Tire Tracks, Shoe Prints and DJH's cars

Thanks for the article, Lotus. A bit of insight into the family. As to the abduction, I found this part informative:
article said:
The police arrived six minutes later and went to the place where the boys had seen the man. Jacob’s footprints were on the driveway by where the man had been standing. But then they ended and his toe sort of dug into the gravel. There appeared to be some resistance at that point. There were tire tracks on the driveway.
Looks like the perp may have been parked in the long driveway on the right, waiting, then dragged Jacob into the car when the boys came along, and then took off with the frightened child. Simple as that. Looking at a satellite image of the driveway, he would have been out of sight of the house/farm to which the driveway belonged, so he could have parked there for a while without being bothered.
Noname-7.jpg
 
At least the article gave an answer to the question of what direction he took him, but the police said there was no car and the two other boys said they didn't hear a car as they ran away. Maybe the abductor had it parked along the highway and dragged Jacob all the way there, OR he saw them pass by his house on their way to the tom thumb and took Jacob along behind the tree line and simply walked him to the back door of his house (assuming the perp lives/lived around there). Then there is the theory that Jacob was stalked prior to this at the hockey rink (like the boy in nearby Cold Spring) and the abductor saw them enter the tom thumb and recognized Jacob and knew what direction they would be going because he knew where Jacob lived, and if that is so then it's my guess that he got Jacobs last name from the back of his jersey or something and simply opened a phone book and got their home address... If this is the scenario then the abductor simply "got lucky" because there is no way he could have known that they would have been going to the tom thumb that night, unless he was stalking around their house that night... it's all so confusing.

I would love to read the rest of that article though.
 
Lotus said:
At least the article gave an answer to the question of what direction he took him, but the police said there was no car and the two other boys said they didn't hear a car as they ran away.
That's what I have always heard, too, which is why I don't understand why the article would mention tire tracks on the driveway as if they belonged to the abductor's car.
 
CrimeSolver said:
That's what I have always heard, too, which is why I don't understand why the article would mention tire tracks on the driveway as if they belonged to the abductor's car.

Here's the tire track info:

A 21 year old male heard the call on his scanner and went to the scene, actually arriving before the police. When the police got there, he spoke with them, turned around and left. They never took his name. Now, years later, he has come forward as the owner of the tire tracks. This explains why the boys did not see a vehicle. This man has been investigated; police are satisfied his story is true.

Sorry, but I don't have a reference for this, but I live in MN and know this info was published within the last couple of years.

BUT, the abductor most likely had access to a car SOMEWHERE. It very well could have been parked across the field on another street.
 
Just jumping in. Back then, they had tracked Jacob's footprints to a fresh tire mark, so they were going on the assumption that Jacob had been driven away. Then 5 years ago or so the abduction-by-vehicle theory was discounted, which makes this search all the more credible.

http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=856446

The article linked within this article is from 5 years ago.

:( I'll never forget first hearing of Jacob's abduction on local radio, driving back home to Minneapolis from what turned out to be about 50 miles from the location of his abduction. That child and his family and his foundation have been in my prayers - and my checkbook - ever since.
 
Jbrown324320 said:
In one of the articles, the police found tire tracks and footprints that stopped, with a toe digging deep into the dirt. To me, that sounds like someone getting into a car. Why would the prints just stop? Jacob was 5'1", it would have been difficult for one person to carry him. If the person speeded up the street towards tom thumb, they could have easily gotten away before the boys ran a half a mile back home. I wonder where they stopped to turn around to look and see that Jacob was gone? Trevor says the guy was wearing a nylon mask, is that like a ski mask made of nylon or black women's nylons?

I am transcribing the 911 call. I should have it done by this afternoon.

