Jake Wilson (Courtesy Iowa Department of Public Safety)
UPDATE
On Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2018, recreational kayakers discovered human remains in and around the Wolf Creek waterway near where 16-year-old autistic teen Jake Wilson went missing.
La Porte City Police Chief Chris Brecher told reporters it could take a couple of weeks to get DNA testing results, but said, “With what we have found, it’s consistent (with) what we’re looking for,” the Register reported on Thursday, Aug. 16, 2018.
As of Aug. 25, the remains had not yet been positively identified, but in a KCRG-TV story that aired Friday, Aug. 24, Jake Wilson’s father, Mike Wilson, said [the family is] convinced of the identity of the remains after speaking with investigators, who told them clothing and other evidence recovered from the scene is in line with what they were looking for.
“We’re comforted in many ways that it has come to a conclusion,” said Bruce Wilson, the teen’s grandfather. “Wasn’t the conclusion we wanted. He’s with God. That’s the way I feel.”
Jake A. Wilson, a 16-year-old autistic teen, went missing from his La Porte City, Iowa home around 9 p.m. on Saturday, April 7, 2018, after telling his family he was going for a walk to nearby Wolf Creek. A search began less than an hour later when he didn’t return home, and he was reported as missing to the La Porte City Police Department.
La Porte City in Black Hawk CountyHis mother, Megan Neiswonger, has said her autistic son has a mild intellectual disorder and functions at the level of a 9-year-old.
Jake was described as a 5-foot-6 white male with blond hair, hazel eyes, and weighing about 135 pounds.
An outgoing nature-lover, Jake left home without his glasses and was dressed in a brown zip-up hooded sweatshirt, dark pants and cowboy boots.
Temperatures were unusually cold for April, and nearby Waterloo set a record low of 12 degrees the morning after Jake disappeared.
Over the weekend, officials cleared a large area of Wolf Creek in their search for Wilson, according to La Porte City police. Machinery was brought in to remove blockages, but no relevant discoveries were found.
His parents have searched endless hours along the creek, handed out dozens of fliers in neighboring towns and have tried to maintain a positive attitude for their three other teenage boys.
“It’s just that disappearing factor that is so incredibly nightmarish,” said Jake’s stepfather, Jeremy Neiswonger, in a Des Moines Register story published April 24, 2018. “We don’t know what to do. It’s like having the flu: Our stomachs hurt, our hearts ache, we feel sick. And it’s just — I don’t want to say we’re losing hope, because we can’t allow that to happen …”
“But,” Megan said, finishing his sentence, “we feel hopeless.”
The Register also said the family is remaining hopeful in a trying time. The April 24 story reported:
As water crews continued Thursday to search the creek, La Porte City Police Chief Chris Brecher echoed words officials have told the public since April 7: “We can’t rule anything out.”
Investigators are trying to find that “one golden nugget” of information that will tell them whether Jake was kidnapped or if he was in the creek, he said.
“We’d like to rule something out right now, but we just can’t,” Brecher said.
Detectives and searchers on the ground are not giving up hope that they will find Jake alive, the chief said.
About 100 agencies on the federal, state and local levels have assisted in the search for Jake, including the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, local sheriff’s departments, fire and police departments, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the American Red Cross.
Brecher has talked with investigators in other parts of the country that specialize in finding missing children and said they have found other teenagers with Jake’s intellect within 10 days.
“They said don’t give up hope, and we haven’t,” he said. “Everybody has that little piece of hope that gets them through these trying times.”
~ The Des Moines Register, April 24, 2018
The FBI has created a website, www.fbi.gov/laportecityiowa, where people can upload photos or videos taken in La Porte City, Wilson’s hometown, on the day he went missing. Authorities say a bicycle ride and a class reunion brought in people from out of town that day.
Black Hawk County Sheriff Tony Thompson stressed that authorities are still treating Jake’s disappearance as a missing person case, but they continue to investigate all angles, including the chance Jake was abducted or fell into the creek in the dark.
On Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2018, recreational kayakers discovered human remains in and around the Wolf Creek waterway near where 16-year-old autistic teen Jake Wilson went missing.
La Porte City Police Chief Chris Brecher told reporters it could take a couple of weeks to get DNA testing results, but said, “With what we have found, it’s consistent (with) what we’re looking for,” the Register reported on Thursday, Aug. 16, 2018.
