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Many of the documents covering the 27-year investigation into Jacob Wetterling's 1989 kidnapping will be released publicly Thursday for the first time.

 has scheduled a press conference at 10:06 a.m. at the law enforcement center in downtown St. Cloud.


Gudmundson will give a presentation on the key elements of the case and take questions from the media. A thumb drive with the files will be available afterward.

Follow MPR News live coverage of the Wetterling file release

The Jacob Wetterling abduction

Season one

The Wetterling investigation

 by a masked man on Oct. 22, 1989, while biking home with his brother and best friend along a rural St. Joseph, Minn., road. 

The crime sent shock waves throughout the community and set off a massive search effort that generated tips and leads from around the world. It remained one of the most perplexing and haunting unsolved cases in Minnesota history until two years ago.

 to kidnapping, sexually assaulting and killing Jacob and led authorities to his remains on a Paynesville farm.


Under Minnesota law, criminal investigations become public once the case has been closed.


Jacob's parents, Patty and Jerry Wetterling, 

 from releasing 168 pages out of the tens of thousands of pages in the file, saying they contained personal information about their marriage and family. In April, a judge ruled that the documents must be released. 

However, she also agreed to a request from the U.S. Department of Justice that all federal documents in the file be returned to the FBI. Requests for those documents must go through a separate process under the federal Freedom of Information Act.


Stearns County officials have said the remaining documents will be released with limited redactions.

The investigation in four chapters

Gudmundson was appointed as an interim replacement for John Sanner, who retired in April 2017 after 14 years as Stearns County sheriff. His term expires at the end of this year, and Gudmundson is not running in the November election.


As part of a plea agreement, Heinrich was sentenced to 20 years in prison on a child pornography charge in exchange for confessing to Jacob's kidnapping and murder and leading authorities to his remains. 

Heinrich is listed as an inmate at the Federal Medical Center, Devens, a federal prison in Ayer, Mass.

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Many of the documents covering the 27-year investigation into Jacob Wetterling's 1989 kidnapping will be released publicly Thursday for the first time.


Wetterling files to be released Thursday

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