This crazy journey

Taking a moment to reflect on the past four years

Posted by joy.the.curious on Jul 15, 2014 in Jacob | 15 comments

It’s hard to explain why I keep at this. For the past four years, I’ve been searching for Jacob Wetterling… a boy I’ve never known, from a town I had barely heard of. I researched and blogged about this boy for about three weeks in 2010, then put his case on the back burner for two years while I moved on to happier writing topics.

During that timeframe, I…

…Purchased a set of old love letters on ebay

…Took a sabbatical

…Got to see Oprah

…Wrote and published my first book

…Put my first pet to sleep

…Sold my business

…Started calling myself a writer

…Wrote a screenplay

…Got some perspective

…Wrote a poem

…Got invited to make a speech

…Reunited a pair of long-lost brothers

…Returned a phone call

…and here I am… right back at it again. Full circle, baby.

Truthfully, I can’t fully explain what has brought me to this place. It’s been a long and winding journey with no real destination in sight. I’ve met a lot of good people along the way… people like me who care deeply about finding Jacob. We have put in a ton of time, spent a lot of our own money, and defended our sanity more than once to concerned family and friends.

The question is why.

Well, I guess I can’t answer for everyone, but here’s what I believe. In this search for Jacob… I somehow ended up finding myself. Somewhere along this crazy journey, I found my voice, my passion, and my purpose. That’s it, I guess. Pretty simple, really.

Oh, and maybe just one other thing… I really do believe we can find him.

Keep the thoughts, tips, and prayers coming…

#thinkingjacob

Next time

Eleven cases and counting

15 Comments

1. Sharon Gilbert | July 15, 2014 at 9:05 pm

   Sounds like a life well-lived, Joy. Thank you for your efforts to find out what happened to Jacob. I have no connection but care deeply. I’m 65 and hope to see an answer before I go. Peace and love.

2. Robyn | July 15, 2014 at 9:16 pm

   Joy. I know you and believe in you.
   I believe. In Jacob. His Family and Friends. Our lives are a journey.
   Please please please… Don’t give up Hope!!
   You have inspired me and so many other people.
   God will guide us all.

   Faith hope love.
   Robyn

3. Lisa Ramerth | July 15, 2014 at 9:25 pm

   Smiling! So happy to know ya!

4. Sandy Housman | July 15, 2014 at 11:08 pm

   Joy, you are doing an awesome job. I am so happy someone is working so hard to find Jacob. I can’t imagine being a parent and not knowing what happened to your child. I have always hoped since the night Jacob disappeared that there would be someone out there with the tenacity to never give up. We found that tenacity in you. Keep up the good work.

5. Jenny | July 16, 2014 at 3:16 am

   I’m thousands of miles away Joy but have Jacob in my thoughts a lot. What you have done to bring life and attention to his case is amazing. His family so deserve to know what happened to him and i hope this new attention will lead to some answers.

6. joy.the.curious | July 16, 2014 at 5:36 am

   Sandy Housman, thanks for the nice comment. However, there already is someone out there with the tenacity to never give up, and that person isn’t me… it’s Patty Wetterling. I speak from experience when I say Patty and Jerry have never stopped searching for Jacob, and they never will. They are as entrenched in his investigation today as they were on day one. They are amazing people… and gracious, and kind. They deserve answers. As parents, we may never know the depths of their pain, but we can certainly share it. The truth is, Jacob could have been any of our kids, and that’s why we care so much. Hopefully the answers will come with time and love… and tenacity.

7. Jeanne | July 16, 2014 at 7:47 am

   I’m glad you haven’t given up. I don’t know if we will ever get the answer, but you have done some great work here and raised many questions. I know my little pieces won’t help much out any, but here they are. I lived by 3rd ave closer to Minnesota street (the main street in town). It was a quiet night for me. My husband was working late and my son had fallen asleep on me in the rocker. I enjoyed it and didn’t put him to bed, just stayed there and held him. I had a strange feeling that night and just couldn’t leave him. I never heard the police cars going down Minnesota street, so I’m sure there were no sirens. I did here the helicopters loud and clear. That’s why I remember what I was doing that night, I wondered what was going on and just sat there and listened. The Tom thumb was frequented by many unsupervised kids on bicycles back then. It was almost a rite of passage to spend time going there. I don’t think it would have taken long for someone to figure that out. However, the road where Jacob was taken is a dead end road and always has been, I don’t see someone hanging out there waiting, it could be a long wait, unless they did know someone’s pattern or had a specific target.

8. Pamela Brown | July 16, 2014 at 8:06 am

   It is interesting to see where this journey is taking you and all the good that has come out of it. I also have wanted to know more about what happened to Jacob. I had family in the St. John’s Boys Choir and spent quite a bit of time in that area. The Boys Choir also put on an opera called “The Star Gatherer” by Steven Paulus, about a boy who died, and that made me think of Jacob as well. I have also wondered what happened to Josh Guimond, who disappeared from the St. Johns U campus some time ago.

