Jacob Wetterling was kidnapped by a masked gunman in 1979 aged 11. He was cycling home from a convenience store in Minnesota where he had rented a video with his brother and a friend when the gunman appeared from a driveway and ordered the boys to throw their bikes into a ditch and lie on the ground.
He later ordered the other boys to run off and not look back else he would shoot them. After a while they did look back, and they saw the gunman grab Jacob by the elbow and walk away towards a wooded area. Jacob has never been seen since.
His parents Jerry and Patty Wetterling formed the Jacob Wetterling Foundation four months later. In 1992, the Jacob Wetterling Act was formed in his honour. It was the first law to institute a state sex-offender registry in the USA, later amended to Megan’s Law in 1996.
Hat tip: Heather Yaxley.
In memory of those who are still missing.
So many cases and so much sadness in the world, Ellee.