<modsnip> There was NO house across from DR's. There is a dirt road leading into the field next to where the bikes and scooter where laying. This was just a road to get plowing and harvesting equipment into that field. There were 3 houses further north towards Tom Thumb. I talked to a friend this morning who lived in St. Joe back then, and he said Urban Schreifels lived across the road from Rassiers and down about 1 block toward Tom Thumb. So the boys had probably just passed his house when they saw the man standing in the road. The footprints where Jacob dug into the road are seen on DR's driveway in these crime photos on this site also. The tire tracks are from that guy who heard the news on his scanner and got to the scene before LE and he pulled in on that road and turned around. He left after talking to a cop and was later cleared.
 
Info on footprint and tire tracks:

"The police arrived six minutes later and went to the place where the boys had seen the man. Jacob&#8217;s footprints were on the driveway by where the man had been standing. But then they ended and his toe sort of dug into the gravel. There appeared to be some resistance at that point. There were tire tracks on the driveway. You can see the tire tracks right next to Jacob's footprint in this photo."

jacobfootprint.jpg


Jacob could have been picked up at this point, or moved over to the grass on the north side of the driveway. If another car was there before Kevin's red car, they would have had to drive in the same exact tracks, and stop and back out in the same way, because there was just that one set of tire tracks in the photos.

More photos and details at link.

http://saintautumn.wordpress.com/2012/07/01/the-jacob-wetterling-abduction/

(I'm not sure whose blog this is, it could be someone from here at WS, because many of these pics have been posted here previously.) Also all details in this blog may not be correct. For instance, when Nancy Grace aired a show on Jacob, Sheriff Sanner said the mask was a ski type mask and NOT a nylon stocking.
 
shergal said:
Info on footprint and tire tracks:

"The police arrived six minutes later and went to the place where the boys had seen the man. Jacob&#8217;s footprints were on the driveway by where the man had been standing. But then they ended and his toe sort of dug into the gravel. There appeared to be some resistance at that point. There were tire tracks on the driveway. You can see the tire tracks right next to Jacob's footprint in this photo."

jacobfootprint.jpg


Jacob could have been picked up at this point, or moved over to the grass on the north side of the driveway. If another car was there before Kevin's red car, they would have had to drive in the same exact tracks, and stop and back out in the same way, because there was just that one set of tire tracks in the photos.

More photos and details at link.

http://saintautumn.wordpress.com/2012/07/01/the-jacob-wetterling-abduction/

(I'm not sure whose blog this is, it could be someone from here at WS, because many of these pics have been posted here previously.) Also all details in this blog may not be correct. For instance, when Nancy Grace aired a show on Jacob, Sheriff Sanner said the mask was a ski type mask and NOT a nylon stocking.

Do you know if this picture is of the spot where Jacob's footprints ended? If so, I believe that point was about 40 yards up the DR driveway. Kevin has been quoted as saying he just pulled into the driveway far enough to just turn around. If that's the case, then the tracks by the footprints in the photo would not have been Kevin's. All speculation and assumption here, of course.
 
ELOCsoul said:
Do you know if this picture is of the spot where Jacob's footprints ended? If so, I believe that point was about 40 yards up the DR driveway. Kevin has been quoted as saying he just pulled into the driveway far enough to just turn around. If that's the case, then the tracks by the footprints in the photo would not have been Kevin's. All speculation and assumption here, of course.

This has never been clear to me, which is why I am not convinced, yet, that the tire tracks in the driveway by Jacob's footprints were Kevin's.
 
ELOCsoul said:
Do you know if this picture is of the spot where Jacob's footprints ended? If so, I believe that point was about 40 yards up the DR driveway. Kevin has been quoted as saying he just pulled into the driveway far enough to just turn around. If that's the case, then the tracks by the footprints in the photo would not have been Kevin's. All speculation and assumption here, of course.

I have never seen the report that the tracks were 40 yards up the driveway

Do you know where that info is?
 
Scroll down to the bottom of the page posted on this link:https://groups.google.com/forum/?fromgroups=#!topic/alt.true-crime/y2fPmzdnsfU

It says:

Jacob Wetterling Case
2/27/2004

An investigator who worked the Jacob Wetterling case 14 and a half years ago is not giving
up on the theory the 11-year-old was taken by someone in a car.

