Echoes in the Night documentary showing 

“Echoes in the Night: The Search for Jacob Wetterling,” a new documentary following the kidnapping and murder of an 11-year-old boy from St. Joseph, made its theatrical debut on Saturday, Aug. 8, at the Paramount Center for the Arts in St. Cloud.

Prior to the showing, audience members were invited to attend an open house and speak with resources located in the Stearns County area. Groups and foundations that were present included the Central Minnesota Mental Health Center, the Jacob Wetterling Resource Center, the United Way Child Advocacy Center and Bri’s Lodge, among others.

Following the film, a question and answer panel was set up featuring many of the people important to the documentary: Patty and Jerry Wetterling, Jared Scheierl and Joy Baker. All of the proceeds from the night went to supporting the Jacob Wetterling Resource Center and the Child Response Initiative at the Central Minnesota Mental Health Center.

Director Chris Newberry began filming the project, which runs almost two hours long, back in 2015. A Minnesota native, Newberry has directed multiple films following different aspects of the health care system in Minnesota.

“What I was interested in was the human impact of unexpected twists in people’s lives, and how those reverberate around them,” Newberry said at the panel following the debut of “Echoes in the Night.”

The decision for the documentary to be released in theatres starting in St. Cloud was a deliberate one made by those involved in the process. They wanted the people who had lived the events of the Wetterling case to have the first opportunity to view the film. During the Q&A panel, a former teacher of Jacob Wetterling stood and spoke about the impact Jacob had not only on himself, but the whole school and the entire surrounding community as well.

“You are all the people who carried us. We’re very, very grateful for all of you because we didn’t do it alone,” Patty Wetterling said during the panel.

Originally a case about a young boy from a rural Minnesotan town, Jacob’s story became known around the country. National news outlets held segments discussing his case, and the Minnesota Vikings held a memorial before their game on Sept. 18, 2016.

“It’s a story that had deep roots not just here, but especially here,” Jerry Wetterling said during the panel.

Jared Scheierl, who was born and raised in Cold Spring, Minn., was sexually assaulted as a boy by the same man who kidnapped and murdered Jacob Wetterling. During a time when the Wetterling case had gone cold, it was Scheierl’s choice to step forward and talk about his experience that eventually helped kickstart the case.

“Some people don’t have the ability to… but that’s what we are hoping to change with this story is that more people come forward,” Scheierl said during the panel.

Even though these are the people that lived these events, they said that seeing them through the lens of a camera is a different experience altogether.

“This is my third or fourth time watching it, and it gets more emotional every time,” Baker said during the panel.

Baker, who was at the time an independent blogger, alongside Scheierl helped reignite the Wetterling case when it stalled. The two said that they, and the Wetterlings, remain good friends to this day.

The film wrapped up its main theatrical run on Sept. 17, but will be releasing in theatres in Wadena, Minn. and Fargo N.D. on the 18th, and Milbank, S.D. on the 25th. While there is not a set plan as of right now, the crew are hoping to bring “Echoes in the Night” to streaming services so everyone has an opportunity to experience the documentary.