MN - Jacob Wetterling, 11, St. Joseph, 22 Oct 1989 - #7

[human]

1. What actual proof exists that the prints found were Jacobs? To have 100% verified that would have required the pair of shoes Jacob was wearing to use for print pattern verification and wear pattern evaluation. A second "like" pair of shoes may have been used to establish size and if the person who was doing the evaluation was very, very good, some wear pattern information may have been found to resemble those found in the print. Considering that there are over 100 indicators that only a trained tacker with years of experience can detect and document, I think the jury is still out on this one. Also noting the crime scene was heavily contaminated by unwitting first responders and other interested parties, this makes anything found, print or tire, very suspect.

2. DR is a suspect due to proximity and odd personality. What else really exists to point a hard finger at him?

3. Kevin may have contaminated the crime scene, but seems to have done so unwittingly.

Until LE is willing to share, I can't answer much more than the above. The few really good pictures I now posses show two officers standing on the evidence. Without knowing at what point in the investigation these pictures were taken, I cannot know if it was initial or after all the print casts and pictures were taken.

Whose footprint would it be then in the driveway? Doesn't LE have access to hundreds of examples of shoe treads so the tread could be identified ? That way LE could identify if it was Jacob's shoe with some certainty if it was the brand and size?

Doesn't LE have experience in identifying tracks and following them? There is no one on board that can do that? There were FBI called in right away.

I think the findings in the search of the house and property are what got LE to name a POI. The search done in was it 2010?

Finding blood on a trunk . Was that blood from a cadaver? That is something we do not know.

LE has kept evidence for technological advancement. We do not know what that evidence is.

We do not know why he was named POI. It is always interesting to me when someone goes to trial . The info LE has is amazing. Things no one except them knew

 

[shergal]

1. What actual proof exists that the prints found were Jacobs? To have 100% verified that would have required the pair of shoes Jacob was wearing to use for print pattern verification and wear pattern evaluation. A second "like" pair of shoes may have been used to establish size and if the person who was doing the evaluation was very, very good, some wear pattern information may have been found to resemble those found in the print. Considering that there are over 100 indicators that only a trained tacker with years of experience can detect and document, I think the jury is still out on this one. Also noting the crime scene was heavily contaminated by unwitting first responders and other interested parties, this makes anything found, print or tire, very suspect.

2. DR is a suspect due to proximity and odd personality. What else really exists to point a hard finger at him?

3. Kevin may have contaminated the crime scene, but seems to have done so unwittingly.

Until LE is willing to share, I can't answer much more than the above. The few really good pictures I now posses show two officers standing on the evidence. Without knowing at what point in the investigation these pictures were taken, I cannot know if it was initial or after all the print casts and pictures were taken.

On your #2: DR had a journal about Jacob's case, and an album of clippings and ideas (according to him) about what happened to Jacob that LE took and kept; a trunk with blood and blood residue was found in an outer building loft. LE found enough evidence that first day (the trunk which had previously been on their house) to get a search warrant for inside the house. They took several items from his room, all of which LE has not revealed. Also, whatever other objects LE is holding for future testing as testing becomes more advanced.

Most important, as Human stated, LE named him a POI AFTER searching his house and bedroom in 2010. I don't think they do that lightly. They had been looking at him since 2004, unknown to the general public. So for them to escalate to naming him publicly as a POI means to me they had something they weren't revealing. (JMO)

 

[Sasquatch321]

What does naming Dan a POI mean after the search in 2010?

Does it mean the blood appears to be 24 years old and still testing inconclusive?

Does it mean he just had a shrine of information?

Does it mean they have him, just not the bones yet?

Does it mean all these things?

One thing for sure in a national high profile case like this, that POI label is serious. LE is aware of the consequences that would bring on DR, they didn't care.

