Tidbits

Jul 10, 2014

Posted by joy.the.curious on Jul 9, 2014 in Jacob | 13 comments

Sorry… it’s been a while. The truth is, I’ve been mulling a lot over what to write about next. It seems I have a million details swirling around in my head, and it’s hard to focus on any one of them at any particular time. So, with that in mind, I decided to just write them all down in no particular order. I’m shooting straight from the hip here, so bear with me. We’ll see how it turns out.

“The Hunt” premiere

First, this is just a reminder that John Walsh’s new show, “The Hunt,” premieres this Sunday, July 13, on CNN. It airs at 8pm CST, so make sure you do the math for your own time zone and set your DVRs appropriately. Jacob’s case will not be the first show. We were told it will probably air in September, and maybe even as the season finale. I’m not sure though… I’ll let you know when I hear something more definite.

Paynesville update

I’ve spent the past several months focusing on the Paynesville incidents, and I have just a few more details to report.

First, there were two incidents that were reported by the Paynesville Press on December 9, 1986. The dates of those incidents were August 1986 and November 30, 1986. In both cases, the victims were attacked from behind and verbally threatened. The second victim was sexually assaulted.

Another article was published on May 26, 1987, almost six months later. This is the article that mentioned the original five cases, so I assume the two cases from August and November 1986 were included in those five. However, that doesn’t jive with the timing of our other incidents, so there may still be two that we haven’t found yet. In comparing the May 26, 1987 newspaper article with our existing list (below), I believe the two we haven’t found yet would be two additional incidents that took place “by the river,” and “at the middle school playground.” I also believe the June 1986 incident was not included in either newspaper article.

Here’s the list:

March 9, 1986 – Attempted drive-by abduction of 12 year old boy near G&T Foods
June 1986 – Three kids playing hide-n-seek at Middle School playground, Town & Country Days
August 1986 – By the river? At the middle school playground?
November 30, 1986 – Alley between the middle school and hospital
February 14, 1987 – Ben Franklin, downtown, 122 West James Street
Spring 1987 – By the river? At the middle school playground?
May 17, 1987 – By the hockey rink at the Catholic church, two boys riding bikes
Summer 1987 – By the river #2, camping incident, man spying on group of boys
September, 1987 – By the river #3, man in parka with orange lining, Lyndall Avenue
Late 80s or early 90s – Boy chased from Middle School to his aunt/uncle’s house

Now, moving away from the Paynesville incidents for just a bit, I want to put the focus on St. Joseph again. Here are a few tidbits I’ve picked up from commenters on my blog.

Sirens or no sirens?

First, there has been some debate over whether the police had their sirens on when they first responded to the call. I received a message from one commenter who said he was working that night at a business right on Minnesota Street, which is the main drag through St. Joseph. He was sweeping the parking lot outside, when he suddenly saw one cop car after another speed past him, headed toward the Tom Thumb. He recalls it vividly… police/troopers speeding through town at 80-100 MPH, lights on, but no sirens.

More strange incidents on the road where Jacob was abducted

Second, here’s another tidbit I’ve mentioned once before. At the time of Jacob’s abduction, there was another boy who lived on 91st Avenue, who felt maybe he had been the intended target of the abduction that night instead of Jacob. He was 14 years old at the time, and unlike Jacob who had never been allowed to go to the store before after dark, this boy and his 12 year old friend had spent nearly every night that summer going to the Tom Thumb after dark.

Here’s his story. One night, this young teenage boy and his 12 year old friend were coming home from the Tom Thumb, maybe around midnight. They were on Baker Street and were taking a left onto 91st Avenue, when a car came from behind them and suddenly started coming faster and faster. As they got closer to the 12 year old’s house, they cut through the ditch, across his front yard, and into the open garage as fast as they could. The car followed them into the driveway, then backed straight across the road into the neighbor’s driveway, and flashed its bright lights on the two boys. The car stayed like that for about two minutes before the boys finally ran into the house.

A couple weeks later, the boys got brave and decided to head to the Tom Thumb once again. It was late, and this time, they noticed a car going from mailbox to mailbox… very slowly… like he was getting information from each residence.