FOX 9 news first reported new investigators are looking at local suspects from the
neighborhood. That happened after the innocent driver of a car spotted in the area that
night finally came forward.

A now-retired detective told FOX 9 on Friday there may have been another car at the scene
and Jacob's footprints appear to have led to the tire tracks of a parked car.



I know this is an old link and I cant find the rest of the article anywhere but I have to wonder if there was another car present that night in DR's driveway besides Kevins?
 
human said:
I have never seen the report that the tracks were 40 yards up the driveway

Do you know where that info is?

I cannot be sure of where the tracks in the photo was taken, but I assume the are photo is of where Jacob dug his toes into the ground, as if to resist. Numerous sources have stated that the footprints end at the 2nd pole in the driveway.

I went by the site today, and that 2nd pole is actually more like 125-150 yards from the road. So if the photo of Jacob's prints are from that point, and you can clearly see tire tracks in that photo - it doesn't make sense that the tracks would belong to Kevin's car. There would be no reason for him to be that far up the driveway. Kevin stated that after talking briefly to the first office on the scene, he just backed out and drove away.
 
I'm not sure where the idea of "Kevin's footprints" came from. I don't think I've ever heard that he even got out of his car. He heard it on his scanner, hopped in his car and drove there, pulled up, saw the bikes, evidently talked to some policeman who has never been heard from since, was told to leave because "we already know about this" or something similar by said cop, and pulled into DR's driveway to back up and turn around to leave.

You're right on Jacob's footprints being further up the driveway, they stop and are ground in deeper where he either tried to get away or was picked up - either to put in a car or to carry. The second light pole is quite a ways up the driveway - there are pictures on here - and it's right before the driveway turns toward Rassier's house. So either Jacob was picked up and carried/dragged into the grass at that point towards the house, or placed into a car that was already further up the driveway.

To me that implies DR's car though, unless he had an accomplice or friend visiting him while his parents were in Europe, because who would drive into that dead end drive in the middle of nowhere, never passing the boys on their bikes, and wait there in hopes some boys would come by after dark?
 
Here is a little something that is probably not really significant, but something that I noticed. First, look at the picture below, and note where the 2nd telephone pole is indicated. That's the spot where Jacob's footprints reportedly ended. This photo represents how the poles exist today, and that is in fact the 2nd pole from the road today.

http://saintautumn.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/stjoe2.jpg

Now - look below at this collage of photographs of the crime scene, taken in 1989. Look at the bottom right photo in the collage. In this picture, you can see that there is a telephone post next to DR's driveway, immediately off the road. What this means is the indicating arrow on the above photo was really the 3rd pole from the road back in 1989. (The pic's will enlarge if you click on them by the way.) I've checked, the pole along the driveway next to the road does not exist today.

http://saintautumn.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/of-crime-scene1.jpg

So, I'm curious if Jacob's footprints only go up to what was the 2nd pole in 1989, or if they went up to what is the 2nd pole today?? Again, probably not overly significant - although if it's the latter, it could suggest more strongly that Jacob was abducted on foot.

Thanks,
Rob
 
ELOCsoul said:
Here is a little something that is probably not really significant, but something that I noticed. First, look at the picture below, and note where the 2nd telephone pole is indicated. That's the spot where Jacob's footprints reportedly ended. This photo represents how the poles exist today, and that is in fact the 2nd pole from the road today.

http://saintautumn.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/stjoe2.jpg

Now - look below at this collage of photographs of the crime scene, taken in 1989. Look at the bottom right photo in the collage. In this picture, you can see that there is a telephone post next to DR's driveway, immediately off the road. What this means is the indicating arrow on the above photo was really the 3rd pole from the road back in 1989. (The pic's will enlarge if you click on them by the way.) I've checked, the pole along the driveway next to the road does not exist today.

http://saintautumn.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/of-crime-scene1.jpg

So, I'm curious if Jacob's footprints only go up to what was the 2nd pole in 1989, or if they went up to what is the 2nd pole today?? Again, probably not overly significant - although if it's the latter, it could suggest more strongly that Jacob was abducted on foot.