 

[Jbrown324320]

I sure hope they have some hard evidence they are holding on to. But why would they hold onto it for so long? Are they waiting to find a body? They don't have to in this day and age. Maybe the DA needs more evidence to bring it to trial. You would think that if they did find Jacob's blood, they could have only charged DR as he said he was the only one at home. (or did he? maybe I have to look that up)
In my personal opinion, none of the evidence panned out and that is why they are keeping it a secret. So they don't get humiliated further. I don't have faith in Stearns County LE. They do not have good track records for serious crimes (Reker sisters, Josh G, BW, etc).

 

[human]

I sure hope they have some hard evidence they are holding on to. But why would they hold onto it for so long? Are they waiting to find a body? They don't have to in this day and age. Maybe the DA needs more evidence to bring it to trial. You would think that if they did find Jacob's blood, they could have only charged DR as he said he was the only one at home. (or did he? maybe I have to look that up)
In my personal opinion, none of the evidence panned out and that is why they are keeping it a secret. So they don't get humiliated further. I don't have faith in Stearns County LE. They do not have good track records for serious crimes (Reker sisters, Josh G, BW, etc).

Aren't there more agencies,involved than the Sheriff?

Did you follow Casey Anthony at all?

When I heard a two something year old was missing for a month and no one reported it, I did not bother following it. It was so obvious.

With all of the evidence, she was not convicted. Mind blowing.

Also with Josh Powell. All of the stuff they had on him and he was not arrested.

It seems like there needs to be a tremendous amount of evidence to arrest. It does not appear they have enough to arrest anyone at this time.

 

[Marzipan]

Whose footprint would it be then in the driveway? Doesn't LE have access to hundreds of examples of shoe treads so the tread could be identified ? That way LE could identify if it was Jacob's shoe with some certainty if it was the brand and size?

If DR had a defense attorney and it's not 100% sure it's Jacob's print, an attorney might argue the print could belong to any of Dan's music students (or to a boy scout fundraising door-to-door, etc.) Wonder if they got prints on music student shoes to rule them out, just like ruling out tire tracks.

It seems to me that it's Jacob's print, but Trackerd makes good points.

 

[photographer4]

1. What actual proof exists that the prints found were Jacobs? To have 100% verified that would have required the pair of shoes Jacob was wearing to use for print pattern verification and wear pattern evaluation. A second "like" pair of shoes may have been used to establish size and if the person who was doing the evaluation was very, very good, some wear pattern information may have been found to resemble those found in the print. Considering that there are over 100 indicators that only a trained tacker with years of experience can detect and document, I think the jury is still out on this one. Also noting the crime scene was heavily contaminated by unwitting first responders and other interested parties, this makes anything found, print or tire, very suspect.

2. DR is a suspect due to proximity and odd personality. What else really exists to point a hard finger at him?

3. Kevin may have contaminated the crime scene, but seems to have done so unwittingly.

Until LE is willing to share, I can't answer much more than the above. The few really good pictures I now posses show two officers standing on the evidence. Without knowing at what point in the investigation these pictures were taken, I cannot know if it was initial or after all the print casts and pictures were taken.

Just thinking about the shoe print presumed to be Jacob's...
Is it possible that LE compared the print against another pair of the same brand of shoe of Jacob's size to at least see roughly what the tread might look like? If not, then how did they come to the assumption it was likely Jake's?

 

[HEY YOU!]

I believe DR has told us exactly what happened in his interviews.

States that he saw lights by the woodpile. I bet he saw the boys approaching from their homes and ran down to the ditch to see what they were up to.

States that he did a lot of running that day. I believe he ran all the way up his driveway, grabbed a gun or pipe, pulled on some black pantyhose, put on a dark jacket and lay in wait.

States that he checked the outbuildings. I bet he put JW in the trunk & hid it in the loft when he was done in the outbuilding in case house was searched.

States that a dark colored car was in his driveway. No proof of another car, this was a lie.

States that he burned animals and old clothes in a firepit. I bet he burned JW and his clothes and scattered his remains. I wonder how long he has been burning animals? Did it just start after JW disappeared? His parents would know. Never heard of such a thing, anybody else?

