APM REPORTS LAUNCHES “IN THE DARK” – A PODCAST ABOUT A CHILD ABDUCTION INVESTIGATION THAT CHANGED THE NATION

In podcast, American Public Media’s investigative journalists ask:“Why Hasn’t Jacob Wetterling Been Found?”

August 29, 2016 – St. Paul, Minn. – In the 27 years since Jacob Wetterling was abducted in rural Minnesota, the investigation has yielded no answers about what happened to Jacob. Neither the abductor nor Jacob has been found. In the most comprehensive reporting on this case, American Public Media’s investigative and documentary unit, APM Reports, reveals how law enforcement has mishandled one of the most notorious child abductions and why it matters.The Jacob Wetterling case wasn’t just any child abduction. Not only did it fuel national anxiety about stranger danger, it also led to a federal law that requires all states to maintain registries of sex offenders.The reporting, led by award-winning journalist Madeleine Baran, will be shared in an eight-episode weekly podcast series, “In the Dark,” beginning Sept. 13. APM Reports takes a close look at the quality of the investigation that reveals a story that until now has not been told.“While this case has been covered locally and nationally, no one has really gone in depth about the investigation itself,” said Chris Worthington, APM Reports’ editor-in-chief. “We wanted to examine what went wrong and why this case has not been solved. And most importantly, why Jacob Wetterling hasn’t been found.”The podcast will be released weekly starting on Sept. 13 and is available on iTunes.APM Reports, formed in November 2015, is a collection of investigative journalists and documentary producers, editors, researchers and digital producers dedicated to producing high quality reporting on issues that are often hidden from public view.

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