October 22 marks the 19th anniversary of Jacob Wetterling’s abduction.
Jacob Wetterling Foundation was established on January 22, 1990, four months after eleven year old Jacob Wetterling was abducted near his home in St. Joseph, Minnesota.
Jacob Wetterling was born on February 17, 1978. He grew up in St. Joseph, Minnesota with his parents, Patty and Jerry Wetterling, and his three siblings. On the evening of October 22, 1989, Jacob, his brother Trevor, and friend Aaron rode their bikes to a local convenience store to pick up a movie and snack. On the way back home, a man wearing a mask and carrying a gun stopped the boys. The gunman told the boys to throw their bikes into a nearby ditch and lay face down on the ground. He then asked each of the boys their age. After the boys responded, he instructed Trevor to run into the woods and told him not to look back or he would shoot him. Next, the gunman turned Aaron over, looked into his face, and told him to run into woods without looking back or he would shoot him. As Trevor and Aaron were running away, they glanced back to see the gunman grab Jacob’s arm. When Aaron and Trevor reached the wooded area they turned around again and the gunman and Jacob were gone.
There are are currently 2,710 children listed at the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) with 249 of them under the Case Type: Non-family abduction. Unlike the case of Jacob’s abduction, there are 11 abductors associated with those cases with 5 abductors actually identified by name.
Age progressed photo to age 21.
The foundation named for him
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