Timeline of events in Jacob Wetterling abduction
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A timeline of events related to the abduction of 11-year-old Jacob Wetterling of St. Joseph, Minnesota:
Oct. 22, 1989: Jacob Wetterling, 11, is abducted from a rural road as he rode bikes with his brother and a friend by a masked gunman near his home about 80 miles northwest of Minneapolis.
Oct. 26, 1989: Deputies on horseback and hundreds of people search for Jacob, but find nothing.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Oct. 29, 1989: About 225 National Guard troops and 80 Minnesota Department of Natural Resources workers unsuccessfully search for clues. Supporters of the boy's family release more than 1,000 white balloons after a church service.
December 1989: Investigators are deluged with tips after they release a new sketch of a suspect. Authorities also say they believe the man who kidnapped Jacob was responsible for the January 1989 abduction and sexual assault of a boy in nearby Cold Spring.
1990: Jacob's parents, Patty and Jerry Wetterling, set up the Jacob Wetterling Resource Center, which works to help communities and families prevent child exploitation. Patty Wetterling becomes a national advocate for missing children.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}October 1990: An FBI spokesman says about 2,000 people have been interviewed. More than 700 people attend an anniversary vigil less than two miles from where Jacob was taken.
1994: Congress passes the Jacob Wetterling Act, legislation for a sex offender registry.
2004: Patty Wetterling runs as a Democrat against Republican U.S. Rep. Mark Kennedy in Minnesota's 6th District. She loses by 30,000 votes in her first political campaign but does not rule out a future run.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}2006: Patty Wetterling again runs for Congress but loses to Republican Michele Bachmann.
2010: Investigators spend two days searching and digging at a farm near where Jacob Wetterling was last seen. The sheriff later says forensic tests on items taken from the farm show no link to the crime.
Oct. 29, 2015: Federal authorities say a Minnesota man is a "person of interest." Danny Heinrich, of Annandale, is arrested on unrelated child pornography charges. Heinrich denies involvement in Jacob's disappearance and has not been charged in the case.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Sept. 3, 2016: Authorities confirm that Jacob's remains have been found and positively identified. Additional DNA testing will be conducted.
Sept. 6, 2016: Heinrich confesses in detail to abducting and killing Wetterling in court while pleading guilty to federal child pornography charges.