Dear Jacob: A Mothers Journey of Hope

A crowd of over 90 guests gathered at the Bagley American Legion on Wednesday May 13, for a deeply moving program with author Patty Wetterling and co author Joy Baker to discuss their memoir, “Dear Jacob: A Mother’s Journey of Hope”. The book was released March 2026.  In the book Patty shares her unimaginable experience of the abduction and tragic murder of her 11 year old son Jacob in 1986. The case went unsolved for nearly 30 years.  It wasn’t until September 2016 the question of what happened to Jacob was answered.

Jacob, his brother and another boy were riding bikes home from a convenience store.  The trio came upon a masked man in the middle of the road holding a gun.  The man told the boys to drop the bikes.  Then one by one he told the boys to run into the woods, but he stopped at Jacob. When the two boys felt safe enough to turn around, Jacob was not there.  It was as if Jacob vanished into thin air.  

Through the unimaginable depths of grief and unimaginable pain, Jacob’s story was turned into something positive; change in statute of limitations laws, a foundation was created; The Jacob Wetterling Foundation on February 17, 1990 - Jacob’s 12th Birthday, and the #11forJacob movement.  

The Jacob Wetterling Foundation is a child advocacy and safety organization operating as a program of the Zero Abuse Project.  Based in St. Paul, MN, it focuses on preventing child abuse and exploitation while supporting families of missing children. The foundation was instrumental in the passage of the 1994 federal Jacob Wetterling Act, mandating the nation’s first state sex-offender registry.  

The #11forJacob Campaign turned into a movement for change.  The movement was initiated as a need to shift the focus away from how Jacob Wetterling died to how he truly lived.  To honor his memory people were asked to live out the 11 traits Jacob exemplified: Be Fair, Be Kind, Be Understanding, Be Honest, Be Thankful, Be a Good Sport, Be a Good Friend, Be Joyful, Be Generous, Be Gentle with Others and Be Positive.  

The “#11forJacob”movement started initially in Minnesota with #11forJacob patches etc. started showing up on kids school sports jerseys, reaching the professional sports teams in MN, to then going nation wide in various forms. #11forJacob are traits we can all subscribe to and make the world a better place in the process. 

This program was sponsored by Lake Agissiz Regional Library’s and was free to attend thanks in part to funding from the Arts & Cultural Heritage Legacy.