States to PW that he thinks gravel pit would be a good place to hide a body. Knows that if he scattered random burnt pieces of bone all over the place, it will not likely be found.

States that if the police HAD searched his home themselves, 'it would have all been over that night.'

Just my opinion, I believe he has told many truths.

 

[human]

I believe DR has told us exactly what happened in his interviews.

States that he saw lights by the woodpile. I bet he saw the boys approaching from their homes and ran down to the ditch to see what they were up to.

States that he did a lot of running that day. I believe he ran all the way up his driveway, grabbed a gun or pipe, pulled on some black pantyhose, put on a dark jacket and lay in wait.

States that he checked the outbuildings. I bet he put JW in the trunk & hid it in the loft when he was done in the outbuilding in case house was searched.

States that a dark colored car was in his driveway. No proof of another car, this was a lie.

States that he burned animals and old clothes in a firepit. I bet he burned JW and his clothes and scattered his remains. I wonder how long he has been burning animals? Did it just start after JW disappeared? His parents would know. Never heard of such a thing, anybody else?

States to PW that he thinks gravel pit would be a good place to hide a body. Knows that if he scattered random burnt pieces of bone all over the place, it will not likely be found.

States that if the police HAD searched his home themselves, 'it would have all been over that night.'

Just my opinion, I believe he has told many truths.

Seriously, who burns animals? They would stink. And do you start a fire to burn one animal or do wait a few days? Makes no sense.

 

[shergal]

I checked various sources on Jacob's footprints. They seem to have conclusively proved it was Jacob's footprint(s) because even Patty refers to them that way. IMO, they matched the shoe print in the driveway to one of Jacob's other similar shoes at home.

Here are some quotes about the prints:

"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. "
http://www.minnesotamonthly.com/media/Minnesota-Monthly/October-2009/Without-a-Trace/

"All that remained of him on the gravel road was a spot where Jacob's footprints seemed to show resistance. And then nothing."
http://abcnews.go.com/US/investigators-dig-evidence-wetterling-case-mom-hopeful/story?id=11075883

"On a gravel road was a spot where Jacob's footprints seemed to show resistance. And then...
"It's gone," Wetterling said. "It's just bizarre."
http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/ElizabethVargas/jacob-wetterling-missing-20-years/story?id=8874577

"What rates as a nugget is a comment from WCCO's Don Shelby, who said that Patty Wetterling reminded him that Jacob's last footprint was leading into the driveway of the farm being searched Wednesday."
http://www.minnpost.com/glean/2010/07/lots-media-commotion-over-jacob-wetterling-story

"Sources tell WCCO the farm site is where they had found the last trace they could find of the eleven-year-old boy. Back in 1989, a police dog picked up Jacob’s scent just inside the property and sources say it disappeared a couple hundred feet away. Sources also say a mold was made of Jacob’s footprint on the site back then."
http://www.immelman.us/news/wetterling-suspect-dan-rassier/

 

[ELOCsoul]

Attention to Jacob's abduction was not limited to the people of Minnesota or the media. Professional athletes, sports teams, and musical acts joined in support of Jacob's Hope. The Minnesota Vikings, for example, came up with the idea of wearing Jacob's name on the back of their helmets, but the National Football League would not allow it on the basis that doing so would create an unmanageable situation. In spite of that, the team showed their support in other ways throughout the stadium. Banners with the words "Jacob's Hope" hung from the corners of the Metrodome's end zones. The stadium's scoreboards would sometimes light up with that endearing picture of Jacob wearing and his gold colored sweater.

