Lil_country_gal
New Member
- Joined
- Sep 16, 2005
- Messages
- 2,332
- Reaction score
- 0
http://www.thenewsleaders.com/articles/2007/06/29/east_side/news/news3.txt
Hello, I'm Jacob 'Edwin' Wetterling
By Patty Wetterling
Friday, June 15, 2007 11:31 AM EDT
“I was writing a report in my office,” Jerry said, “when Caroline came in a bit distressed, saying ‘There's a man on the phone who says he's Jacob ‘Edwin' Wetterling.'”
My husband, Jerry, is one of the calmest people I know, but I could hear his voice shaking a bit. Jerry said he'd spent about 20 minutes talking to this man, who had called from Ashland, Ky.
“He has a strong southern accent,” Jerry said. “He doesn't remember anything specific about his childhood. He simply doesn't remember his childhood at all. He thinks he's Jacob.”
The man gave his name as Kenneth. He gave his phone number, Social Security number, date of birth and some basic information. Jerry felt the man was truly troubled, but he couldn't say for sure he wasn't Jacob.
Having to get back to work, Jerry told Kenneth that if he is Jacob, his mom would want to talk to him. Then he called me with the numbers. I then realized this was the same caller who had left mumbled messages on our answering machine while I was out running errands.
We've had close to 40,000 leads in Jacob's case, but only a handful of people calling, claiming to be our son.
I was caught off guard, too. I called 911. I identified myself and asked to have a detective call me, but when the dispatch operator asked what the nature of my call was, I about lost it.
“Someone is calling our house,” I said, “and also called Jerry's office claiming to be Jacob.” She said someone would call me right back and he did.
Within minutes Kerry, a detective, phoned me.
“Let me verify what I can,” he said. “I'll call you back with what I get.”
When Kerry called back he assured me the captain had been briefed, and he suggested a few questions I might ask Kenneth to see if he could validate his claim.
I dialed the number, Kenneth answered, and it was as Jerry said - he truly believed he was Jacob.
He remembers being taken. He remembers waking up in Texas. He said a woman named Ramona had cared for him most of the time. He said he lived in Texas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Alabama and now Kentucky. He said he often lived in women's shelters when he was younger. He said he was in a bike accident in Texas. He also remembers being hypnotized and was told if he ever tried to tell anyone the truth, they would think he was lying.
Then he gave me an address on “MySpace.com” where he said he had his picture posted.
“I don't think you are lying,” I assured him. “I want to help you remember your childhood, and if you're MY Jacob, I want to get you home as soon as possible.”
I convinced the man to go to the police department where they could help him. He said he would be there at 10 a.m. the following morning.
I called the detective back, gave him the information I gathered and said, “I want the ‘CSI' version on this one: fingerprints, photos, DNA, dental impressions. If it's NOT Jacob, we need to find out who this is. He needs help. And if this guy is just messing with us, that has to stop too.”
I spoke to my friends at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
I spoke to my friend, Colleen, who has a missing daughter in Arkansas.
I spoke to our daughter, Carmen, who had called Jerry in the middle of everything.
Carmen wanted to know right now. She wanted the police to go find him that night. I did too, in a way. But yet I needed to process all that was going on.
If it was Jacob, what kind of trauma had he been through? Would his memory return? Was he going to be OK? This man Kenneth sounded like he had so many challenges. How and when will we know?
I told Carmen it was best to let everyone figure out what they needed to know and that I had no reason to believe it was Jacob or wasn't Jacob. Kenneth couldn't give me any specifics but had said some things that were interesting.
I went on “MySpace” and discovered there were 5,000 hits with the name he gave me. I searched through the first few hundred. I got discouraged, not knowing what or who I was looking for.
I slept a bit, surprisingly. On my way to the Twin Cities the following morning I called our daughter, Amy, so she could be a support to Carmen. Our kids have been through a lot together. Amy seemed fairly calm. I asked her if I should call Trevor, our son, and she said yes - he would want to be in the loop.
It's hard to make these calls. I don't want to sound too “up” or too “down” about this type of lead. I didn't know how I felt myself!
I had a flight to Winnipeg for a missing-children's conference, and at the airport I received many calls. The first was from my old friend, Bill Hagmaier, who is a retired FBI agent.
“You're not flying to Kentucky, are you?” he asked.
I assured him, “no,” that I've been through this too many times to just pick up and chase leads without enough information.
Bill had received a call from the National Center asking to “be ready” if they received fingerprints or had other investigative needs, and he was. He had made some calls.
What transpired after this was absolutely amazing.
Before getting on the plane to Winnipeg. I learned Kenneth had shown up at the Ashland Police Department at 10 a.m. They drew blood, fingerprinted, took swabs for DNA and took photos. He was very cooperative, but almost incoherent or drugged.
I had a 70-minute flight. I went through my ritual of prayer as we took off.
“Thank you, Doug Wood!”
That is my way of reminding myself why I am doing what I am doing, and why I am traveling with the song he wrote about Jacob.
