Murder of Jacob Wetterling
On Friday, January 13, 1989, just over nine months before Wetterling was kidnapped, twelve-year-old Jared Scheierl was kidnapped, sexually assaulted and then physically threatened by an unknown adult man. The boy's statement given that night showed the habits of the adult man were similar to that of when Wetterling was kidnapped. The adult man, who was later identified as Danny Heinrich, had threatened the boy with a gun. The man then released the boy and warned him to not look back or he (Jared) would be shot. That kidnapping took place almost ten miles from where he (Heinrich) would later stop the Wetterling brothers and their friend.