Full Wetterling file to become public in 2 weeks

Jacob Wetterling
Jacob Wetterling
Courtesy National Center for Missing and Exploited Children

The entire law enforcement investigation into the abduction of Jacob Wetterling will be released to the public in two weeks.

Stearns County announced Monday that the investigation will be available at 11 a.m. June 5.

County staff and attorneys have been preparing for the release for months, including reviewing thousands of pages of documents, investigative reports and transcribed interviews. Personal information such as Social Security numbers and names of sexual assault victims had to be redacted.

The case file is expected to provide more details into the 26-year investigation into Wetterling's abduction.

Wetterling was kidnapped on Oct. 22, 1989 in St. Joseph while riding his bike home with his brother and a friend. His disappearance remained a mystery until last year.

Danny Heinrich confessed to kidnapping, sexually assaulting and killing 11-year-old Wetterling, whose remains were found buried on a farm near Paynesville. Heinrich was sentenced to 20 years in prison on a child pornography charge as part of a plea agreement.

The investigation will be accessible online on the Stearns County website at www.co.stearns.mn.us, with options to view or download the documents.

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