Oakland A's standout baseball player and Minnesota native Terry Steinbach wore a "J" on the back of his batting helmet in Jacob's honor during the final game of the World Series. The Minnesota North Stars professional hockey team wore the initials "JW" on their helmets in a symbolic display of hope for Jacob. A photo in the Monday November 6, 1989 St. Cloud Times showed Vikings quarterback Tommy Kramer sporting a baseball cap on the sidelines during a game. The cap read, "Jacob's Hope - Listen." After the game, Vikings coach Jerry Burns handed out four games balls to players on the team. He held back a fifth game ball, and told the team it was meant for Jacob upon his return.

The Minnesota Timberwolves professional basketball team used their home opener of the 1989 / 1990 season for Jacob's Hope. The 35,000 fans that attended the game at the Metrodome delivered a standing ovation for Jacob and the Wetterling family just before game tipoff. The Wetterlings stood at center court while Jacob's picture flashed up on the scoreboards. Proceeds from tickets sold during the week were donated to the Jacob Wetterling Fund.

 

[ELOCsoul]

Just thinking about the shoe print presumed to be Jacob's...
Is it possible that LE compared the print against another pair of the same brand of shoe of Jacob's size to at least see roughly what the tread might look like? If not, then how did they come to the assumption it was likely Jake's?

Investigators did get a pair of Nike's just like the one's Jacob was wearing, and they published pictures of them along with clothing that was representative of what Jacob had been wearing that night.

 

[Marzipan]

I suppose they could have matched Jacob's shoe print to his shoe print on his own property too. Then, any wear could be compared. Just a maybe.

 

[human]

What do you all think about Dan keeping souvenirs ( all the articles he had ) and then asking for them back?u

 

[Trino]

If all that's posted about DR here is true, why isn't it enough evidence to charge him? Something must not be correct, or DR would be sitting in jail.

It's my understanding that new investigators decided they would solve the case, which is why the property was re-searched after many years. What was found, apparently, was not enought to charge DR, and the new investigators did no better in the investigation than their predecessors.

DR can be called a POI, but nothing seems to lead to him other than proximity to the crime. We still have J's father mentioning a stranger at a hockey game. We also have the other boy who was abducted. Have we forgotten these events?

 

[KeepHopeAlive]

We still have J's father mentioning a stranger at a hockey game.

Just to clarify, if you're referring to the hockey practice (try-outs?) that Jacob attended earlier that day, I don't believe Jerry mentioned a stranger at the rink. I believe he said he felt a sense of danger for Jacob when he slipped out of his sight for a moment. That said, that doesn't mean that there wasn't someone at the rink watching the boys that should not have been there or wouldn't normally be there. It's definitely a possibility.

 

[human]

If all that's posted about DR here is true, why isn't it enough evidence to charge him? Something must not be correct, or DR would be sitting in jail.

It's my understanding that new investigators decided they would solve the case, which is why the property was re-searched after many years. What was found, apparently, was not enought to charge DR, and the new investigators did no better in the investigation than their predecessors.

DR can be called a POI, but nothing seems to lead to him other than proximity to the crime. We still have J's father mentioning a stranger at a hockey game. We also have the other boy who was abducted. Have we forgotten these events?

What exactly is the evidence that can be used to,charge DR? We do not know that.

 

[human]

Very interesting article.

http://mindhuntersinc.com/why-killers-take-trophies/

 

[Sasquatch321]

What do you all think about Dan keeping souvenirs ( all the articles he had ) and then asking for them back?u

Extremely incriminating. This is a guy now so infatuated with the case and apparrently has loads of information to share, yet he never even spoke to the wetterlings for 20 years, until patty seeked him out on her own. The whole time they only live a half mile apart. For that reason it only seems more plausible that its a shrine from a killing.

 

[HEY YOU!]

Just to clarify, if you're referring to the hockey practice (try-outs?) that Jacob attended earlier that day, I don't believe Jerry mentioned a stranger at the rink. I believe he said he felt a sense of danger for Jacob when he slipped out of his sight for a moment. That said, that doesn't mean that there wasn't someone at the rink watching the boys that should not have been there or wouldn't normally be there. It's definitely a possibility.

Let's say DR did this, how do you think it played out?