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Filed under: In The News, Amazing Parents
Jerry and Patty Wetterling hold a photo of their kidnapped son, Jacob. Credit: Craig Lassig, AP
For the past 20 years, Patty Wetterling has been living every parent's worst nightmare: In 1989, her son, Jacob, then just 11, was kidnapped while playing with his best friend and his brother. "They witnessed it," Wetterling told CNN. "They saw this masked man with a gun."
When Wetterling heard the news that Jaycee Dugard was rescued from nearly 20 years of captivity and abuse from her alleged kidnapper, Phillip Garrido, she told CNN that it made "her heart smile."
Ever since the fateful October day that took Jacob away from her, Wetterling has been a tireless advocate not only for her own missing son, but also for all parents who are living out the horror of losing their children to kidnappers or sexual predators. The St. Joseph, Minn. woman ran for Congress twice in an effort to give children a bigger voice in government, and also helped create Minnesota's sex-offender registry. She also helped found Team HOPE -- Help Offering Parents Empowerment -- a parent-to-parent support program for mothers and fathers of missing kids.
Today, Wetterling is focused on preventing tragedies like hers. As the head of the sexual violence prevention program for the Minnesota Department of Health in St. Paul, a big part of her job, she told CNN, is ending current "social norms" in the media that encourage sexual violence.
Prevention is just part of the picture, however, and Wetterling encourages all citizens to be alert for the signs that something is amiss -- in Dugard's case, a police officer noticed something suspicious.
"These kids do not come running forward on their own. They are found by someone else," she told CNN. "The bottom-line lesson is to tell people to report things when they see them. Trust your instincts ... You'd want somebody sticking up for your child, so don't second-guess."
Wetterling and Dugard's mom, Terry Probyn, kept in touch throughout the years after being brought together on a television show about missing and abducted children. Jaycee and Jacob were the same age when they disappeared.
Wetterling said she and Probyn spoke occasionally by telephone over the intervening years, but have not yet been in touch since Jaycee was reunited with her family last week. She said that Jaycee and her family will need time and space to heal from their ordeal.
But that doesn't dampen her happiness over Jaycee's return: "It's just phenomenal," Wetterling told CNN. "I know a lot of parents of missing children, and we all hope and pray that one day we'll get to hold our kids again. That's the goal."
As for Jacob, Wetterling said she still believes it's possible that she will be reunited with her son.
"We never quit," she told CNN. "We need you home. And to the man who took him: It's time. It's time to lift the burden that you've carried, as well, for all these years and tell us where he is and what happened. It's time."
Would you come forward if you saw something suspicious?
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ReaderComments (Page 2 of 2)
9-04-2009 @ 9:50AM
Valerie said...I am the mother of a Murdered child my son went missing end of January of 1983, he was found by a jogger 3 weeks later floating in a canal, the thoughts that were going through my mind when he was missing were mind boggleing I only waited 3 weeks to know what happened not 20 or more yrs, I look at his portait and wonder what he would have looked like today.
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9-04-2009 @ 10:02AM
p said...typical common clique story things that people do for attention some parents are in so much denial full of naieve daftness they think it could never happen to my child but then when it does they feel different want attention and sympanthy from everyone who told them so anything can happen to a child/anyone in the world the difference is learn how to prevent it from happening in the first place. 10 years ago barely any of this happen now you gotta worry about if there is a predator offender running loose in the streets
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9-04-2009 @ 10:05AM
Sue Pacelli said...It is sooo sad to hear about children being kidnapped, killed and held captive against their will. There should be noooooo release for people that prey on children, and rape women. I'm so glad to hear of Caycee's return. I hope she can at least feel free and loved by her family. She has finally waken up from a long nightmare. God Bless her and her daughters. I'm so happy for her mother. At least she has her daughter back....
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9-04-2009 @ 10:06AM
Kent said...Being from Minnesota I remember when Jacob was abducted. It's unbelievable how someone can be so sick ,deranged and angry to take a child or someone weaker. Everyone must be on the alert for these types of incidents. I personally lose it whenever I see something concerning the Wetterling family and pray that the dear Lord brings him back to all of us.
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9-04-2009 @ 10:09AM
Heaven said...I am a mother of 5 and I also work with children of all ages and I can't imagine not having mine around because some demon took one of them. My oldest is 12 and gets upset because "i baby him" he says. And I always remind him I'm protecting him. It's sad that children can't play and enjoy being a child because people are so crazy. The sex offender registry is as big as the voter registry. The system let these monsters out on the street after a few years, sometimes months. Child abuse, child molestation should carry the same as MURDER. when these perverts commit these acts on a child, they kill them on the inside. For those who survive life will NEVER be the same. Relations with adults become difficult. Parent relationships are sometimes completly cut off. I am a survior of rape. When I was ten my world was changed and at 31, it's still not right. Pray for our children.
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9-04-2009 @ 10:18AM
Kathy said...I agree with you about everything you said. I have three kids and the youngest is now 16. He used to tell me the same thing about me babying him. Not trusting him and all that. I told him the same thing. I told him it was my JOB as a parent and I was not there to be his friend. That if I could ge thim grown without incident then I had succesfully done my job as a parent. he didn't like it but he got over it. I still am strict with him. He thinks because he is driving that he should get to come and go when he pleases. He really hates a midnight curfew. I told him I didn't care. Mine was midnight and I am still hear so that seems to work. We as parents have many things to worry about with our kids. Not just the predators. Recently a 18 year old boy was killed on our street. He was riding with 2 other young men. Driver had been drinking and was speeding. He lost control and hit a telephone pole. The boy killed was not wearing a seatbelt so he might have survived if he had been. ?? At any rate, this happened at 7am in the morning. ?? Maybe if he had a curfew he would be alive. My son argued that he was 18. I told him I didn't care if he was 25! If he still lived in my house... he/she would have a curfew. Like it or not. Maybe if this was the case with this young man.. he would be alive today. Instead, his parents had to bury their son and will never get over this. I can't imagine any greater sorrow than losing a child.
9-04-2009 @ 10:18AM
Laura said...First of all, since the Jaycee return , I believe that ALL the predators need to be investigated through their homes, their work, where they go, etc, Not only that , but since there are so many of them , they all need to be put on an island where they cannot come into contact with any continent, and see how they survive there, let them be a prisoner in their own place, mabe then you would probably be surprized at how many children may turn up. I pray for all the children whom are innocent victims out there, and knowing to trying to find a way out, where there is a way , there is a will, need more support from the police force. Get these LULUS off the streets!!!
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9-04-2009 @ 7:24PM
Laura Galley said...To Stanwoody, Castration,amputation, blinding and all multiple brandings, acid shower and thrown in jail for life with prisoners who will make child kidnappers/sexual molesters their bitch.
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9-05-2009 @ 12:12AM
r said...may everyones hopes and prayers be with you
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9-05-2009 @ 12:38AM
Ms. Max said...As a Mother and Grandmother I would not like to experience what these parents have to go through and the children the mental torment, my prayers and thoughts are with them, it's hard to comprehend. My beliefs is that these deranged people needs to be mutilated they have no use to society we are already paying for their keep in prison I say give them a Genitalia-techtomy, remove their fingers, toes and out-fit them with a Hannibal Lechter facial mask just a hole to eat a little food through then I will feel satisfied about paying for their keeps, because they won't be able to inflect pain on people.
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