Like many Minnesotans, I’m both saddened and relieved by the news that the mystery of Jacob Wetterling’s disappearance has been solved. Even knowing that this day would eventually come does not make it any easier to accept.

My many attempts over the last 27 years to rationalize the situation in order to understand how someone could abduct and murder a child have always failed. I’m no closer to understanding today. All I know is in some small way I’m sharing the pain that the Wetterling family has had to deal with for so long. “Keep a light on for Jacob” was a theme of hope over the years, and I see that people are turning porch lights on tonight in Jacob’s memory.

I was out taking pictures in the early hours of the day that would become the date of Jacob’s discovery. One picture captured a glimpse of the Northern Lights along with bright stars in the night sky. I’ve turned that image into a symbolic light for Jacob, representing the Joy he brought to his family while he was alive, and Promise of the young man he would have been had his life not been taken from him. It’s dedicated to the Wetterlings, and to all who have suffered the loss of a child.