Naman Shrestha
In the episode titled ‘Where Are You, Jacob?’ of ABC’s ’20/20,’ the primary focus is on the mysterious disappearance of 11-year-old Jacob Erwin Wetterling, who was last seen near his family home in St. Joseph, Minnesota, in October 1989. The investigation and Jacob’s loved ones launched an extensive search for him, but his family’s worst nightmares came true when his remains were found decades later. The documentary features exclusive and insightful interviews with Jacob’s loved ones and the officials who persevered and ultimately apprehended the perpetrator.
Jacob Erwin Wetterling’s Remains Were Discovered About Three Decades After His Disappearance
Born on February 17, 1978, in Long Prairie, Minnesota, Jacob Erwin Wetterling was the beloved son of Jerry Lee Wetterling and Patricia Lynn King. He was growing up alongside his three siblings, including his brother, Trevor Wetterling, with whom he shared a close-knit bond. Being an active, sociable kid, Jacob enjoyed a variety of outdoor activities, including fishing and playing hockey. He was also a huge fan of the Minnesota Vikings. In the summer of 1989, he also took classes to learn to water ski.
On the fateful night of October 22, 1989, around 9 pm, Jacob went to a nearby convenience store in St. Joseph, Minnesota, with his brother Trevor and a friend named Aaron Larson, to rent a video. Unfortunately, he never returned home and remained missing for nearly three decades. Following the sudden disappearance, the authorities launched a massive search to look for Jacob. However, it wasn’t until September 1, 2016, that the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension recovered human remains from a pasture near Paynesville. A couple of days later, on September 3, it was confirmed through dental records that the remains belonged to 11-year-old Jacob.
Jacob’s Confessed Killer Was Also Involved in Another Sexual Assault
The search for Jacob Erwin Wetterling was led by the local police, the National Guard, and the FBI, but they reached dead ends due to a lack of evidence. Meanwhile, his family also tried their best to spread the word about the disappearance. Jacob’s brother and friend, who were with him on the night of his disappearance, told the police that a masked and armed man ambushed and threatened them on a dark rural road. The suspect told Trevor to run into a nearby wooded area without looking back, then picked up Jacob and instructed Aaron to run away too. In Deccember 1989, the investigation led the police to a local man named Danny James Heinrich, whose DNA sample was collected and questioned by the FBI, but he was allowed to go free due to a lack of evidence.
A few months prior to Jacob’s abduction, a 12-year-old boy named Jared Scheierl was reportedly kidnapped and sexually assaulted by an adult man in Cold Spring, Minnesota, in January 1989. After listening to the survivor’s statements, the authorities believed the modus operandi was quite similar to that in the Jacob case. A couple of decades later, in May 2014, the investigators dug deeper into other child molestation cases in the Paynesville area around the time of Jacob’s abduction. Upon interviewing multiple survivors, the detectives found connections between them and the disappearance of Jacob.
By October 2015, Danny was linked to Jared’s case after his DNA matched that found on Jared. Because the statute of limitations for the 1989 assault had expired, prosecutors could not charge him. However, after executing a search warrant in the suspect’s house, they discovered child sexual abuse material, which led to his arrest on October 28, 2015. The following year, in September 2016, he ended up confessing to killing Jacob Erwin Wetterling and leading the detectives to the pasture where he had buried his remains. He also admitted to abducting and sexually assaulting Jared.
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The Perpetrator Evaded a Murder Conviction as a Part of the Plea Deal
On September 6, 2016, Danny James Heinrich pleaded guilty to federal child pornography charges. In the court, he admitted to being involved in the abduction and sexual assault of Jared Scheierl and the kidnapping, sexual assault, and murder of Jacob Wetterling. He also pleaded guilty to possessing dozens of child pornography images. However, in exchange for leading the police to Jacob’s remains and confessing to the crime in detail, state and federal authorities reached a plea agreement with Danny wherein he would not face state murder charges. During his hearing, he told the court how he threatened Jacob, his brother, and his friend with a revolver and ordered them to get into a ditch.
He revealed that he instructed the brother and friend to run away without looking back, before handcuffing Jacob and taking him to a gravel pit and molesting him. Danny then admittedly shot Jacob to death and buried him a few yards away. He claimed that he listened to a police scanner to avoid getting confronted. Ultimately, Danny was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for the child pornography charges. During the sentencing hearing, the judge stated, “We won’t pretend that this crime and sentence is about child pornography. It is also about changing the lives of so many children and parents, who prayed for Jacob’s return, and also feared you coming out of the dark … every child knows the story of Jacob Wetterling. You stole the innocence of children in small towns, in the cities of Minnesota and beyond.”
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