MN - Jacob Wetterling, 11, St. Joseph, 22 Oct 1989 - #2

[shergal]

There are so many things to consider about this case.

I think the Rassiers had only two children (sons), and DR, having lived there all his life, I assume, would receive a better settlement. According to Stearns Co records, the property value (2009) is $1,914,800, plus another $318,180 in green acres. The other brother lives around the corner from the Rassiers. One would assume the parents gave the land to him to build there. (snipped for space)

The Rassier's have 3 sons. I think the other 2 are named Joseph and Anthony (Tony). There is a Kevin Rassier who lives in the Twin Cities and is also a marathon runner - he may be a cousin if not a brother. He is pictured online at marathons along with Dan if you google his name, and looks exactly like Dan.

http://deathby1000papercuts.com/201...entary-band-teacher-named-person-of-interest/
Based on the recent news reports, the nightmare endured by the Rassier family and Dan Rassier for the past 20 years had previously been a nightmare without the glare of the press until this past week. The Rassier’s nightmare became public after authorities, including the FBI, the Stearns County Sheriff’s Department and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension began a 2-day search of the farm owned by Dan Rassier’s parents, Rita, 81, and Robert Rassier, 85. In the news reports, Dan Rassier was named as the son of the Rassier’s who still lived on the farm. On Thursday, one of Dan Rassier’s brothers–the Rassier’s have 3 sons– spoke to the press, claiming his brother Dan had given a DNA sample, hypnosis, and had taken a lie detector test. On July 3rd, in an SCTimes interview Dan Rassier reiterated his brother’s claim of cooperating with the authorities. In the same article, the Stearns County Sheriff’s Department called Rassier “a person of interest” in the Jacob Wetterling case.

This article has a comment under it saying the brothers are named Joseph and Anthony (I thought Kevin was a brother - but it probably doesn't matter what their names are.)

http://deathby1000papercuts.com/201...-abduction-search-underway-on-neighbors-farm/

 

[Mandy113]

There are so many things to consider about this case.

As to DR's status, I have a Norwegian bachelor farmer friend who is not gay, who is about the same age as DR, who has never had a gf, and who has lived with his mother all his life. I also have a female cousin and an aunt who have never had a bf, never married. Strange to some, but there are normal people like that out there.

rsbm


There are many things to consider here. It's not DR's living arrangements or marital status that raise red flags to me. From what I have read about his behavior when contacted by investigators, his apparent lack of compassion for a child strikes me as very odd. Especially one who was a neighbor. Add to that the interview he gave, some statements attributed to him and that he was in that location at the time ... it just doesn't seem right to me. The fact he has been named as a POI indicates LE does have reason to suspect him of something.

 

[margaret_diane]

Found a different timeline on Jacob's abduction here:
http://www.globegazette.com/article_2b0e6832-84d0-11df-85ff-001cc4c03286.html

Check out May 16, 1996 - I don't recall those search warrants being exposed and the info on the other 3 suspects. I wonder if those old warrants are stored as pdfs anywhere online?

Isn't it interesting that in November, 1989, someone contacted the Center for Missing and Exploited Children and advised Jacob was still in St. Joseph's?! Police investigate, but Jacob is not located!!

I'd like to know whatever is available on this caller!! Who was he/she. How did they have this information? What made them think (or suspect) Jacob was in St. Joe's?!

If that information was accurate, then there is always still greater hope that he might be alive and well somewhere. Where are you Jacob?!

 

[concentric]

Thank you for that link margaret diane. Another thing I find interesting is something I had not read before: the man is seen in a Quick Mart in Avon.

Nov. 6, 1989: A composite drawing is released of a man who was seen acting suspiciously at a Tom Thumb store in St. Joseph and a Quick Mart in Avon shortly before the abduction.

 

[human]

Isn't it interesting that in November, 1989, someone contacted the Center for Missing and Exploited Children and advised Jacob was still in St. Joseph's?! Police investigate, but Jacob is not located!!

I'd like to know whatever is available on this caller!! Who was he/she. How did they have this information? What made them think (or suspect) Jacob was in St. Joe's?!

If that information was accurate, then there is always still greater hope that he might be alive and well somewhere. Where are you Jacob?!

Unfortunately, there were many sitings of Jacob all over the place and there were even prank calls with someone saying it was Jacob calling.

 

[Trino]

Yeah, I was thinking sabbatical. ;-) Honestly, I'm not as concerned about his inconvenience as I am about the Wetterlings going without answers all these years. Maybe he should have joined in the search and offered his home to be searched that first night instead of going back to bed. (JMO)

School districts in MN haven't offered sabbaticals for years. If his record is with the district is clear, which it appears is so, I don't see how the district could keep him from performing his job. I'm sure he's talking with the union.

 

[shergal]

School districts in MN haven't offered sabbaticals for years. If his record is with the district is clear, which it appears is so, I don't see how the district could keep him from performing his job. I'm sure he's talking with the union.

Sorry, Trino, not being a teacher, I'm not up on that stuff. ;-)

 

[MichelleClay]

I doubt the school district would fire him unless they had some hard evidence against him. His union has him protected and I'm sure the school can't afford a huge lawsuit. I bet some parents are weary about him teaching their children but the school can't really do anything about it.

 

[human]

School districts in MN haven't offered sabbaticals for years. If his record is with the district is clear, which it appears is so, I don't see how the district could keep him from performing his job. I'm sure he's talking with the union.

they can't keep him from a job unless the laws in MN say that he cannot work in a school since he is a POI.

However, if parents refuse to have their children in his classes, he would have no classes to teach. Hence, he would be given a non teaching holding spot.

