Nearly 27 years after Jacob Wetterling was abducted near his home in St. Joseph, Minn., the mystery of what happened to him was solved in September 2016 when Daniel James Heinrich told authorities where Jacob was buried.
A task force formed to find missing 11-year-old Jacob Wetterling in 1989 wasted time chasing far-flung leads and listening to psychics rather than tracking compelling evidence close to home, Don Gudmundson said.
"On Oct. 22, 1989, did you kidnap, sexually assault and murder Jacob Wetterling?" Danny Heinrich's answer filled the federal courtroom in Minneapolis with tears and bitter questions.
Stearns County Sheriff Don Gudmundson on Thursday outlined investigative missteps in the 1989 abduction of Jacob Wetterling. He presented the findings in this 135-page document.
After Danny Heinrich's detailed, horrifying courtroom confession on how he kidnapped and killed Jacob, Patty Wetterling said, "It's incredibly painful to know his last days, his last minutes."
Many said confessed killer Danny Heinrich deserves much more than 20 years in prison. "It kind of tore the community apart for 27 years, and he's getting 20 years?" said one St. Joseph resident.
Jacob Wetterling was 11 when he was abducted while riding on his bike near St. Joseph, Minn., 26 years ago. Danny James Heinrich, who was charged with possessing child pornography, is a person of interest in the case.
Daniel James Heinrich, 52, was charged with receipt and possession of child pornography and also named as a person of interest in 1989 Jacob Wetterling disappearance 26 years ago. The press conference announcing the charges was held at the Federal Courthouse in Minneapolis, Minn. on Thursday, Oct. 29, 2015.
Daniel James Heinrich of Annandale, Minn., was charged Thursday with possessing child pornography and has been named by authorities as a person of interest in the disappearance of 11-year-old Jacob Wetterling 26 years ago.
Authorities now believe the string of 1980s assaults of boys in Paynesville may be connected to more serious crimes that followed: the kidnapping and sexual assault of a 12-year-old boy in Cold Spring and the unsolved abduction of 11-year-old Jacob Wetterling in St. Joseph.
A man identified last week as a "person of interest" in the kidnapping of Jacob Wetterling 26 years ago will remain in custody on child pornography charges, a federal magistrate ruled Wednesday morning.
"The families and friends of the missing are stuck in a painful limbo where relationships are brutally ruptured and, yet, grief is frozen," an expert says.
Patty Wetterling said she and her husband were surprised when authorities told them they had identified a person of interest in their son Jacob's abduction 26 years ago.
Investigators have long explored possible links between the Jared Scheierl assault and Jacob Wetterling abduction. "The whole reason I kept on continuing this was for the sake of the Wetterlings finding answers," Scheierl says.
The parents of Jacob Wetterling released the following statement Thursday regarding the announcement that a person of interest has been named in Wetterling's disappearance 26 years ago.
Jerry and Patty Wetterling have searched for answers alongside investigators who have vetted some 50,000 leads — tips, connections and even false confessions.
Billboards will blanket the St. Joseph, Minn., area in a new effort to find Jacob Wetterling, who was abducted 25 years ago this month. The six billboards will feature a photo of Jacob as a kid and a picture of what he might look like at age 36.