The Jacob Wetterling abduction

The Wetterling case: An APM Reports podcast 'In the Dark'

In the Dark: Episode 5
In the Dark: Episode 5
Jeff Thompson for APM Reports

Here's a podcast about a 27-year child abduction investigation that changed the nation.

Child abductions are rare crimes, and they're typically solved. For 27 years, the investigation into the abduction of Jacob Wetterling in rural Minnesota yielded no answers.

In the most comprehensive reporting on this case, APM Reports and reporter Madeleine Baran reveal how law enforcement mishandled one of the most notorious child abductions in the country and how those failures fueled national anxiety about stranger danger, changed how adults parent their kids and led to the nation's sex-offender registries.

Today's MPR News Presents is Episode 5 of the podcast.