New Podcast Will Investigate Unsolved Jacob Wetterling Case

Jacob Wetterling disappeared in his hometown of St. Joseph, Minnesota, 27 years ago, and has never been found.

Wetterling was 11 when he was abducted on Oct. 22, 1989.

The other two boys were then told to run away. Wetterling hasn't been seen since.

MPR reported that the podcast, called In the Dark, is hosted by Peabody Award winner Madeleine Baran.

Baran said the name of the podcast refers to the crime itself, but also the lack of transparency around the decades-long investigation.

"So it has these two senses," Baran said.

"There's this crime that happened in the dark and, also, there's this investigation that happened in the dark."

Though in many ways similar to This American Life's Serial podcast, Baran said In the Dark's mission isn't to solve the crime, but instead will look at why the case hasn't been solved and the impact it's had on society.

The abduction of Wetterling led to the Wetterling Act of 1994, a federal law that required states to create sex offender registries.

The eight-part podcast will begin Sept. 13.

Image via YouTube