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Patty Wetterling discusses advocacy for children in new book
The project that covers Wetterling’s childhood, marriage, her son’s abduction and her ongoing advocacy for children, proved daunting.
ST JOSEPH, Minn. — Patty Wetterling has shared her story for decades, often in a voice both quiet and commanding.
But the mother, advocate and changemaker has never committed to page her perspective on her history, her heartbreak and her hope. That is, until now.
This week marks a new chapter in Wetterling’s story, as the woman known by most Minnesotans releases her memoir: “Dear Jacob: A Mother’s Journey of Hope.” Wetterling wrote the book with writer Joy Baker.
“I think Jacob’s story touched a lot of lives, and it’s an opportunity for people to sort of make sense of some of it all and make peace with some things,” Wetterling told KARE 11’s Karla Hult from her St. Joseph home on a warm October day.
But the project that covers Wetterling’s childhood, marriage, her son’s abduction and her ongoing advocacy for children, proved daunting. This is why Patty also turned to a friend and familiar ally in the quest to bring Jacob home.
“I finally recognized I can’t do this alone; there’s no way I would have ever finished the book,” Wetterling shared, adding moments later: “We found our voice together.”
‘The story found me’
On Oct. 22, 1989, Jacob Wetterling was abducted at gunpoint by a man wearing a mask about a quarter mile from his St. Joseph home. The 11-year-old’s abduction remained a “missing person” case until his confessed killer finally led authorities to his remains in 2016.
But what happened between the kidnapping and the confession is part of what Wetterling’s book addresses, along with her personal background, professional advocacy for children and her unrelenting pursuit for answers in her son’s case; that’s also how Patty’s path first crossed that of Joy Baker.
In 2010 as an avid writer looking to move beyond her marketing career, Baker started posting about Jacob’s case in her blog, “Joy the Curious.” The posts ultimately led her to partner with Jared Scheierl – the man whose own kidnapping case in 1989 was suspected of being connected to Jacob’s. Together, Baker and Scheierl contacted more survivors from the Paynesville community: men who, as boys, also had reported being molested by a man matching the description of the suspect in Jacob’s and Jared’s cases. Ultimately, the pattern presented by Scheierl and Baker – along with Jerry and Patty Wetterling’s own push to revisit the case – resulted in law enforcement running a DNA test on Jared’s clothes; a test that would help them find Danny Heinrich, the man who ultimately confessed to killing Jacob before leading authorities to his remains in rural Paynesville, Minn.
“It was just a marvelous coalition of Jared, Joy, Jerry and I,” Patty recalled about those early days of sharing information about the case.
“I often say that the story found me,” Joy also reflected, noting that having two sons of her own also played a role in her interest.
“I think it was because I was a mother that I wanted to cover this story, and I wanted to help Patty from one mom to another,” Joy said.
In 2015, that partnership for answers segued into writing a book; an effort that was interrupted by the devastating conclusion of Jacob’s case. But in 2018, the pair returned to researching, writing and attending writing retreats. And through a process of piecing together personal and public information – from letters to Jacob, to news articles and community photos – they slowly created their story.
“We muscled through it. and we got through it. But it was frightening, and I just can’t be more grateful for [Patty] just believing in me,” Baker said.
‘Most proud of our children and grandchildren’
At 323 pages, “Dear Jacob” is dense with details. Wetterling reveals insights about how the case strained her family and marriage. She reflects on the politics and challenges of lobbying Congress and later running for Congress. She celebrates her accomplishments related to helping to bring the AMBER alert to Minnesota, pushing for child protection laws and establishing Team HOPE – a support group for parents of missing children. And she discusses the moments when her very identity felt overwhelmed by a devastating crime.
But among those insights and memories, Wetterling stops short of outright attacking those who investigated her son’s case. As a long-time ally of law enforcement, Wetterling recognizes areas for possible improvement but warns against judging the original investigation by today’s standards.
“Don’t judge 1989 – where we did fundraisers to make sure all law enforcement had fax machines – don’t judge 1989 by today’s standards, because we didn’t have it,” she said.
And another point on which Wetterling was careful and clear: her children. She “protected” them, she said, along with Jerry’s own story about his journey. But Wetterling didn’t shy from touting her pride that her family survived what statistically few families do.
“We heard that 87 percent of marriages don’t survive,” a child abduction, Wetterling noted, later adding: “If it’s one thing I’m proud of, it’s really, the first thing is not the book. It’s our children. And our grandchildren. They are amazing. And that’s because we did it. We did it together.”
‘He’s still here’
As for the child taken from a dirt road near his home in St. Joseph, both Patty Wetterling and Joy Baker say his voice is also felt – if not directly heard – on every page of Patty’s memoir.
“He’s kind of my guiding spirit really. He is a light, and I think I’m not the only one who believes that,” Baker said.
“He’s still here,” Patty also reflected, adding: “He was just such a solid, amazing presence in a lot of people’s lives and maybe that’s why we wrote the book. He deserved that… It’s like Jacob wasn’t done yet. He wasn’t ready to be done. And he’s still impacting lives and that part was fun to share. He’s amazing.”
“Dear Jacob: A Mother’s Journey of Hope” written by Patty Wetterling with Joy Baker and published by the Minnesota Historical Society Press is available on Tuesday, Oct. 17.
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A criminal complaint alleges the suspect was driving nearly 100 mph at the time of the crash.
