Jacob Wetterling Remains Found in Paynesville After 27 Years

The remains of Jacob Wetterling, who disappeared 27 years ago in his hometown of St. Joseph, Minnesota, have been found.

The Stearns County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that Wetterling’s remains have been located.

The Star Tribune reported that Wetterling's remains were found in Paynesville, a town with close to 2,500 residents about 85 miles northwest of Minneapolis.

The remains were recovered in the tree line of an organic farm off Stearns County Road 85.

Robert Meyer, who lives near the farm, said he was shocked by the news. He said it's strange that for so many years, people passed by the farm without realizing what was buried there.

"Twenty-seven years and he’s been right there the whole time," Meyer added.

Authorities confirmed the news hours after Patty Wetterling, Jacob's mother, began telling media that her son's remains were found.

“All I can confirm is that Jacob has been found and our hearts are broken," she told KARE 11 Saturday morning.

The Jacob Wetterling Resource Center released a statement on its Facebook page about the discovery:

“We are in deep grief. We didn’t want Jacob’s story to end this way. In this moment of pain and shock, we go back to the beginning. The Wetterlings had a choice to walk into bitterness and anger or to walk into a light of what could be, a light of hope. Their choice changed the world.”

According to KSTP, a man suspected in Wetterling’s disappearance, Danny Heinrich, provided information that led to authorities to recovering the boy's remains.

The KSTP sources say the remains were found in an undisclosed location somewhere in central Minnesota.

WCCO reported the FBI took Heinrich out of jail at least twice this week. In the last few days, authorities pressed Heinrich for information on the case.

Henrich, 52, from Annandale, was named a person of interest in the Wetterling case last year.

In October 2015, Heinrich was arrested and charged with five counts of possessing and receiving child pornography.

Wetterling was 11 when he was abducted on Oct. 22, 1989.

Wetterling's friend and his younger brother say the three were biking when a masked gunman approached and told them to lay down.

The other two boys were then told to run away. Wetterling hadn't been seen since.

Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton issued the following statement:

Authorities are currently in the process of reviewing and evaluating new evidence in the Wetterling investigation and expect to release more information early next week.

Patch will continue to update this story.

Image: MissingKids.Org