# Stearns County Sheriff *Sheriff's office of Stearns County, Minnesota.* The Stearns County Sheriff heads the [[sheriff]]'s office of Stearns County, Minnesota. The county's website carries a *Major Unsolved Cases* page under the sheriff's name.[^1] The office led the investigation of the abduction of Jacob Wetterling. The project's at-issue catalogue records that investigation as running twenty-seven years.[^2][^3] The only post-hoc review of that investigation recorded in the pack was conducted by the office itself. In 2018 the sheriff said the case "went off the rails," as reported by the [[Star Tribune]].[^2] According to the catalogue, two retired FBI agents called that assessment "irresponsible and a disservice to the public." One of the agents had conducted a 1990 interview in the investigation that had drawn criticism.[^3] The catalogue located no review by the [[Legislative Auditor]], no review by the Department of Justice, and no independent Bureau of Criminal Apprehension audit. It records two irreconcilable accounts and no adjudicator.[^3] The catalogue also records that the sheriff who led the investigation resigned in April 2017. He had led it during what the catalogue calls its most public fourteen years. His resignation came weeks after the case was solved, amid a lawsuit from a landowner near the abduction site.[^4] The record in this pack does not establish the reasons for the resignation or the outcome of the lawsuit.[^4] ## Who - The office is headed by the Stearns County Sheriff. Its public county page lists major unsolved cases.[^1] - A Stearns County sheriff stated in 2018 that the Wetterling case "went off the rails."[^2] - The catalogue identifies the sheriff who led the investigation for fourteen years as the officer who resigned in April 2017.[^4] - According to the catalogue, two retired FBI agents disputed the sheriff's assessment. One of them had conducted the 1990 interview that drew criticism.[^3] ## When - **1990** – The catalogue records an interview in the investigation, conducted by an FBI agent, that later drew criticism.[^3] - **April 2017** – The sheriff who led the investigation resigned weeks after the case was solved. He left amid a landowner's lawsuit alleging mistreatment by the sheriff and the department.[^4] - **2018** – The sheriff's statement that the case "went off the rails" was reported by the *Star Tribune*.[^2] ## In the at-issue record The catalogue carries two items for this office. Item AI-Stearns-005 (rank 5, dated 1990) concerns the office's review of its own investigation. It sets the sheriff's characterization beside the retired agents' response. It notes that no Legislative Auditor, Department of Justice or independent Bureau of Criminal Apprehension review was located. The catalogue lists news and report sources for this item, from startribune.com and auditor.leg.state.mn.us.[^3][^2] Item AI-Stearns-064 (rank 64, dated 2017) records the timing of the investigating sheriff's resignation relative to the solving of the case and the landowner's lawsuit. The catalogue lists news sources for this item, from apmreports.org and startribune.com.[^4] The catalogue files both items against the White House presidential action *Establishing the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud* (March 2026).[^3][^4] ## Notes [^1]: Stearns County, *Stearns County Sheriff — Major Unsolved Cases* (undated) — establishes that the county publishes a major unsolved cases page under the sheriff's office. https://www.stearnscountymn.gov/1224/Major-Unsolved-Cases [^2]: Star Tribune, *Stearns County sheriff says Jacob Wetterling case went off the rails* (2018) — reports the sheriff's statement that the Wetterling case "went off the rails." https://www.startribune.com/stearns-county-sheriff-says-jacob-wetterling-case-went-off-the-rails/493816581/ [^3]: Minnesota wiki at-issue catalogue, item AI-Stearns-005 (RESEARCH_Wetterling_Diocese.md ¶27-30), filed against The White House, *Establishing the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud* (March 2026) — the catalogue's entry on the sheriff's self-review, the retired FBI agents' response, and the absence of external review. The linked order does not itself document the Stearns facts. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2026/03/establishing-the-task-force-to-eliminate-fraud/ [^4]: Minnesota wiki at-issue catalogue, item AI-Stearns-064 (RESEARCH_Wetterling_Diocese.md ¶5-6), filed against The White House, *Establishing the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud* (March 2026) — the catalogue's entry on the April 2017 resignation and the landowner's lawsuit. The linked order does not itself document the Stearns facts. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2026/03/establishing-the-task-force-to-eliminate-fraud/