“And Jacob, can you hear us? We send you our prayers. We send you all our strength and our love. And we're not giving up ‘til we bring you back home. We are Jacob's hope.”
I thought about the possibilities:
It COULD be Jacob. We have no reason to believe we won't find him, and we won't give up until we do.
I thought about who Jacob really is and how we remember him. We wouldn't necessarily know his voice; Jacob was 11 when he was kidnapped and his voice hadn't yet changed.
He could have an accent, after living in the South for the past 17 years.
Stay positive, Patty. Send positive energy.
As soon as the plane landed, I turned on my cell phone. There were five new messages. I spoke to the National Center, Kerry, Trevor and Jerry.
NCMEC said they had done a photo overlay and were 90-percent certain it wasn't Jacob.
Trevor called and echoed my thoughts. Ninety percent wasn't good enough.
Pam called and said Kenneth was O positive, which wasn't a match. And Ron Jones called back, “The fingerprints don't match at all.”
The captain called back from Kentucky, telling me they'd accomplished a lot in a very short period of time.
“With blood work,” he said, “fingerprints, current photo analysis and DNA, we're sure he's not your son.”
The captain assured me social services was trying to get this man some help. No one believes there was a malicious intent. But eventually, I gave in to the grief.
Our family allowed itself into a place with a door we never open. We did at first. We had a plan for when Jacob was found - where we would go, who the family spokesperson would be, how we could heal and recover - but we have never had the opportunity. After awhile, we quit talking about it.
Where are you Jacob?
I know our family can heal if we find you, but where are you?
What have you endured?
Is there a way we can reach you?
Do you know how much we love you?
I hope the man who took him knows we will not give up. I pray for our other children, that they stay strong, but not so strong they become hardened to all of this. I pray for their spouses for understanding as they saw first-hand the challenges of our lives.
Jerry and I celebrated our 34th wedding anniversary with our kids. We had a wonderful dinner together in the Cities, and we played games. We all laughed and stayed up too late and didn't really mention Kenneth once.
With hope, we go on. It's about a hope for the way the world is supposed to be, and about our love for one another that gets us up in the morning to carry on and build a world where all of our kids can grow up safe. A world we knew. A world Jacob believed in. A world worth fighting for.
Jacob's middle name is Erwin, not Edwin. But it was close - so very close.
We love you Jacob, and we'll never stop looking for you.
I feel so bad for the Wetterling's they deserve to have jacob back, I hope they find the real him soon, and I hope they find out who ever this real guy is. I can't imagine how confussing it must be to now know who you are. Patty is such an amazing woman she lives in my town and their office is also in my town i've met her many times she really truley is a wonderful woman.
Hello, I'm Jacob 'Edwin' Wetterling
By Patty Wetterling
Friday, June 15, 2007 11:31 AM EDT
“I was writing a report in my office,” Jerry said, “when Caroline came in a bit distressed, saying ‘There's a man on the phone who says he's Jacob ‘Edwin' Wetterling.'”
My husband, Jerry, is one of the calmest people I know, but I could hear his voice shaking a bit. Jerry said he'd spent about 20 minutes talking to this man, who had called from Ashland, Ky.
“He has a strong southern accent,” Jerry said. “He doesn't remember anything specific about his childhood. He simply doesn't remember his childhood at all. He thinks he's Jacob.”
The man gave his name as Kenneth. He gave his phone number, Social Security number, date of birth and some basic information. Jerry felt the man was truly troubled, but he couldn't say for sure he wasn't Jacob.
Having to get back to work, Jerry told Kenneth that if he is Jacob, his mom would want to talk to him. Then he called me with the numbers. I then realized this was the same caller who had left mumbled messages on our answering machine while I was out running errands.
We've had close to 40,000 leads in Jacob's case, but only a handful of people calling, claiming to be our son.
I was caught off guard, too. I called 911. I identified myself and asked to have a detective call me, but when the dispatch operator asked what the nature of my call was, I about lost it.
“Someone is calling our house,” I said, “and also called Jerry's office claiming to be Jacob.” She said someone would call me right back and he did.
Within minutes Kerry, a detective, phoned me.
“Let me verify what I can,” he said. “I'll call you back with what I get.”
When Kerry called back he assured me the captain had been briefed, and he suggested a few questions I might ask Kenneth to see if he could validate his claim.
I dialed the number, Kenneth answered, and it was as Jerry said - he truly believed he was Jacob.
He remembers being taken. He remembers waking up in Texas. He said a woman named Ramona had cared for him most of the time. He said he lived in Texas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Alabama and now Kentucky. He said he often lived in women's shelters when he was younger. He said he was in a bike accident in Texas. He also remembers being hypnotized and was told if he ever tried to tell anyone the truth, they would think he was lying.
Then he gave me an address on “MySpace.com” where he said he had his picture posted.
“I don't think you are lying,” I assured him. “I want to help you remember your childhood, and if you're MY Jacob, I want to get you home as soon as possible.”
I convinced the man to go to the police department where they could help him. He said he would be there at 10 a.m. the following morning.
