71 thoughts on “September 9, 2016: Jacob”

  1. This is like Prince's death for me. I get that it's a big deal, but I just wasn't around Minnesota for it to have the same impact. Also, I would have been 3 when the kidnapping took place.

    2. I was attending college in St. Cloud at the time. My wife and I lived in St. Joe when we first started dating. The guilty party lived in my wife's hometown at the time of the abduction. So, this hit home pretty hard for us the past week. I was in No Dakota this week and every time I mentioned my wife's home town I would get a wince and a "sorry". I am just so sad for the Wetterling family. Yes, there is closure, but at such a horrific cost. I do admire the family for the depth of their efforts to address child abduction. They took a truly horrible situation and used their anger and frustration to do some good in our world. There is a legacy in their efforts that have saved many lives.

      1. I am just so sad for the Wetterling family. Yes, there is closure, but at such a horrific cost. I do admire the family for the depth of their efforts to address child abduction. They took a truly horrible situation and used their anger and frustration to do something good in our world. There is a legacy in their efforts that have saved many lives.

        So very well said, zooomx.

      2. I was a few years younger than Jacob and livingin North Mpls, shortly to move to central MN. This event was horrific and made a significant impact on how I viewed the world - stranger abduction was no longer a "boogie man" story.

        Heard an "expert" on MPR yesterday talking about the inappropriateness of the word "closure" when talking about how families process the loss of a loved one - as if it implies some sort of finality, which is unrealistic. It made sense, but seemed a bit out of place? I dunno - suppose in the context of educating the public about how best to approach talking about this kind of loss.

        1. I didn't hear that, but I've heard stuff like it. I think they're taking the word "closure" a little to literally. Of course the family is never going to forget what happened. I don't suppose a day will ever go by when they don't think of it. But they also have needed and continue to need to find a way for their lives to go.

          1. Yea. I don't think parents ever really "get over" losing a child, regardless of how it happens. Their relationship with that grief just changes over time.

            1. I'll be honest – that kind of grief scares the absolute sh!t out of me. And I've seen my share of scary.

              Guess that means I'm a real parent, huh?

              2. Yup. Watching my parents, and now my sister, go through it... (not Wetterling-style, but still loss of child)... yeah. I'm terrified.

        2. I can see it as the end of one type of pain, the hopeful pain that something else, some extra effort will find him. Why do x when you could be doing something else to find him?
          I would call that closure.

    3. I'm the same age as Spooky, and thus Jacob was the same grade I was.
      He was abducted just days after my birthday. I don't remember being scared, but replaying how I'd know how not to get abducted should a similar situation arise.
      I don't remember any other impacts, other than that a new kid joined my class the next spring... Jake. That was weird.

    1. It's nearly incomprehensible to me that these crimes have been solved - such an amazing and unwavering commitment to the search for answers, by so many. I'm truly astounded that they

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  3. Not sure how much data there actually is on child abductions. According to this study report, in 1999, there were an estimated 58,000 child abductions perpetrated by non-family members nation-wide, but with probably a wide band of uncertainty around that number, because of a lack of good data. About half of the abductees were sexually assaulted.

    There apparently hasn't been a "comprehensive study" of the topic since that piece (at least as of 2013, according to a WaPo piece that year). But overall missing persons data show a sharp decline in cases (of almost a third) since the late 1990s. The WaPo piece attributes some of the decline to the spread of cellphones, which make it much, much easier to report abductions quickly or to hit the panic button.

      1. yea, that too.

        A very large share (over half) of non-family member child abductions in the study year were perpetrated by persons known to the child or family. Unclear whether Amber Alerts would affect that or not.

    1. I'm hoping that's not a sign of things to come. The article talks about him having small kids that just moved to SoCal, so that's a possibility, but I wonder how much Pohlad requiring Molitor to be the manager next year scared him off.

    2. I don't think this is necessarily a bad thing. His name getting batted around at all would tend to indicate the Twins are serious about getting a new structure and quality people, so hopefully other top candidates take notice and develop interest. Plus I don't think Anthropolis was guaranteed to be some sort of front-office genius, and there are, likely, better candidates out there.

      1. Anthopoulos might have also had a conversation with Dave St. Peter and determined all he needed to know about the lay of the land, so to speak.

          2. I think whoever the new boss is needs to have free reign. That gives him a chance to totally mess things up, of course, but if he can't make serious, significant changes they might as well have kept Terry Ryan around. But you may be right that St. Peter and the Pohlads won't give it to him.

  6. I'm going to bookmark all of the Cam Newton stories at deadspin today in case I ever feel like I'm backsliding on quitting football or if any thoughts of letting my son play creep into the back of my mind.

    1. No doubt. I really believe there's going to be a day when pretty much everybody looks back with sadness and surprise, even shock, that we as a nation allowed young men to put their brain health, really their lives, on the line all in the name of sport and entertainment.

          1. I watched football for a long time, even played. I like the idea of it, but I've come to realize the execution is, to put it lightly, uncivilized.

        1. I don't think Radiohead fans like that song, kindof more the Radiohead song that non Radioheadheads like.
          If it was anyone other than CT, I would have guessed that the cursing was what made him want to forbid it.

                  1. I didn't even know there was a Radiohead reference in what I quoted out of context. So maybe I am "special".

                2. I like "Creep", but I couldn't name another Radiohead song besides "Plastic Trees". I've just never bothered to get into their catalog.

            2. I'm indifferent to it. They have a lot of better songs, but also a lot of worse ones. I love when an instrumental version of "High and Dry" is used as the bumper music on All Things Considered

        2. Hey now, I seem to remember someone compatibility about the pedants around here not too long ago.

      1. Amazing. I'm only a little ashamed to admit that I've won the Super Bowl with every team in the game.

    2. I like the idea that Bo Jackson's music library is 100 different versions of Tecmo Bowl theme, plus some Bo Diddley.

        1. OK, her too. But not "Thank You".
          How about "Sand in My Shoes", because it reminds him of a particularly refreshing island vacation.

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