Oct 22, 2007 7:40 pm US/Central
Jacob's Mom Remembers Son On Abduction Anniversary
(WCCO)
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Although it has been 18 years since Jacob disappeared, it seems like it happen only yesterday to Patty Wetterling.
It was 18 years ago on Monday that Jacob Wetterling was abducted by a gunman near the boy's home in rural St. Joseph, Minn. The gunman confronted 11-year-old Jacob, his younger brother Trevor and a friend as the boys biked home from a convenience store.
Jacob has never been seen since.
"I remember the beginning. I remember crawling in bed ... I crawled back in bed and pulled the covers over my head and said I can't do this, it's too hard, it hurts too much. I was just in so much pain," said Jacob's mother Patty Wetterling.
Although it has been 18 years since Jacob disappeared, it seems like it happen only yesterday to Patty Wetterling.
"I could hear Jacob, I could hear his voice, I still do that," she said.
Patty Wetterling wants the person who took her son to come forward.
"It was such a cowardly act, to steal a child in the first place and to need a gun," she said.
Patty Wetterling is now a Child Rights Advocate. Patty Wetterling, and her husband Jerry, created the non-profit Jacob Wetterling Foundation to carry out the mission to educate families and communities on ways to keep children safe.
"I really believe it's time for somebody or the person to come forward. I've lived in this agony for all these years," she said.
Patty Wetterling spent the day baking cookies for the law enforcement officers who helped throughout the years, she said it's therapeutic.
"Today is just a hard day to get up and get going," she said.
A book of memories about Jacob also helps keep her going.
"We had just so many memories. I'm happy I haven't been able to say that for a very long time, I'm happy and this person who did this has no power over me anymore," she said.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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