The boys remembered the car looking similar to a Pontiac 6000, but they disagreed on the color… one said blue, the other said red. For this reason, they felt like maybe they weren’t believed when they told their story to the police just few days after Jacob was abducted.

This young man also had a few other interesting tidbits to share. First, regarding the party spot back in the woods… he remembers where that was. It was back by Palmerscheim Pond and Klinefelter Park. There was a road back there where people would party. He also mentioned it was possible to get a car through there… it was all woods, but with a little off-roading, you could weasel your way out.

Second, on the night of Jacob’s kidnapping, this young man’s family didn’t know anything had happened… they never heard a thing. No sirens, no helicopters… nothing. He remembers waking up the next morning to the sound of police dogs barking outside his bedroom window. His dad, however, swears up and down that about the time Jacob was kidnapped, the family dog was barking in the woods behind their house, which butted up to the Del-Win Ballroom. There were a lot of trails back there, but no way to get a car out… neither there, nor behind Rassiers’ place.

So, those are my tidbits for now. I’ve been doing a lot of research, making a lot of phone calls, and trying not to get too overwhelmed with all the details. I’ll try to write again soon, but in the meantime, keep the tips, comments, and prayers coming. And thanks again for following along.

Next time

This crazy journey: Taking a moment to reflect on the past four years

13 Comments

laniedude | July 9, 2014 at 10:26 pm
Thanks for all the info Joy. I am amazed by the number of incidents you have found. You have done an incredible job of following this case.
matt | July 9, 2014 at 11:06 pm
Are 91st ave and 16th ave SE the same road?
Also curious | July 9, 2014 at 11:07 pm
Thank you Joy. This story becomes more incredible all the time.
Reading these accounts it seems almost impossible to me this perpetrator could have simply stopped these behaviors. It must be that he either was arrested for something and incarcerated without being linked to all of these crimes or moved away to continue them somewhere else until he was caught. I think it’s very likely this perpetrator was sent to prison in the late 80s or early 90s for something and stayed for a considerable length of time or perhaps is still there.
joy.the.curious | July 10, 2014 at 6:33 am
matt,
In answer to your question, yes, 91st Avenue and 16th Avenue are the same road. I think the avenues within the city limits were renamed at some point… not sure when.
Just wondering | July 10, 2014 at 8:34 am
Where was the Del Win ballroom in relation to St. John’s?
Just wondering | July 10, 2014 at 8:52 am
Wasn’t there a polka fest going on at the ballroom that night? I would think the dog could be responding to the people there?
meredithmclovin | July 10, 2014 at 4:27 pm
Thanks again for the great developments, Joy!
We all want to find out the truth about what happened to Jacob so badly. This perpetrator thoroughly deserves to suffer the consequences from the havoc and unimaginable pain he created in so many lives. I think if you can figure out his psychology and pattern of behavior, it may bring you closer to his actual identity. You could maybe figure out who he is or eliminate who he is not. Pretty much it’s like following a trail of bread crumbs, but hopefully it could lead somewhere.
The new information you published about Jacob’s neighbor is fascinating. It tells me that maybe this guy didn…t pick out Jacob beforehand- like at a hockey practice-and stalk him for months. The other boy may have been the target indeed. All the perpetrator basically did was target the neighborhood, observe this kid’s repeated trips back and forth to Tom Thumb, and plan the best place to attack.
His M.O. may be just stalking neighborhoods in general – looking for opportunities – rather than finding a specific child first? I…m sure he made repeated trips to the same neighborhood, but maybe not repeated trips to a specific child’s house?
It seems he picks out neighborhoods first, and then spends a couple of weeks- a few months tops -learning the neighborhood and the children who live there. I think he is definitely generally familiar with the area though, maybe living a few towns away from Cold Springs, St. Joseph. Maybe he is from Paynesville, and then had to branch out when he created too many incidents there.
This also suggests the hockey connection, for instance, might not mean anything. We can MAYBE eliminate this guy being involved somehow in a youth hockey league. He is probably someone that does not have direct access to kids, so he has to go picking through neighborhoods.