I called the detective back, gave him the information I gathered and said, “I want the ‘CSI' version on this one: fingerprints, photos, DNA, dental impressions. If it's NOT Jacob, we need to find out who this is. He needs help. And if this guy is just messing with us, that has to stop too.”
I spoke to my friends at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
I spoke to my friend, Colleen, who has a missing daughter in Arkansas.
I spoke to our daughter, Carmen, who had called Jerry in the middle of everything.
Carmen wanted to know right now. She wanted the police to go find him that night. I did too, in a way. But yet I needed to process all that was going on.
If it was Jacob, what kind of trauma had he been through? Would his memory return? Was he going to be OK? This man Kenneth sounded like he had so many challenges. How and when will we know?
I told Carmen it was best to let everyone figure out what they needed to know and that I had no reason to believe it was Jacob or wasn't Jacob. Kenneth couldn't give me any specifics but had said some things that were interesting.
I went on “MySpace” and discovered there were 5,000 hits with the name he gave me. I searched through the first few hundred. I got discouraged, not knowing what or who I was looking for.
I slept a bit, surprisingly. On my way to the Twin Cities the following morning I called our daughter, Amy, so she could be a support to Carmen. Our kids have been through a lot together. Amy seemed fairly calm. I asked her if I should call Trevor, our son, and she said yes - he would want to be in the loop.
It's hard to make these calls. I don't want to sound too “up” or too “down” about this type of lead. I didn't know how I felt myself!
I had a flight to Winnipeg for a missing-children's conference, and at the airport I received many calls. The first was from my old friend, Bill Hagmaier, who is a retired FBI agent.
“You're not flying to Kentucky, are you?” he asked.
I assured him, “no,” that I've been through this too many times to just pick up and chase leads without enough information.
Bill had received a call from the National Center asking to “be ready” if they received fingerprints or had other investigative needs, and he was. He had made some calls.
What transpired after this was absolutely amazing.
Before getting on the plane to Winnipeg. I learned Kenneth had shown up at the Ashland Police Department at 10 a.m. They drew blood, fingerprinted, took swabs for DNA and took photos. He was very cooperative, but almost incoherent or drugged.
I had a 70-minute flight. I went through my ritual of prayer as we took off.
“Thank you, Doug Wood!”
That is my way of reminding myself why I am doing what I am doing, and why I am traveling with the song he wrote about Jacob.
“And Jacob, can you hear us? We send you our prayers. We send you all our strength and our love. And we're not giving up ‘til we bring you back home. We are Jacob's hope.”
I thought about the possibilities:
It COULD be Jacob. We have no reason to believe we won't find him, and we won't give up until we do.
I thought about who Jacob really is and how we remember him. We wouldn't necessarily know his voice; Jacob was 11 when he was kidnapped and his voice hadn't yet changed.
He could have an accent, after living in the South for the past 17 years.
Stay positive, Patty. Send positive energy.
As soon as the plane landed, I turned on my cell phone. There were five new messages. I spoke to the National Center, Kerry, Trevor and Jerry.
NCMEC said they had done a photo overlay and were 90-percent certain it wasn't Jacob.
Trevor called and echoed my thoughts. Ninety percent wasn't good enough.
Pam called and said Kenneth was O positive, which wasn't a match. And Ron Jones called back, “The fingerprints don't match at all.”
The captain called back from Kentucky, telling me they'd accomplished a lot in a very short period of time.
“With blood work,” he said, “fingerprints, current photo analysis and DNA, we're sure he's not your son.”
The captain assured me social services was trying to get this man some help. No one believes there was a malicious intent. But eventually, I gave in to the grief.
Our family allowed itself into a place with a door we never open. We did at first. We had a plan for when Jacob was found - where we would go, who the family spokesperson would be, how we could heal and recover - but we have never had the opportunity. After awhile, we quit talking about it.
Where are you Jacob?
I know our family can heal if we find you, but where are you?
What have you endured?
Is there a way we can reach you?
Do you know how much we love you?
I hope the man who took him knows we will not give up. I pray for our other children, that they stay strong, but not so strong they become hardened to all of this. I pray for their spouses for understanding as they saw first-hand the challenges of our lives.
Jerry and I celebrated our 34th wedding anniversary with our kids. We had a wonderful dinner together in the Cities, and we played games. We all laughed and stayed up too late and didn't really mention Kenneth once.
With hope, we go on. It's about a hope for the way the world is supposed to be, and about our love for one another that gets us up in the morning to carry on and build a world where all of our kids can grow up safe. A world we knew. A world Jacob believed in. A world worth fighting for.
Jacob's middle name is Erwin, not Edwin. But it was close - so very close.
We love you Jacob, and we'll never stop looking for you.
I feel so bad for the Wetterling's they deserve to have jacob back, I hope they find the real him soon, and I hope they find out who ever this real guy is. I can't imagine how confussing it must be to now know who you are. Patty is such an amazing woman she lives in my town and their office is also in my town i've met her many times she really truley is a wonderful woman.