As of Aug. 25, the remains had not yet been positively identified, but in a KCRG-TV story that aired Friday, Aug. 24, Jake Wilson’s father, Mike Wilson, said [the family is] convinced of the identity of the remains after speaking with investigators, who told them clothing and other evidence recovered from the scene is in line with what they were looking for.
“We’re comforted in many ways that it has come to a conclusion,” said Bruce Wilson, the teen’s grandfather. “Wasn’t the conclusion we wanted. He’s with God. That’s the way I feel.”
On Wednesday, Aug. 29, 2018, authorities announced that the remains found in Wolf Creek were those of Jake.
Police Chief Chris Brecher disclosed the results of forensic tests by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation State Laboratory at an afternoon press conference, the Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier reported Aug. 29, but what still isn’t known is how Jake died.
The Courier also reported:
“There is further analysis that is currently in progress, and we hope that these will provide more definitive answers to the questions we all seek,” Brecher said.
Sheriff Tony Thompson said those answers may never be known.
“That’s a frustration that we are going to have to live with every time we look the family in the eye,” Thompson said.
Anyone with information about Jake’s disappearance and/or death is asked to contact the Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office at (319) 291-2587 or the La Porte City Police Department at (319) 342-2232.
Read more stories about Jake’s disappearance below.
I feel for his family. But, still stick with my concerns about him being allowed to wander by himself, especially after dark. I would refer you to the Grimes sisters, whose disappearance and deaths have never been solved. Also the Petersen & Schusslers, kidnapping and murder, which took almost 40 years to solve. These cases took place in Chicago, in 1950’s. We did not have cell phones.
I was not allowed out to wander the neighborhood, even while in high school. I wandered around a bit by myself, in the U.S. Navy. But, we normally hung together to look after each other, so nothing happened to each other. But, that was the way it was on a submarine.
Not being allowed to wander your own neighborhood in high school is ludicrous unless you lived in a horrible neighborhood.
i dont think thats the problem. he was autisitic and as a parent of an autistic child they seem to gravitate towards water. someone should of been watching him more. i dont let my autistic child wander my neighborhood.
My heart is broken for this family. My son is 20 and on the autism spectrum and each and every day I worry about his safety and well being. He is a wanderer and our years have been filled with frustration and anxiety while trying to be vigilant as possible. Parents are only humans trying to do the best we can. Please don’t be so quick to judge until you have walked in our shoes. From a mom with a son with autism.
UPDATE:
Quoting Luke Nozicka and Stephen Gruber-Miller, Des Moines Register Published 4:11 p.m. CT Aug. 16, 2018 | Updated 4:33 p.m. CT Aug. 16, 2018
Authorities announced at a news conference that the remains were spotted by kayakers in Wolf Creek, which flows through La Porte City.
La Porte City Police Chief Chris Brecher said it could take “up to a couple weeks” to get DNA results from the remains that were found in rural La Porte City. He declined to give the exact area.
When asked whether the remains could be those of Wilson, Brecher said: “With what we have found it’s consistent of what we’re looking for.”
“We’re not in a position right now to make comment on any possibility of foul play,” Brecher said.
Since the remains were found, authorities have been working to clear the area to hopefully locate more definitive evidence.
… In previous news conferences, investigators indicated they found no information to suggest a crime was committed in Wilson’s disappearance, though police had not ruled out the possibility of an abduction.
… In the months after Wilson’s disappearance, authorities echoed words officials told the public since the beginning: “We can’t rule anything out.”
More at:
Human remains found during search for missing autistic Iowa teen Jake Wilson, authorities say https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/2018/08/16/jake-wilson-missing-autistic-iowa-child-boy-la-porte-city-black-hawk/1011290002/?from=new-cookie via @DMRegister
Andrea, I agree with your comments, especially if has the intellectual level of a 9 year old. As a kid, I had to be home when it got dark. Yet, with his background his family lets him wander off at 9 p.m.
Someone in his family should have said no or went with him. I have problems with these cases. He could have been taken by someone, who could manipulate him, for their own perverted needs
If he has the intellectual level of a 9-yr-old, why was he allowed to go out alone at 9pm? Wasn’t it dark and cold out? Just wondering if this was something he was normally allowed to do.
I truly hope he is found unharmed.