New billboards renew effort to find Jacob Wetterling

Wetterling billboard
A new billboard, which is part of a new renewed effort to find Jacob Wetterling, who was abducted in 1989.
Courtesy of the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension

Minnesota authorities Tuesday unveiled a new billboard campaign as part of their ongoing efforts to find Jacob Wetterling, a boy who was abducted near his St. Joseph, Minnesota, home 25 years ago.

The billboards, featuring likenesses of young Jacob and what he might look like today, will go up around St. Joseph, officials with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, Stearn's County Sheriff's Office, the FBI and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children said at a news conference Tuesday announcing the campaign.

11-year-old Jacob Wetterling, his younger brother and a friend were riding their bikes home from a St. Joseph convenience store on the night of Oct. 22, 1989 when a masked man with a gun stopped them and told them to get off their bikes and lie face down in a ditch. After telling the man how old they were, 10-year-old Trevor Wetterling and 11-year-old Aaron Larson were told to run away.

The man took Jacob, who hasn't been seen since.

Anyone with information on Jacob Wetterling's whereabouts or what happened to him is urged to call 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678).

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