Commentary
Much has changed since Jacob Wetterling's abduction
by Ernie AllenArlington, Va. — In 1989, 11-year-old Jacob Wetterling was abducted by a masked gunman while riding his bicycle home from a convenience store in St. Joseph, Minn. The abduction triggered a massive search and national media attention.
It was a wake-up call for parents everywhere, ending what for many was a naive innocence. People thought such acts only happened somewhere else -- in major cities or dangerous foreign countries. Parents asked, "If your child isn't safe in St. Joseph, where is he safe?"
Following the abduction, Jacob's parents formed the Jacob Wetterling Foundation. Patty Wetterling became a tireless leader and spokesperson for missing children and child safety. She has fought for laws to keep children safer, including a landmark 1994 law that mandated sex-offender registries in every state. She also serves on the board of directors of the organization I lead, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, and works with the center to train law enforcement and educate them about child abduction from a family's perspective. And she is a voice of hope for families of other missing children.
An estimated 2,000 children are reported missing every day. Time is the enemy in the search for a missing child, but there is more hope than ever before that more of these children can be recovered alive. Research tells us that while most of the victims of the most serious stranger abductions survive, 91 percent of the recoveries occur within the first 24 hours. Yet we are seeing the recoveries of more long-term missing children. Elizabeth Smart of Utah was recovered after nine months; Shawn Hornbeck of Missouri after four years; Steven Stayner of California after seven years, and of course Jaycee Dugard of California after 18 years.
In the 1980s, many police departments still had mandatory waiting periods that had to expire before they searched for missing children, and they would not even take a missing child report until 24, 48 or 72 hours had passed. It was not until 1990 that Congress banned such waiting periods. In that and other ways, times have changed:
Today, law enforcement is better trained, better prepared and responding more swiftly and effectively than ever before.
Today, law enforcement has better technology and more resources to help locate missing children and they are more knowledgeable about child abductors and the offenses they committed.
Today, when a child goes missing, a report is immediately entered in the FBI's National Crime Information Center (NCIC).
Today, there is a national network transmitting images and information instantly across the country and around the world, a network that links and mobilizes 18,000 police departments.
Today, we have new tools like the AMBER Alert, and are mobilizing the eyes and ears of the public to assist in these searches as never before.
Today, every state has a mandatory sex offender registry, and more than 716,000 sex offenders are registered in the United States.
From many searching families I hear the same thing: that the worst part is not knowing. The families need answers. They need to know what happened.
We strive to keep long-term cases alive and ensure that missing-child cases are never closed. The Cold Case Unit at our center has worked with law enforcement to resolve more than 400 of these long-term cases, including one from 1947. No case is ever closed until we learn what happened to the child.
Our forensic artists use age progression for long-term missing children to create a likeness of how the child would appear today. In fact, we have an age-progressed photo of the now 32-year-old Jacob Wetterling, which we continue to circulate widely, seeking new leads and information.
Part of Jacob's legacy is that today, more missing children come home safely than at any time in history. More offenders who prey upon children are being brought to justice. The search for Jacob has continued for 21 years. Last month, the search intensified when new leads took law enforcement back to an area near where Jacob was abducted.
Jacob is still missing. Our belief is that even today, someone knows where Jacob is and what has happened to him. Our hope is that we are getting closer to being able to provide some answers to the Wetterling family.
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Ernie Allen is president and CEO of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which was involved in the search last month of a farm near the scene of Jacob Wetterling's abduction.
Comments (11)
end sex laws now.
Mr. Allen continues to feed misleading statistics on missing children to a fearful public. The real statistics do not bear him out.
Today the National Center under his direction is falsely advertising four hundred (400!) or more children, whose location is entirely known and ascertained, as though they were missing. He himself admitted as much a few months ago in written testimony before the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission of the United States Congress.
Some of these fraudulent cases have been analysed by an independent committee. Some results of their studies can be found at http://www.ncmec.eu .
Cases like that of Jacob Wetterling are so rare that a child has a much greater chance of getting a hotdog stuck in her throat and choking to death than she has of being abducted by a stranger. Only 100 such attempts are made in all of the United States in any given year, and only a small proportion of these involve violence.
According to the January 25, 2010 report in the St. Petersburg Times, Mr. Allen pocketed over 1.3 Million dollars in 2008 alone. For what? For defrauding the public?
Let him put his money where his mouth is. Half that 1.3 Million dollar salary would surely go a long way to finding the few "missing children" who are truly missing.
Half Mr. Allen's 1.3 Million could help find Jacob too.
Emmanuel Lazaridis, Ph.D. (Statistics)
Jacob's case is very disheartening to Minnesotans who are aware. I have a 32 year old son and I have kept the Wetterlings in my prayers. When will the Wetterlings and the public know if there is any progress being made since the search/dig at the Rassier Farm? Perhaps additional funding for the lab work could be put to good use. Thank you
Note to Katherine S: The last that I heard (within the past 48 hours), it will take several months or longer to comb through the dirt and ashes removed from Rassier farm. My blessings and prayers continue for Jacob, and his family and friends.
It happening to one child , is to many.
I really feel retroactive google security could benefit.. even for the future at least. (set within comfortable parameters..) Serious deterant, ..it seems simple.
It could potentially for instance in a painful instance provide a bit of justice for me.
..I want a better, safer world for my kids. To let violence take that from them is not acceptable. Considering rape stats as well.. we need this.. a little brain against muscle. The infra structure already seems to support that ( a cheap fix..?)
my 2 cents
Dear Patty and Jerry,
My husband and I will be arriving in Mn sometime tomorrow afternoon. I had my operation on my adreanal gland a week ago and I am doing fine. The biopsy report has not come yet, I know it will not be in my favor. We will be doing an Expo for retired baby boomers at Mystic Lake Casino on the 5th and 6th. We have to be back to Az by the 14th , for I have a doctor's appointment then. I would like to meet with you as SOON as possible to locate Jacob. I truly believe he is alive and the man who came in to our store the day Jacob was taken from yous the abductor . I'll never forget his face or the look in his eyes,
Please contact me on my cell phone:651-251-7380
Patty and Jerry,
I am back in MN due to my health. I tried to contact you and meet with you to get Jacob back home, but the Sheriff's dept, the radio station and the missing children foundation blew me off. I got my biopics report back the day before we came to MN. and it was cancerous. I was suppose to report to the doctor the next day, but I chose to go to MN. to bring Jacob home. As you know that did not happen. So, now I put the ball in your court. If you want me t5o testify and identify Jacob's abductor it will be at your expense and at the availability of what my doctors have planned for me! I'll be calling my primary doctor today to try to get in to see her and meat with my anthologist on Thursday , Oct the 14th.. I wake up with Jacob on my mind each day and pray that we can bring him home. Please contact me. Sincerely, Carol
Why haven't you contacted me? Jacob could have been home over a month ago!!! I'll go some other place and go to all extreems to get him home. Carol Allen
If you have information, keep calling:
Stearns County Sheriff's Department: 320-259-3700
NCMEC: 1-800-843-5678 (1-800-THE-LOST)
JWRC: 1-800-325-HOPE
It so sad for parents to never know what happened to their child.
I hate to say it but Jacob is most likely dead. If only his remains could be found. I guess it would take a miracle.
My heart goes out to his loving parents and to all the other parents who wonder where their loved ones are.
God bless you all!
I have been searching the Internet to try and find a Minnesota based place to volunteer or help in some way to help find missing persons but I have not had any luck. I was looking for something like the NCMEC but found on their website that they do not have any Minnesota based centers. Could someone tell me how I can help in our state? Thank you!
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