 

[Trino]

http://www.twincities.com/ci_15606533

Whatever this means, the search through the dirt is complete. It sounds like some items are being sent for further testing. Really, the story offers no more info than we knew when the farm was searched.

 

[shergal]

http://www.twincities.com/ci_15606533

Whatever this means, the search through the dirt is complete. It sounds like some items are being sent for further testing. Really, the story offers no more info than we knew when the farm was searched.

Interesting that they found items of interest in the dirt though, in addition to other items they took from the farm. I wonder why they needed 4 separate search warrants? It almost sounds like they were looking for something specific.

 

[Trino]

Interesting that they found items of interest in the dirt though, in addition to other items they took from the farm. I wonder why they needed 4 separate search warrants? It almost sounds like they were looking for something specific.

I'm skeptical of search warrants. I don't know that I've ever heard of one being turned down.

I wonder how long it will take before there are results from further testing.

 

[Lotus]

Isn't it interesting that in November, 1989, someone contacted the Center for Missing and Exploited Children and advised Jacob was still in St. Joseph's?! Police investigate, but Jacob is not located!!

I'd like to know whatever is available on this caller!! Who was he/she. How did they have this information? What made them think (or suspect) Jacob was in St. Joe's?!

If that information was accurate, then there is always still greater hope that he might be alive and well somewhere. Where are you Jacob?!

I think the caller was probably being cruel and meant that Jacob never left St. Joseph because he was already dead and buried there. It kinda reminds me of a phone call they got from a "psychic" in NY state who told Patty over the phone that "Jacob is cold and dead".
I cant even begin to imagine the amount of scum and pranksters who have called or left stupid messages over the years.
There was even a cross with Jacob's name written on it stuck into the ground next to a lake and the authorities had no choice but to search
the lake. :headache:

 

[margaret_diane]

http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=861324&catid=391

The article notes that the investigators have finished sifting through piles of dirt collected at DR's farm -- and items of interest were found, and will be sent to the lab for further analysis. It doesn't report what the items are. I'm unclear as to whether the items of interest were found in the dirt, or if this statement refers to items of interest previously seized from the property (eg: from the barn).

 

[margaret_diane]

I'm skeptical of search warrants. I don't know that I've ever heard of one being turned down.

I wonder how long it will take before there are results from further testing.

I'm in Ontario, Canada so the laws and how things work may well be different, but I can tell you first hand of how often warrants are denied!! I was working in the field of child protection, and often times we needed to obtain warrants to apprehend children (and place in foster care), or to return them to places of safety (eg: runaways who are under age of 16). Often times we were sent back to add info, or told outright our info wasn't sufficient, and were denied flatly.

As a result of my experience with the courts, I met a lot of officers frustrated by lack of ability to obtain warrants for searches etc -- it happens far more often than one might think, probably because its not highly publicized unless and until a warrant is declined, and then a criminal goes on a crime spree, and the police tell the media "our hands were tied!"....

 

[Dejasade]

http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=861324&catid=391

The article notes that the investigators have finished sifting through piles of dirt collected at DR's farm -- and items of interest were found, and will be sent to the lab for further analysis. It doesn't report what the items are. I'm unclear as to whether the items of interest were found in the dirt, or if this statement refers to items of interest previously seized from the property (eg: from the barn).

This is good right?
I wonder what things they found that were "of interest"? Do you think it could be particles, maybe they are thinking are bone fragments? Or pieces of cloth - his coat?
PRAYING for answers soon...

 

[Trino]

http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=861324&catid=391

The article notes that the investigators have finished sifting through piles of dirt collected at DR's farm -- and items of interest were found, and will be sent to the lab for further analysis. It doesn't report what the items are. I'm unclear as to whether the items of interest were found in the dirt, or if this statement refers to items of interest previously seized from the property (eg: from the barn).

It seems the entire search is unclear from the objectives of the search to what was found. I'm an advocate of the public's right to know, and after 21 yrs I don't see how anything the public is told will affect the investigation. If DR is a POI, we know that, but why is he a POI to LE? When a search warrant is presented to the property owners, I believe it has to state the reason(s) for the search, so DR and his parents must know what LE is looking for. So why the big secret?

 

[shergal]

It seems the entire search is unclear from the objectives of the search to what was found. I'm an advocate of the public's right to know, and after 21 yrs I don't see how anything the public is told will affect the investigation. If DR is a POI, we know that, but why is he a POI to LE? When a search warrant is presented to the property owners, I believe it has to state the reason(s) for the search, so DR and his parents must know what LE is looking for. So why the big secret?

No, the search warrants were sealed (I posted the link stating this earlier and don't have time right now to search for it) so the family would not know what LE was searching for and the investigation would not be hampered.
As far as items found, the items mentioned in yesterday's article were items found when sifting through the dirt. The other items removed on the day of the search are already at a forensic lab being studied. I'm quite impressed with how quickly they are moving along on this and that they are keeping the public updated.

 

[human]

It seems the entire search is unclear from the objectives of the search to what was found. I'm an advocate of the public's right to know, and after 21 yrs I don't see how anything the public is told will affect the investigation. If DR is a POI, we know that, but why is he a POI to LE? When a search warrant is presented to the property owners, I believe it has to state the reason(s) for the search, so DR and his parents must know what LE is looking for. So why the big secret?

the public has no right to know, or they wouldn't have sealed the warrants.

LE said that they didn't want to hamper further searches;hence, the sealed warrants.

If whatever LE is doing is going to end this, why in the heck should I know anything. Who am I?

And I agree about the search warrants. They are not easy to get.

 

[Dejasade]

Question:
Does anyone believe LE has more info. than the public has regarding DR or any other suspects?