   In addition, the disappearance of another young person long ago has held me captive, but so far I have hit dead ends everywhere. This is Lauren Gail Anderson who disappeared in St. Louis Park in November, 1981.

9. frelis schulz | July 16, 2014 at 11:50 am

   I think you are doing a lot of good for this family’someone needs to help them in this long ordeal of not knowing…I have read everything I can find on Jacob Wetterling….because that was such a terrifying ordeal.. It is what nightmares are made of for parents and children. I have hoped and prayed for many years that if anyone knows anything about this case that might solve it, that they would listen to their conscious and tell someone….God bless you and the Wetterlings and all the other unsolved missing children and their families….

10. meredithmclovin | July 22, 2014 at 12:09 pm

    As a parent, it would be impossible to ever stop searching for my child. I could never rest until I found my son. I could never rest until I had answers. My loyalty and love for him could never be severed. The hole in my heart for justice could never be filled. I would have to be in the ground before I ever gave up.

    When the world seems to move on to other things, there I would be still – looking, never stopping. My heart breaks for the Wetterlings every time I read something else on Jacob. If I were them, I would be immeasurably grateful a person like you cares so much. I’m sure they feel that way indeed. It sure would help me to keep me going even more. To know that someone else is keeping the investigation alive, breathing new life into even… WOW! I would really want and need that level of support.

    I’m a spiritual person. I believe forces in the universe exist that are beyond our knowing, understanding. You never know when you or your work are part of something bigger. Therefore, you can’t stop. You have to have faith it’s all part of a bigger plan.

    I have worked in advertising and marketing departments for large corporations. I have lived out on the West Coast, worked with writers and directors of motion pictures. All I can say is in each instance, the end result we created as a group – our collaborative efforts – were always something much better than we could have came up with on our own.

    I check your blog three times a week now, Joy. Every day I am hoping to hear something like the police are now searching Huber’s property, there has been another related incident discovered and/or someone has come forward.

    Your work keeps this alive. It’s possible someone reading your blog could offer a fresh perspective (thanks to the evidence you gathered), make associations people have overlooked and in the end, find another part of the answer. It may motivate someone to finally come forward. You may even figure out the answers yourself, you have made so many incredible developments. It could really give police fresh ideas and they have the resources to dive in deeper. This would not have been possible without you!

    We all stand behind you and the Wetterlings, don’t ever stop!

11. Clarence Dee | July 31, 2014 at 4:36 pm

    Joy: Any idea when Jacob’s case will be reviewed on “The Hunt”? Thanx.

12. m tusing | July 31, 2014 at 7:27 pm

    We lived in Burnsville, MN when Jacob disappeared that year. I have a son the same age as Jacob. That happened right before Halloween and I was terrified to let my son go trick or treating even in the neighborhood because of the lack of clues and no leads at the time. I later discovered that my son’s birthday is so close to Jacob’s. I have wondered all these years when the story will find some closure for the Wetterlings. When I look at my son and think of Jacob I am sad for all the years missed for the family. Thank you for keeping the story alive. I was happy to see your blog and know you are dedicated to finding the perp! I wonder how many more he has also assaulted or abducted over the years.

13. Dawn Zimmerman | August 31, 2014 at 10:38 pm

    I knew Jacob as a child, and I am so grateful for what you’ve done, and what you’ve discovered. I know that there have been so many prayers sent up over the years for Jacob, and for the Wetterlings. I believe in my heart that the calling you’ve felt to keep coming back to Jacob’s case is because of those prayers & I’m so glad you’ve listened to that calling. THANK YOU for the work you’ve done, and the time you’ve invested! Bringing new light to the case, and getting it aired on national television tonight – WAY TO GO! I hope & pray that it brings the answers we’ve been looking for for almost 25 years.

14. Andrew | September 29, 2014 at 11:33 am

    I remember being in gradeschool in S.W Mpls when all this happened. It terrified me, and I remember I started including “help them find Jacob Wetterling” in my prayers every night. To this day I still include it that in my prayers. I hope one day God answers the request and I never have to say it again. Keep up the great work Joy.

15. Julie Tremp | October 8, 2014 at 4:29 pm

    Joy,

    It was your work that made me connect dates for another possible lead into finding Jacob.

    I understand your passion, as I have been on my own mission in tracking down, and finally exposing a serial pedophile, who is also very violent. Through four months of digging via FOIA requests, and a lot of research, we were finally able to expose this monster on Nov. 1st, 2012. Until then he walked a free man, despite an Ohio conviction. We don’t want to see this man harm one more child! So far, multiple witnesses, and at least 7 victims in the state of Ohio and Illinois, have come forward with more information on how this pedophile has wrecked havoc and mayhem everywhere he went. I have continued to work on this same case for the last two years, and I won’t stop until he’s put in jail.

    I admire your determination and hard work. I feel confident we will find out what happened to Jacob, with the collaborative efforts of all those who stepped up to the plate to help.