MINNEAPOLIS — Criminal charges have been filed against a St. Paul man in connection with a multi-vehicle crash Wednesday night in Minneapolis that left one person dead and several others injured.
The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office said Talon Covie-Carderell Walker, 29, is now charged with one count of criminal vehicular homicide.
According to a criminal complaint filed in the case, prosecutors believe Walker was driving a Chevy Avalanche pickup truck at high speeds when he started a chain-reaction crash on the I-94 exit to Dunwoody Boulevard on Wednesday evening. A total of seven vehicles were involved.
The State Patrol said Natalie Gubbay, 26, who was driving one of the other vehicles, died at the scene. Several others were hospitalized following the crash, including Walker. Two children were also among those injured.
The complaint alleges Walker was driving nearly 100 mph at the time of the crash. Investigators also said an open bottle of liquor was found in Walker’s vehicle. Results of a blood alcohol test are pending, according to the complaint, but investigators said Walker has previous driving convictions and lost his license in 2021.
Industry experts say several airlines were already waiting for deliveries of Boeing airplanes before the strike started.
MINNEAPOLIS — This week union workers who build planes for Boeing rejected a new contract deal.
64% of the 32,000 machinists voted against the deal in another major setback for the company. The strike that has halted most of Boeing’s aircraft production for over a month will continue.
The strike is further delaying deliveries for many Boeing customers who are already dealing with production delays.
It could soon have a big impact across the country, from concerns over plane safety to the cost of flying.
Hassan Shahidi with the Flight Safety Foundation says many airlines were already waiting for Boeing airplanes before the strike started.
“Prior to the strike there were already challenges,” Shahidi says. “This strike is exacerbating the situation even further.”
Shahidi says some of the airlines may have aging airplanes that will have to stay in use longer than the companies had planned for, but he argues that is a minor issue and he is not worried about passenger safety.
“All aircraft that are flying are certified by the FAA, are airworthy and safe,” Shahidi says.
He argues a much larger issue is how the strike will impact the airline industry’s plans to grow in the coming years.
He says most of the orders for new Boeing airplanes are from airlines that are expanding to meet passenger demand.
“To have other companies trying to come in and meet that gap is going to be challenging in terms of both supplies, labor and processes that are going to be needed to produce the highest quality of airplanes,” Shahidi says.
According to Delta’s website, the airline recently ordered 100 Boeing 737’s with an option to buy 30 more.
Those planes are scheduled to be delivered sometime next year and the company says some of those airplanes will be deployed to MSP.
KARE 11 reached out to Delta to see if the Boeing strike could affect the delivery of those planes, and whether the strike could impact Delta’s ability to add new flights in the coming years, but we haven’t heard back from the company at this time.
Sun Country says their entire fleet is made up of 43 Boeing airplanes.
A company spokesperson says all of Sun Country’s airplanes are “mid-life aircraft” meaning they are purchased used from other companies.
This spokesperson says this unique business model will insulate Sun Country from the impacts of the Boeing strike, and the company won’t see a shortage of airplanes anytime soon.
KARE 11 also reached out to the Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport to see if the airport and local travelers will see any impacts of the Boeing strike.
An MSP spokesperson sent KARE-11 the following statement:
“We do not anticipate any immediate impacts at MSP from the Boeing strike. While a strike could push back delivery of aircraft to airlines and lead to future schedule adjustments by those airlines, any impacts would not be expected to affect MSP any more than other airports across the country.”
The victim’s wife identified their neighbor as the likely suspect following ongoing disputes.
MINNEAPOLIS — A shooting that followed months of alleged harassment from one neighbor to another has escalated to a public sparring session between the Minneapolis Police Department and City Council.
According to court documents, MPD was called to a hospital in the city for reports of a gunshot victim on Oct. 23. Upon arrival, the officers learned a man, identified as Davis Maturi, had been shot and was transported to the hospital from his home on Grand Avenue in Minneapolis.
The criminal complaint in the case said Maturi’s wife told officers that their neighbor, identified as 54-year-old John Sawchak, “almost certainly” was the person who shot her husband, alleging that Sawchak had harassed and threatened the couple for months.
Mrs. Maturi allegedly told officers that her husband was pruning a tree near their property line on that day.
“Touch my tree again and I’ll kill you,” the suspect allegedly told the victim, according to the complaint.
The charging documents lists seven prior police records of incidents between the neighbors before the October shooting, including several allegations of threats and racism by Sawchak against Maturi.
Maturi remains hospitalized with a fractured spine. Sawchak is not currently in police custody.
A letter from ranking members of the Minneapolis City Council to Mayor Jacob Frey shows anger and blame being directed at the MPD for allegedly failing to act on Maturi’s numerous complaints against Sawchak before the shooting, and failing to arrest him immediately after the shooting.
“MPD still has not arrested the suspect despite charges from the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office for Attempted Murder, 1st Degree Assault, Stalking, and Harassment and a request from the HCAO for a warrant with $1 million bail. MPD told the HCAO they do not intend to execute the warrant ‘for reasons of officer safety,’” said the letter from the Minneapolis City Council.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara scheduled a news conference on Friday afternoon to respond to the council’s accusations.
The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office confirmed Friday that it filed charges against Sawchak.
“After Mr. Sawchak shot Mr. Moturi on Oct. 23, the case was submitted to our office on Oct. 24. We immediately charged Mr. Sawchak with attempted murder, first-degree assault, and felony harassment and stalking, enhanced for racial bias,” said a statement from the office.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
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