was the perfect place. Heck, someone may have even seen lights on in the house or something, and thought he was the perfect person to frame. All that property, so many hiding places, such a long driveway with other tire tracks already present.

But...if D.R. was guilty, he could have dug up whatever he might have had buried at the site of the dig, given 21 years(at which point, Jacob would have been 32)...the soil could have settled back into place all the way down to China.

Numerous crimes have been solved decades after the fact, but still.

 

[Trackergd]

Since no one knows what a medical cop is, could we brainstorm on maybe he misheard and what could it be?

I do not think LE refers to themselves as cops

Hospital Security Officer?

Sounds more like something made in haste at the moment to avoid further questions and he "flubbed" it.

 

[Trackergd]

Good points. It has been quiet....depending upon who you're listening to....but yes, mostly silent. Very hard to decipher. Others may disagree, but I think the 'Kevin Story' is exactly what happened...despite the suspicions. IMO...it fits the scene.

RBBM And you may be correct. Something about it just seems to nag at the back of my mind...but then again so do DR's statements. Just wish there was a way to close the book on some of this outlier stuff so we can figure out what we need to concentrate on.

I know others disagree, but I feel strongly based on the last prints, the lack of a scent past the prints, the fact the abductor took Jacob up the driveway from the street before the last print all point at a car being involved. The missing key part of that is what direction the car was going...I have only seen one indicator that "appeared" to suggest it headed back out to the main road. Sadly unless something new pops up, we may be chasing our tails for a while as I don't think SCSD is going to share any details of this case, anytime soon. Mossad is correct in one aspect, this will only be solved by someone willing to put boots on the ground and really investigate. I live too far away and I am betting that DR's family is not going to let one or more individuals dig up their woods. Someone might want to really poke around the party spot near the lake and if possible, use an underwater camera to check out the lake bottom.

 

[Trackergd]

Just a side note, it's a little over two hours and 112 miles from Moose Lake to St Joseph. Seems a stretch for an offender to sneak away, acquire a vehicle, drive for two hours, find some children the correct age and sex, lay in seclusion, abduct a child, do whatever he did to Jacob and then drive two hours back to Moose Lake and be back for headcount. Then on top of that, where along Rt 23 and 35 did he put Jacob? That scenario would require a "helper" with a vehicle.

 

[Trino]

The investigation now lies in the hands of Stearns County Capt. Pam Jensen and Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Special Agent Ken McDonald.
http://archive.sctimes.com/article/20091018/NEWS01/110180047/Wetterling-case-still-gets-leads

Just wondering after 25 years what active investigators do each morning. Have coffee... go over the same evidence... seems tax-payers may not be getting their money's worth.