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A meaningful encounter, more Q&A
A meaningful encounter, more Q&A
My first time meeting Patty Wetterling
Posted by joy.the.curious on Apr 16, 2013 in Jacob | 2 comments
New here? Start from the beginning…
Last Friday, I attended the 7th Annual “Hope for Tomorrow Gala and Auction” for Safe Avenues in Willmar. Safe Avenues provides emergency housing for families of domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse. They also provide 24 hour crisis intervention, advocacy and support services… all free of charge.
The hospital where I work was a sponsor of the event, and I was lucky to be able to attend with my husband and several co-workers. Luckier still, our table was located directly in front of the stage, and the place card with my name on it was located directly in front of the podium. Truly, it was the best seat in the house.
And why was this so lucky, you might ask? Well… because the keynote speaker for the event was none other than Patty Wetterling.
I had never met Patty Wetterling before, so I was really looking forward to hearing her speak. I had no idea whether she had read my blog, or if I was even on her radar. However, I hoped to at least introduce myself to her at some point during the evening… I just didn’t know whether there would be an appropriate time.
As luck would have it once again, I happened to run into Patty as I was washing my hands in the restroom. I said hi, but decided I’d better wait with my introduction, not wanting to fluster her before her speech. I returned to my seat, hoping I hadn’t wasted my one opportunity to meet her.
When Patty took the stage, I was struck by her casual, friendly demeanor. I thought to myself, here’s a mom who has been through the worst possible tragedy, and yet, she’s carrying on with poise, grace, and a smile on her face. But make no mistake, I could tell there was a fire burning deep inside her. And I knew it was that very fire that kept making her say “yes” to speaking engagements such as this.
She began with the lyrics of a song that had been written in honor of Jacob. Next, she told us about a note she had received from a second-grader named Dalton. It read: “Jacob will be fine. If he isn’t all right, you’ll see him in heaven. My dog died. If Jacob is gone, he can play with him.” She said that note had made her feel better, because Dalton had given her an image she could live with.
Mostly, Patty delivered a message that spoke of hope and optimism. The world can be a dark, scary, evil place, but instead of focusing on the “bad” in people, she chooses instead to focus on what’s good, and right, and fair. Jacob, she said, was a firm believer in sticking up for what was fair.
Today, Patty Wetterling heads up the sexual violence prevention program at the Minnesota Department of Health in St. Paul. She also serves as the board chair of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in Washington D.C. In fact, that’s where she had been earlier in the day… the same day as the Safe Avenues Gala. (Honestly, the woman is tireless when it comes to protecting the safety of children.)
After the Gala was over, I walked over to Patty’s table to introduce myself. But, at that moment, my luck ran out. Connie Schmoll, the Executive Director of Safe Avenues, was whisking her off toward the lobby, presumably to make a quick but gracious exit. Rats. I started walking back to my table, thinking I had missed my chance. But then, I stopped, turned around, and thought… what the heck… maybe I can still catch her. I entered the lobby just as she was setting her things down and putting on her coat.
I caught her.
I introduced myself briefly and asked her if I could give her my card. She said my name seemed familiar to her, but she couldn’t quite place how she knew me. I said I knew it had been a long day for her and she still had a long drive home, but wondered if we could chat another time. She gave me her card, she took mine, and that was that.
But that was enough.
The next day, I sent Patty an email explaining who I was, how I had started blogging about Jacob, and what I was trying to do. Not much later, she wrote back saying she was intrigued and asked me to call her. Apparently, she and her husband Jerry had already read most of my blogs. I had been on her radar after all.
Later, we talked on the phone for almost two hours. I hadn’t intended for the conversation to carry on for so long, but as it turns out, we had a lot to say to each other. Mostly, I wanted her to know that my intentions were good… I was doing this for Jacob. She told me she respected my writing, my accuracy, and my decision to stick to the facts. We agreed to talk again soon… next time, face to face.
More on that sometime down the road.
Back to Jacob
Here are a few more questions from commenters.
Q. Here is a good question for Dan if it hasn’t come up before. It really has to do with his mindset on supposedly telling the officer that he would go back and search his outbuildings. If it were me and it was dark outside and a person just abducted a child near my property with a gun I would be thinking there is a strong possibility they could actually be in one of those outbuildings and wouldn’t even consider searching them by myself even if I was armed. I think the entire situation would’ve been very scary and unnerving and the average person wouldn’t be able to go back to bed.
Dan’s response:
A. After making my 911 call and hearing a child was kidnapped, my reaction was immediately to leave the house and walk up the hill to see if I could do anything. I remember having no sense of any danger whatsoever. I am sure I didn’t even lock the house door behind me. Of course, at that time, I had no idea a gun was involved or what really happened. I grabbed the flashlight and walked through a grassy area leading to the road that goes up the hill. When I got to Deputy Sheriff Bruce Bechtold, I remember it was just a short exchange that a boy was taken up the road. I didn’t even know the kidnapping took place so near (or on) our farm driveway… So, searching the farm buildings in the dark was just not connected to any kind of a fear except for maybe running into a skunk.
Q. Your initial blog “Dan’s Story” mentioned that Dan went to the sheriff’s office to read the affidavit that prompted the July 2010 search warrant of the Rassier property. Was Dan able to determine what information led law enforcement to seek a search warrant in 2010??
Dan’s response:
A. When I went to the Stearns County Sheriff’s Office to check up on the contents of the affidavit that contained probable cause to encourage the judge to sign off on the June/July 2010 search warrant……I already was 95% sure what was in it. After several clerks in the records division couldn’t find it, they discovered it was either in the County Attorney’s Office or with the Sheriff’s Office. I went to the Sheriff’s office first. Deputy Sheriff Bruce Bechtold talked to me and immediately told me the affidavit was sealed and I wouldn’t be able to see it. Because I’m only 95% sure of what is in the affidavit, I don’t think I can state my exact findings at this point.
Dan has a pretty good idea of why his farm was searched in 2010, and we talked about it at length. We may share that story one day, but not yet. There are many more details to be worked out first.
Finally, I’m going to post some more aerial photos that Dan sent to me. He took these while he and a pilot friend were flying over the farm in 1987. I had asked him if he had any aerial photos of the farm when I was trying to figure out where exactly the cars had turned around in the driveway. As it turns out, he had several… all taken just two years prior to the abduction. These should give everyone a better idea of what this area looked like around the time Jacob was abducted.
Next time
My take on Dan Rassier
2 Comments
ELOCsoul | April 18, 2013 at 8:13 pm
Do any of these or other aerial photos show the location of the “party place” that Kevin described?
ELOCsoul | April 23, 2013 at 5:27 am
Would Kevin be able to pinpoint exactly where the “new” cop was parked on one of these photos? It just seems odd that LE would have several units at the Wetterling home, and 1 unit in a surveillance position which Kevin and his GF saw, but no one at the abduction site yet. Perhaps LE didn’t quite know where the abduction site was at that time. Still, it’s unfathomable that the officer Kevin talked to did not report that encounter. Obviously he knew that Kevin was at the driveway.