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In The Dark

Season 1, Episode 1: The Crime

In The Dark

The New Yorker

Society & Culture, True Crime, Documentary

4.728.4K Ratings

🗓️ 7 September 2016

⏱️ 36 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The abduction of Jacob Wetterling, which made parents more vigilant and led to the first national requirement that states track sex offenders via registries, took place before moonrise on a warm October night in 1989. 


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Transcript

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0:00.0

This episode is brought to you by Slack. With Slack, you can bring all your people and

0:05.9

tools together in one place. It's your digital HQ where you can increase productivity,

0:11.1

enable flexibility and automate workflows. Plus, Slack is full of game-changing features

0:16.7

like huddles for quick check-ins or Slack Connect, which helps you connect with partners

0:20.9

inside and outside of your company. Slack, where the future works. Get started at

0:26.9

Slack.com slash DHQ. New Year, new me. Nah, I'm fine just the way I am. Doing the things

0:35.3

I love, like enjoying a latte on the bus with some music or on a walk with a friend. My

0:42.7

only resolution is to enjoy more of what I love, like switching up my usual with oat,

0:49.2

soy, almond or coconut. All delicious non-dairy alternatives available at Starbucks for no extra

0:56.3

charge. Whilst stocks last, subject to availability. A quick note before we start the first episode

1:02.0

of In The Dark. We were planning to put this out next week, but just today, there was

1:06.6

a big development in the case that's at the center of this podcast, so we're getting

1:10.3

started early. On October 12th, I'm five feet tall. My home name is Jacob Erdogan. My favorite

1:27.5

food is steak. My favorite color is blue. My favorite, I don't know how to favorite song.

1:30.8

My favorite game is clue. My favorite thing to do most is watch football. My favorite sport

1:37.6

is football. On October 12th, 1989, a sixth grader named Jacob Wetterling made this recording

1:44.8

as part of a school project. Ten days later, he was kidnapped while riding his bike on

1:49.9

a country road in a small town in central Minnesota. It's a case that defied logic then

1:59.0

and now. It is a crime that has both captivated and frustrated

2:02.5

men. On the outskirts of his hometown of St. Joseph, a young boy's miss. The most feared

2:08.0

type of abduction, one by a complete stranger, no ransom note, no contact. What happened

2:13.7

to Jacob Wetterling? I've been hearing the name Jacob Wetterling ever since I moved to

...

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