Patty Wetterling

Patty Wetterling is an advocate of children's safety particularly focused on protecting children from abduction and abuse. Her advocacy began after her son was abducted in 1989. In 2004, she ran for the Minnesota Sixth District seat in the United States House of Representatives as the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party candidate, losing in the general election to the GOP incumbent, Mark Kennedy.

Biography

Born in Omaha, Nebraska, she grew up in St. Paul, Minnesota and later moved to St. Joseph, Minnesota, where she raised four children with her husband Jerry. On October 22, 1989, their son Jacob Wetterling, then 11 years old, was abducted at gunpoint by a masked man. An extensive search was carried out, but Jacob and the abductor have not yet been found. Four months after the abduction, the Wetterlings founded the Jacob Wetterling Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to education about child safety.

Related Topics:
Omaha, Nebraska - St. Paul, Minnesota - St. Joseph - October 22 - Jacob Wetterling - Jacob Wetterling Foundation - Non-profit organization - Child safety

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Also in early 2004, news reports circulated that new evidence is being considered in the abduction of her son. News outlets in the Twin Cities indicated that another boy had been assaulted not long before Jacob disappeared. Police were also ruling out the long-held belief that the abductor had gotten away in a car.

Related Topics:
Twin Cities - Police

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