Jacob's Best Friend Speaks Out, Saying 'Hope Doesn't Stop'

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Family and friends of Jacob Wetterling finally learned what happened to the 11-year-old on Tuesday, as Danny Heinrich confessed to in court.

Jacob went missing on Oct. 22, 1989. He was abducted from a rural road as he road bikes with his brother and best friend, Aaron Larson.

Patty Wetterling, Jacob's mother, bravely spoke shortly after the confession, telling Jacob she was sorry.

"He has taught us all how to live, how to love, how to be fair, how to be kind. He speaks to the world that he knew, that we all believe it and it is a world worth fighting for. Jacob, I'm so sorry."

As Minnesotans across the state grieved, many reached out to Wetterling's friends and family.

Patty took to Twitter Thursday, thanking everyone for their thoughts.

Larson spoke out for the first time on Facebook as well, also thanking everyone for their thoughts.

He said, in part, "I guess I thought if I don't read things or talk about things, I won't feel as much. But what I have and will always feel is Jacob around me."

Larson spoke of how Jacob had befriended him when he was new in the second grade, and how Jacob's memory lives on when he talks about being nice to new kids with his own children.

"I feel Jacob and the goodness of him all around me. That doesn't stop. Hope doesn't stop."