Where is this party spot in relation to the Rassier farm? From reading your blog, I got the intuition the kidnapper either stashed his car on the Rassier’s driveway (where it began to curve around away from the road, by the tree line) or he had some specific hiding place he could quickly take Jacob on foot.
The fact that Aaron and Trevor lost sight of Jacob and the kidnapper so quickly is mystifying. Is it because it was so dark outside and they just couldn…t see them? How did he vacate the area with Jacob in a matter of minutes? It tells me he either had a car stashed nearby or he had a specific place in mind (that was close-by) to bring Jacob?
Is the spot by Palmerscheid Pond and Klinefelter Park very close or easily accessible to the Rassier farm? Would Aaron and Trevor be able to notice a car leaving from the Rassier driveway from where they were?
Dan Rassier said he saw a dark blue car turning around in his driveway that evening, with two occupants in the front seat. The person in the front passenger seat had their hand over their eyes. Maybe it was Jacob and he was told to cover his eyes so he could not identify the man. However, we also know Dan went to bed early. What time did he see this car? Did it coincide with the time Jacob was kidnapped?
Jared (previous to Jacob) stated his attacker had a police scanner in his car. My theory is that in Jacob’s instance, he was able to hear the almost immediate police activity regarding Jacob. This also suggests a car is more likely in the Rassier driveway. He would not simply be carrying a scanner around on his body. He would be listening to it from his car with Jacob.
That may have been why he let Jared go and kept Jacob. He simply couldn…t release Jacob because he would most definitely be caught. He was listening on his scanner and knew the cops were all over it. It was indeed probably the closest he had come to being caught. This also explained why you can…t trace any incidents (yet) after Jacob.
This guy was so brazen. That kind of brazen nature suggests extreme cockiness (in addition to extreme sickness of course). It may have been a wake-up call for him as a criminal. It must have scared him off to another place or caused him to change his modus operandi. However, I agree with the other readers of your blog. People like this don…t suddenly rehabilitate and stop. He must have moved on somewhere further away or did eventually get caught somewhere else.
Also, does Jacob’s young neighbor (at the time), and his friend, remember what time of the week this guy followed them to the driveway and flashed his lights? Do they remember when he was checking out the mailboxes? Was it on a weekend or during the week?
dani | July 10, 2014 at 5:54 pm
Did you view the interview in raw form? I only say the piece on FOX online, but I think that when Delbert begins reflecting on his emotions about how ‘sad’ he is about probably dying in prison he says something strange: “Its kinda said, and if I said it to them, so they shouldn’t worry about, because I’m gonna die, regardless of this. And that’s the way I’m getting treated in jail, is they figure I’m gonna die and they don’t give a sh#*” This just seems like a strange string of words. He interrupted himself throughout, leaving questions. Who is he referring to when his said ‘if I said it to them?’ Is he referring to the Wettelrlings?) What does he think they worrying about? (finding the abductor?) He’s going to die regardless of what? (regardless of a confession, conviction, and sentencing?)
Bill | July 16, 2014 at 11:29 am
What was the earliest documentation of Dan stating he saw 2 cars the night of the abduction? Did he tell the police officer at the woodpile he saw a car around the time of the abduction and possibly a person covering their eyes in the front seat?
Important questions Joy that you should be addressing on the site.
frelis schulz | July 16, 2014 at 12:08 pm
My wish is that these obvious clues would have been found sooner and followed up on.’did a man suddenly quit his job and move away In either town and if so where….and what about molestation reports where this person moved to or arrest reports from the area’so many what ifs and so many unanswered questions.’surely someone remembers something….
algea | August 31, 2014 at 11:42 pm
Was there ever any searches in the water lakes ponds around st. Joseph. He did not go far. Water on the face and sand in the mouth. To stop means the perpetrator moved died or is in jail on unrelated attacks. He only changed mo to killing meaning he almost got caught. He doesnt live in the area he was too comfortable so he expanded his hunting grounds. A prepared opportunist.
Bill | October 20, 2014 at 2:58 pm
Joy – When were those two boys pursued by the car on those separate incidents? Was it before or after Jacobs abduction?
Kyle J Hanson | November 30, 2015 at 10:39 am
Joy, do we have any definitive timeline on when Adam’s and his friend’s incident with the car following them took place? Interesting that DJH’s Topaz (similar to a Pontiac 6000) was repossessed in March 89 I believe.