Remains of boy missing for 27 years found

The remains of an 11-year-old boy abducted in 1989 in central Minnesota have been found and were officially identified on Saturday, authorities said.

Jacob Wettering, whose parents Patty and Jerry Wetterling became tireless advocates for missing children after his disappearance, was identified by dental records, the Stearns County, Minnesota, sheriff said in a statement.

The boy was kidnapped in October 1989 while riding his bicycle near his home in St Joseph, about 80m northwest of Minneapolis, setting in motion a decades-long mystery about his whereabouts and bringing changes in sex offender laws.

On a statement released on Saturday, the Stearns County sheriff’s office said it “confirms that Jacob Wetterling’s remains have been located”. The statement said that the Ramsey County medical examiner and a forensic odontologist identified the remains on Saturday.

The statement did not say where or how the remains were located. Authorities expect to be in a position to provide more detailed information early next week, it said, and the sheriff's office said additional DNA testing will be performed.

A law enforcement official told Associated Press that a person of interest in Jacob’s abduction took authorities to a field in central Minnesota last week. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the ongoing case, said remains and other evidence were recovered.

Jacob’s mother, Patty Wetterling, sent a text message to KARE-TV earlier on Saturday saying that Jacob “has been found and our hearts are broken”.

“Our family is drawing strength from all your love & support,” Patricia Wetterling, said on twitter. "We're struggling with words at this time. Thank you for your hope."

No one has been arrested or charged in the boy’s abduction.

But last year, authorities took another look at the case, and were led to Danny Heinrich, a man they called a “person of interest” in Jacob’s kidnapping.

Heinrich, 53, of Annandale, Minnesota denied any involvement in Jacob’s abduction, and was not charged with that crime. But he has pleaded not guilty to 25 federal child pornography charges and is scheduled to go on trial on those counts in October.

The FBI has said previously that Heinrich matched the general description of a man who assaulted several boys in Paynesville from 1986 to 1988. Earlier this year, Heinrich’s DNA was found on the sweatshirt of a 12-year-old boy who was kidnapped from Cold Spring and sexually assaulted just nine months before Jacob’s abduction.