The inaugural staging of the Running HOME for Jacob 5K will take place on Oct. 22, the day marking the 27th anniversary of when Jacob Wetterling went missing.
The Jacob Wetterling Resource Center organized and announced the race earlier this year ahead of the grim news that the 11-year-old boy's remains were found last week on a farm near Paynesville, Minn.
HOME stands for "hope for our missing and exploited." Officials with the Wetterling foundation said they "would like this day to become a day of community, hope and prevention. Our goal is to raise awareness to the issues of safety, prevention and a unified purpose to create a world where kids can grow up safe."
Jacob was abducted at gunpoint by a masked man on Oct. 22, 1989, near his home in St. Joseph, Minn. This week, Danny Heinrich, who had long been a person of interest in the disappearance, confessed in federal court to kidnapping and killing the boy.
Along with the 5K run and walk, festivities at the Lake Phalen Picnic Pavilion in St. Paul include a children's race, family activities and a post-race celebration.
Registration for the event is now available at tinyurl.com/Running-for-Jacob.
Tim Harlow • 612-673-7768
