Where Are You Jacob: New updates on the case reveal a similar abduction of Jared Scheierl

'Where Are You Jacob' is the latest episode (Season 48, Episode 31) of ABC's true-crime docuseries 20/20, which re-examined the kidnapping and eventual murder of 11-year-old Jacob Erwin Wetterling on October 22, 1989.

The 11-year-old was kidnapped, s*xually assaulted and murdered by an unidentified man, just after 9:00 p.m., while he was biking home from a convenience store, with his younger brother and friend. Jacob Wetterling's case remained cold & his remains undiscovered for 27 years, until Jared Scheierl's abduction unmasked his real killer.

In a recent interview on 20/20 'Where Are You Jacob: The After Show, Jacob Wetterling's mother, Patty Wetterling, offered new insights on the case. Patty Wetterling's statements linked her son's case to the similar abduction of Jared Scheierl, who survived the attack and helped the authorities catch the perpetrator.

Here's how Jared Scheierl's abduction is connected to Jacob Wetterling's case.

Where Are You Jacob: Who is Jared Scheierl?

As revealed in 20/20 Where Are You Jacob: The After Show, Jacob Wetterling's case had gone cold after nearly 27 years until game-changing evidence from Jared Scheierl's abduction unmasked his killer.

Like Wetterling, Jared Scheierl was a 12-year-old boy who was abducted at gunpoint and s*xually assaulted by an unknown man near Cold Spring, Minnesota, on January 13, 1989, roughly nine months before Jacob Wetterling's abduction. While Wetterling was tragically killed, the perpetrator asked Jared Scheierl to run without looking back, or he would be shot. Jared Scheierl survived the ordeal but the s*xual assault and the tragedy took a toll on his mental health. He cooperated with the investigators for decades, in hopes of catching the man who abducted him.

As revealed on Where Are You Jacob, the authorities realized that the details of Jacob Wetterling's case are eerily similar to Scheierl's statements. Considering the similarities in the modus operandi, it was concluded that the teens were abducted by the same man.

Where Are You Jacob: How did Jared Scheierl's abduction crack the Wetterling case?

In December 1989, a month after Wetterling's abduction, the FBI questioned Danny Heinrich, a local man. However, the authorities could not charge Heinrich as they lacked evidence. Decades later (in October 2015), Heinrich was named a person of interest in the Wetterling case again.

As revealed in Where Are You Jacob, the authorities matched Heinrich's DNA to the DNA taken in the case of Jared Scheierl. This led to a chilling breakthrough in the Wetterling case in 2016, after Heinrich's DNA was an almost match to the evidence preserved from Jared Scheierl's clothing. While Heinrich could not be charged with the Cold Spring kidnappings (due to the expiration of the statute of limitations), he was arrested (in October 2015) after child s*xual abuse material was discovered in his house.

After a harrowing search of 27 years, the authorities found Wetterling's clothing and remains from a pasture near Paynesville after Heinrich entered a plea bargain and decided to cooperate with the investigators. On September 3, 2016, Patty and Jerry Wetterling announced that the remains belonged to their son, after the authorities confirmed his identity through dental records.

In exchange for Heinrich's plea deal, he was sentenced to 20 years in prison for the child p*rnography charge. While Heinrich could be released after 17 years, Judge Tunheim stated that it is unlikely during his court hearing:

"This crime is so heinous, so brutal and awful that it is unlikely society will ever let you go free."

Danny Heinrich is currently serving his 20-year prison sentence in Federal Medical Center, Devens, a federal prison in Massachusetts.

You can stream 20/20 Where Are You Jacob on Disney+ and Hulu.

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