Thanks,
Rob

Interesting observation. Has it ever been stated how far up the driveway (in feet, meters, yards, etc.) the footprints go? I thought there was mention of dogs being used to track his scent, also. Where did the dogs lose the scent?
 
KeepHopeAlive said:
Interesting observation. Has it ever been stated how far up the driveway (in feet, meters, yards, etc.) the footprints go? I thought there was mention of dogs being used to track his scent, also. Where did the dogs lose the scent?

I've never seen the distance quoted in terms of units of measure, only with reference to the 2nd telephone pole. The dogs lost Jacob's scent where his footprints indicated resistance, and ended. At that point, Jacob was presumably carried, put into a vehicle, or put into something else.

I've always wondered about he abductor's prints as well. Surely if Jacob's prints were found, the abductor must have also left a similar trail? I wish we could have access to more information that authorities have.
 
Just in case anyone thinks that Dan Rassier is just now giving us this story about seeing a small car turn around in his driveway, below is an excerpt from the October 24, 1989 St Cloud Times article follow Jacob&#8217;s abduction.

&#8220;I saw headlights kind of close together, like a small car,&#8221; said Dan Rassier, who lives on a farm at (xxxxx) (XX)st Avenue. &#8220;It caught my attention because it&#8217;s unusual for a car to be out here at that time.&#8221;
A bloodhound from the Minneapolis police department led officers to the tire tracks, confirming their hunch that the man had a car nearby.
 
ELOCsoul said:
Just in case anyone thinks that Dan Rassier is just now giving us this story about seeing a small car turn around in his driveway, below is an excerpt from the October 24, 1989 St Cloud Times article follow Jacob&#8217;s abduction.

&#8220;I saw headlights kind of close together, like a small car,&#8221; said Dan Rassier, who lives on a farm at (xxxxx) (XX)st Avenue. &#8220;It caught my attention because it&#8217;s unusual for a car to be out here at that time.&#8221;
A bloodhound from the Minneapolis police department led officers to the tire tracks, confirming their hunch that the man had a car nearby.

I remember that and I guess I was always under the impression that it was that one car he saw turn around in his driveway. I think it's the second car coming all the way in and turning around also that I don't recall hearing about.
 
shergal said:
I remember that and I guess I was always under the impression that it was that one car he saw turn around in his driveway. I think it's the second car coming all the way in and turning around also that I don't recall hearing about.

This is my theory (not my opinion of what happened) of how this all came down in 2004:

Back in 1989, DR tells LE of the 2 cars he sees in his driveway that day / night. LE and the media focus on the 2nd car only, because that one appears to be relevant to Jacob's abduction. LE confirms there are tire tracks in DR's driveway by the house (this is speculation on my part) and we know they found tracks by where Jacob's footprints disappear.

LE looks for a small car involved in Jacob's abduction. Finally, Kevin comes forward with his information. LE clears Kevin as a suspect, and then they theorize that from the info DR has given them, Kevin's car is supposedly the 3rd car that went into DR's driveway that day / night. LE had confirmed the presence of tire tracks by DR's buildings (again, my theory) - they can understand how 2 sets of car tracks could mostly overlap, but they don't believe 3 cars could have taken the same path. LE comes to the conclusion that 3 cars in DR's driveway is unlikely - they believe only 1 car was in the driveway and that it was Kevin's after the abduction. Therefore, they believe Jacob was abducted on foot, and they believe it to be local.

Simultaneously, the media continues to focus on the one car again - which is Kevin. Knowing that Kevin was cleared of suspicion, and probably getting some "suggestion" from LE, attention turns to DR exclusively. In light of opportunity, lack of alibi, assumption of abduction on foot - DR becomes the primary suspect in the case. It's a logical and convenient solution to the case - but, in my opinion is also based largely on "they got nothing else to go on."

Again, this is only my theory of how LE's theory evolved after 2004.
 

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