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The Hunt with John Walsh

Jacob Wetterling Abducted, Missing Since October 22, 1989

Aired December 27, 2014 - 23:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


JOHN WALSH, CNN HOST OF "THE HUNT": Back in 1981, I had the American dream, the beautiful wife, the house in the suburbs, and a beautiful 6-year-old son. And, one day I went to work, kissed my son good-bye, and never saw him again. In two weeks, I became the parent of a murdered child and I will always be the parent of a murdered child.

I still have the heartache. I still have the rage. I waited years for justice. I know what it is like to be there waiting for some answers, and over those years, I learned how to do one thing really well. And, that is how to catch these bastards and bring them back to justice. I have become a man hunter. I am out there looking for bad guys.

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PATTY WETTERLING, JACOB'S MOTHER: What was going on in this region? What was going on? And, it was so deeply, intensely harmful to boys? I honestly do not want a 25th anniversary. I want answers. I want to know what happened.

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JOHN WALSH, CNN HOST OF "THE HUNT": I know this case, as well as I know my own son's case. I walked in those shoes. This crime was so horrific in nature, and it is gone on for 25 years, and there are new tools to help solve this case. What is killing the Wetterlings and what they need to know is what happened to Jacob. The not knowing is what kills you.

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Jacob Wetterling abducted. Missing since October 22, 1989.

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JERRY WETTERLING, JACOB'S FATHER: On the day of October 22nd, it was a pretty chilly but not too chilly October morning. We got up, and Jacob and I went fishing. And, I came back for noon kickoff for the Vikings' game. It was kind of a family tradition of watching Vikings football. PATTY WETTERLING: I love kids and, you know, being a stay-at-

home mom, it was our place where everyone would gather.

JERRY WETTERLING: Patty and I have four children. Our oldest daughter is Amy and Jacob was next, and Trevor and Carmen.

PATTY WETTERLING: Jacob was our first born son.

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PATTY WETTERLING: OK.

(PLAYING PIANO)

JACOB WETTERLING, MISSING SON OF PATTY AND JERY WETTERLING: My name is Jacob Erwin Wetterling. My favorite food is steak. My favorite color is blue. My best friend is Aaron Larson. My favorite thing to do most is watch football. What I want to be when I grow up is a football player.

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JERRY WETTERLING: Any way, after the game, Jake and Trevor and I, we played a little football game out in the driveway.

PATTY WETTERLING: Jerry would throw a pass in those two. One would try an intercept, and the other one would try to catch the pass. And, always, it ended up in tears. They are very competitive. They took this game seriously.

JERRY WETTERLING: It was a fabulous day, and I will always cherish that day.

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WALSH: I think one of the tough things for Americans to grasp is that a predator can be anywhere. A crime can happen to anyone at any time.

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JERRY WETTERLING: A little after 5:30 or 6:00, Patty and I went to a dinner party at some friends about 20 to 25 minutes away.

PATTY WETTERLING: We were not going to be gone very long, and they were just going to stay home.

JERRY WETTERLING: Our oldest daughter Amy was at a sleepover that night, and Jacob's best friend Aaron was going to be coming over, because the kids did not have school the next day.

PATTY WETTERLING: When we got there, we called to give the kid's the phone number.

JERRY WETTERLING: This was, of course, days before cell phones, so it was just a home phone number. We were in the middle of dinner at this party, and Trevor calls. Trevor asked Patty if he and Jacob and Aaron could ride their bikes down to the local convenience store and rent a movie.

PATTY WETTERLING: There is nothing between us and the store. It is farm field mostly and a few houses. But, it was starting to get dark, and I said, "No! You know, find something to do. You got plenty to do." And, Trevor said let me talk to dad.

JERRY WETTERLING: And, my thinking is, this is safe country, that my only concern is on this one fairly strong stretch of road is for car traffic. In my mind, it covered those bases with flashlight. And, I said "OK, but go down there and get it and come straight home."

(PHONE RINGS)

JERRY WETTERLING: It must have been about 45 minutes, give or take. And, the phone rang and they called for me to come and take this call. It was our next door neighbor, Meryl, who called and said, "Jerry, you have to leave that party right now and come home."

PATTY WETERRLING: He came back to the table and said, "We got to go." And, I said, "What? Are not those kids back yet?" And, he said -- "Somebody took Jacob." I grabbed my purse and we left. We did not say anything to the people, our host or anything. We just left. And, it was the longest ride in the world.

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JERRY WETTERLING: Jacob needs to come home. I want to find Jacob.

PATTY WETTERLING: They had witnessed something awful.

ROBERT LOWERY, JR., VICE PRESIDENT OF NATIONAL CENTER FOR MISSING & EXPLOITED CHILDREN: When it comes to missing children, time is the enemy. Seconds count. Hours count. If that child is going to be killed, it is going to happen within the first few hours.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE OPERATOR: 911 emergency.

MERLIN JERZAK, WETTERLING FAMILY NEIGHBOR: Yes, this is Merlin Jerzak. I am calling from St. Joe, out in the township. I am right now next door at my neighbor's, the Jerry Wetterling family. And, some of their boys went to pick up a movie, and on their way back. someone stopped them and one of the boys did not come back with them.

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JERRY WETTERLING: It was the longest 25 minutes I have ever spent in my life, just -- it was terrible. We got to the house and the police were here.

PATTY WETTERLING: Trevor was just agitated, absolutely agitated. And, I remember Aaron, Aaron was like hiding in the corner, biting his nails. He just wanted to disappear. They had witnessed something awful.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE OPERATOR: Trevor?

TREVOR WETTERLING, JACOB'S YOUNGER BROTHER: Yes?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE OPERATOR: You are talking to the sheriff's office, OK? I want you to give me anything you can recall about this male party that approached you guys, OK?

TREVOR WETTERLING: Well, he was -- he was like a man, sort of big.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE OPERATOR: OK.

TREVOR WETTERLING: He had like a -- it looks sort of like a nylon thing of a mask.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE OPERATOR: Do you know what Color it was?

TREVOR WETTERLING: Black, I think.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE OPERATOR: A black mask?

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JERRY WETTERLING: This guy wearing a mask came out and you could see his hand gun. This guy told them to get off their bikes and lay down in the ditch or else he would shoot. He asked one by one what their age was.

After that, he had Trevor and Aaron, one by one, run off into the nearby woods. And, told them not to look back or else he would shoot. As Aaron was taking off, he saw the man grab Jacob's arm.

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