Investigators look at possible link in 25-year-old case

Investigators are taking a new look into whether the abduction of Jacob Wetterling nearly 25 years ago may be linked to similar cases in central Minnesota.

Jacob was 11 when he was abducted by a masked gunman near his St. Joseph home in October 1989. He has not been seen since and the case remains open.

KARE-TV reports Stearns County investigators are now taking a closer look at several stranger assaults that took place in Paynesville in 1986 and 1987. There were at least five assaults and the victims were all teenage boys.

Sheriff John Sanner tells The Associated Press that investigators assigned to the Wetterling abduction compared similarities with the Paynesville cases 25 years ago. Sanner says officials have been taking a new look for about six months.

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