A Mother’s Search
It is, perhaps, a mother's greatest fear: their child being kidnapped, never to be seen again. What happens when a child is abducted? And how do the families left behind cope with their loss?
How do you handle the abduction of your child, never to be seen again? Patty Wetterling has turned her loss into a mission to protect other children. Her son, Jacob Wetterling, was just 11 when he was kidnapped in front of his brother and friend in his hometown of St. Joseph, Minnesota. A masked gunman came upon the boys on their bikes. Jacob's brother and friend were allowed to run away, but the gunman took Jacob. This year Jacob would have turned 30. Four months after the abduction, his parents, Jerry and Patty Wetterling, formed the Jacob Wetterling Foundation, an advocacy group for children's safety. In 1994, the Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent Offender Registration Act, more simply known as the Jacob Wetterling Act, was passed in his honor. It was the first law to institute a state sex-offender registry and was a precursor to Megan's Law.
